The Ugolini Vini Appassimento: When Time Becomes Wine

Experience the Appassimento at Villa San Michele, where Ugolini's Amarone and Recioto are born from millennial tradition.

Among the rows of Valpolicella Classica, when autumn softens the light and the breeze smells of ripe grapes, one of the most poetic stages of viticulture begins: l'Appassimento (the drying process). It is the moment when haste stops, and the wine begins to take shape even before vinification.

For Ugolini Vini, Appassimento is a gesture of love towards the land and its seasons. It is an act of faith in natural rhythms, a balance between spontaneity and precision, between patience and intuition. This is where time, slowly, becomes wine.

Appassimento: The Poetry of Slowness

Appassimento is one of the most ancient and defining practices of Valpolicella. After the harvest, the finest bunches of Corvina, Corvinone, and Rondinella grapes are laid out in small crates and left to rest for weeks in the drying room (fruttaio) near Villa San Michele, where the hillside breeze and ventilation guide a silent metamorphosis.

During this period, the berries lose some of their water, concentrating sugars and aromas. It is a process of transformation that does not subtract, but adds: scents intensify, tannins soften, and fresh notes give way to hints of ripe cherry, spice, and cocoa. Thus, time works delicately, turning the grape into a story.

"The Appassimento," recounts Giambattista Ugolini, the company's founder, "is the moment when everything stops. It is a time for reflection, care, and silence. That is where the true soul of the wine is born."

The Terre di Fumane Drying Room

The Terre di Fumane drying room, the beating heart of the Ugolini Vini grape drying process, guards this transformation like a sanctuary. Within the stone walls and bathed in the soft light of the Fumane hills, the bunches rest in crates, caressed by a constant, pure air.

Every day, the Oenologist monitors the progress of the Appassimento with the same attention as an artisan. It is a subtle dance between experience and listening, where nature dictates the pace and man interprets it.

The Children of Appassimento: Amarone and Recioto

From the Appassimento spring the two pillars of Valpolicella's winemaking tradition: Amarone and Recioto. Two brother wines, children of the same process, yet with profoundly different souls.

Amarone della Valpolicella Classica DOCG "Valle Alta"

The Valle Alta Amarone is the wine that, more than any other, tells the story of Valpolicella's strength and elegance. Born from selected grapes left to dry for a long time, it is distinguished by its perfect balance between intensity and finesse. In the glass, a deep garnet red anticipates aromas of black cherry, plum, and sweet spices; on the palate, a velvety texture emerges, with a very long and enveloping finish. It is a wine for meditation, but also for sharing: an Amarone that invites contemplation.

Recioto della Valpolicella Classica "Valle Lena" DOCG

The Valle Lena Recioto is the sweet memory of Valpolicella, its ancient echo. Born from the same Appassimento, but with an interrupted fermentation, it retains a natural sweetness that never overwhelms the freshness. On the palate, it reveals a rare balance: cherry preserved in spirit, ripe red fruits, and dark chocolate intertwine in a harmonious and sensual persistence. Sweet but not cloying, it is a wine created to celebrate special moments.

L’Appassimento as a Philosophy

For Ugolini Vini, Appassimento is a genuine production philosophy. It teaches the value of waiting, respect for natural cycles, and patience. Each harvest is a new chapter in this slow and precise story, a dialogue between man and nature renewed for generations.

“Nothing great is born in a hurry,” Giambattista Ugolini likes to recall. “Wine, like life, requires time. And time, if listened to, knows how to give back beauty.”

Tasting the Appassimento Wines at Villa San Michele

Those wishing to truly understand the magic of Appassimento can experience it where it all begins. At Villa San Michele, Ugolini Vini’s wine tour "The History of Appassimento" leads visitors to discover the vineyards, the drying room, and the winery's signature wines.

Seated on the panoramic terrace, with one's gaze lost among the Fumane hills and a glass of Amarone or Recioto in hand, one understands that Appassimento is a form of art, a way of thinking about and experiencing wine.

Appassimento is a slow breath, suspended between the earth and time. And in Ugolini's wines, it finds its most authentic voice.