Recioto is the historic wine of the Verona hills, and Amarone is a late derivation of it. It is made by appassimento: the grapes rest in drying lofts for months, concentrating sugar and extract. The difference lies in the fermentation, which in Recioto is stopped while plenty of sugar remains. The result is sweet and dense rather than fortified, because the alcohol stays moderate and nothing is added.
The name comes from the Veronese dialect word recia, meaning ear, and refers to the small lateral wings of the bunch: more exposed to the sun, riper, higher in sugar. Those were the parts selected for drying, and the word passed from the grape to the wine.
Two distinct appellations share the technique but not the colour. Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG is made from Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella: red, dark, tasting of cherries in spirit and chocolate. Recioto di Soave DOCG, recognised in 1998 as Veneto's first DOCG, is made from Garganega: white, golden, tasting of dried apricot and honey.
Both are made in tiny quantities for disproportionate labour, and are correspondingly rare. Serve them cool rather than cold; they suit dry pastries better than cream-based desserts, and the red Recioto is one of the few wines that genuinely stands up to dark chocolate.
