My brother-in-law (let’s just call him Uncle Bunk) is a really good guy. I say this with conviction and affection because, in addition to his winning personality, good humor and great character (and believe me he is a great character), he occasionally surprises me with gifts of wine. And I ask you: what better measure of character is there? Anyway, several years ago Uncle Bunk presented me with bottle of wine that, to this day, remains one of my “go to” reds when I need something I can count on to compliment the full flavored or heavily seasoned foods that regularly grace the table in my home. Some of you who have read my vinous tomes over the years know of my fondness for full-flavored purple zins. However, you might be surprised to find out zinfandel is not the wine to which I refer. No, that wine would be Valpolicella! Valpolicella? you ask incredulously. Yes, but not just any Valpolicella. I’m talking about Valpolicella on steroids and made in the ripasso (or ripassa) method. Valpolicella is located in northeastern Italy’s Veneto region and has, along with its neighbor Soave, gotten very little respect from the wine cognicenti. In recent years, that has changed and now both regions have begun to produce some exceptional wines. And while we’re talking today about Valpolicella, you might try the Gini Soave Classico ($17), a round and rich white that is nicely balanced and would make a great accompaniment to baked flounder stuffed with lump crabmeat. But I digress. Valpolicella is made from corvina, rondinalla and molinara grapes, all of which produce light to medium-bodied red wines that can be very pleasant quaffs. Valpolicella becomes something more, though, when a process called ripasso is employed during the wine making process. First though, it is necessary to tell you about Amarone which is like ripasso's bigger brother.
Amarone is produced from the same Valpolicella blend, but instead of taking the grapes from the vineyard to the crusher, the little buggers are put in buildings and on trays and allowed to shrivel up and dry out like raisins.This exercise increases the sugar content so that the resulting wine is a powerful, dark and very alcoholic brute that is then aged in wood for a couple of years before it is bottled. Amarone usually costs between $50 and $100 and is one of the most unique wines I’ve ever tasted. To make a ripasso, new Valpolicella wine is refermented by combining it with the pressings or pomace from the Amarone, and sometimes with the addition of dried grapes. The resulting ripasso wine is considerably darker and fuller bodied than Valpolicella, but not as powerful as Amarone. The ripasso process was invented in the early 1960’s by the well-respected Valpolicella producer Masi. Their ripasso is called Campofiorin and is still among my favorites. So how was I introduced to this lovely elixir? Well, it turns out that Uncle Bunk – who is quite the world traveler and bon vivant – took his lovely bride to Verona to visit the apocryphal home where Romeo met Juliet.As luck would have it, the Bunkster’s amorous advances later that evening were not repelled, due in large measure to the quantity of ripasso consumed by the love birds. I’m grateful for Romeo, er…Uncle Bunk’s night of ecstasy in Verona because it prompted him to present me with a bottle of Allegrini Pallazo Della Torre on his return from Italy. To this day, I find it difficult to pass up the latest vintage of ripasso. The wines are just shy of the intensity of zinfandel, with ripe, dark plum and blackberry flavors and with balancing acidity that makes them excellent food wines. Just this past week, I opened up a bottle of 2005 Zenato Ripassa ($22) to accompany the beef short ribs I had braised in red wine. Spectacular! In addition to Masi, Allegrini and Zenato, other ripasso producers to look for are Bertani, Tommasi, Farina, Righetti and Mazzi. You should be able to find some of these wines around the state and, if not, you should ask your wine shop to order them. Most are priced between $15 and $25 a bottle.