On Monday Austin experienced its first total solar eclipse since the year 1397, so it seemed like a good time to pull an Italian vino da meditazione from the cellar and head outside to watch the celestial performance. Vino da meditazione (meditation wine) is an unofficial category of Italian wines that are considered too complex or too alcoholic to enjoy with most foods; the idea is to sip them after a meal while you contemplate great things.
- With eclipse sunglasses at the ready and wine glasses at hand, we stationed ourselves on the Wine Concepts solar observation deck and BBQ center. Although there was heavy cloud cover, we were able to catch periodic views of the moon slowly engulfing the sun. The temperature dropped noticeably, and for a brief moment it was as dark as night.
- One can imagine how the ancients, with benefit of modern learning, thought that such occasions were ominous.
Our vino da meditazione was an Amarone della Valpolcella, from northeast Italy’s Veneto region. This is a unique wine style that was discovered by mistake. Hey, Columbus messed up too, not all mistakes are bad. Amarone is made using the appassimento process in which grapes are dried on mats or in wooden boxes for several months, reducing their volume by more than a third and concentrating their sugars. The result is almost raisin-like grapes (see below) that typically make a sweet, high alcohol wine called Reciotto. Sometimes, however, the wine continues to ferment until most of the sugar is gone, and then you have Amarone. A good Amarone is powerful and full-bodied with intense flavors, a pleasant bitterness, and gentle tannins.
- In the 1950s producers finally figured out that Amarone was a good thing, and commercial production took off.
- Amarone’s reputation suffered in the 1970s and 1980s, when many producers chose quantity over quality, but it it has since been restored. Amarone is now considered one of the classic wines of northern Italy.
- The key in picking a good Amarone is the producer. Some good, generally available brands include: Allegrini, Bertoni, Masi, Mazzi, Tedeschi, and Tomassi.
- Be aware, however, that Amarone is one of those wines that people either like or hate; one of our tasters enjoyed the wine but another made a disgruntled noise and pushed the glass away after the first sip.
Our featured wine is the 2016 Mazzi Amarone della Valpolicella “Punta di Villa” (about $55 retail). It’s made primarily with Corvina, with smaller portions of Rondinella and Corvinone grapes in the blend. (These are the same local grapes used in Valpolicella). It’s aged in small French oak barrels for two years, and another six months in bottle before release. This ruby red wine is full-bodied, powerful, and high alcohol at 16 percent. It has aromas of prune, fig, and mocha. On the palate it displays dark fruit, mocha, a hint of sweetness, a nice acidity, and a medium, pleasantly bitter finish. The bottom line is that it has a distinctive taste.
- Amarone would pair nicely with a beef stew or roasted meat, but it’s also good with a simple chunk of Parmesan-Reggiano cheese. Serve it around 65 degrees.
- Sadly, despite the solar phenomenon and a meditation wine I didn’t come up with any profound thoughts. . .
Cheers!