🍷 Appassimento
A method in which grapes are partly dried for months before pressing.
Appassimento is an Italian method in which grapes are partly dried for weeks or months before pressing. The bunches are laid on racks or hung in airy rooms. The berries lose water, about 30–40% of their weight, and the sugar, acids and aromas become more concentrated.
The method is mostly tied to Italian winemaking, especially the Valpolicella area. Amarone and Recioto are made from dried grapes. For Ripasso, young wine is soaked once more on the pomace left from this fruit. A similar idea stands behind straw wine, Italian passito and the Israeli shfursat.
Drying gives a richer, denser and often stronger wine, or a sweet wine. It takes a lot of space, time and fruit, because dried berries give very little juice. That is why such wines usually cost more than ordinary ones. The drying time depends on the grape, the weather and the style of the wine.
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Appassimento → kind of → 🏺 Ancient and special winemaking methods → kind of → 🍷 Types of wine → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
- Part of
- 🏺 Ancient and special winemaking methods
- Related to
- 🗺️ Italian wine
- Similar and different
- 🍷 Straw wine, 🍷 Passito, 🍷 Amarone, 🍷 Recioto, 🍷 Sforzato
Frequently asked questions
What is appassimento?
It is a way of partly drying grapes before pressing so that the wine becomes more concentrated.
Which wines are made by appassimento?
For example Amarone and Recioto from Valpolicella and other Italian wines made from dried grapes.
How much do grapes lose during drying?
Usually about 30–40% of their weight, mostly water.
What to read next
- 🗺️ Italian wine — The country's wine and winemaking: regions, grape varieties, appellations.
- 🍷 Sforzato — A dry red wine from partly dried Nebbiolo in Alpine Valtellina.
Similar
🍷 Passito · 🍷 Recioto · 🍷 Ripasso · 🍷 Vin Santo · 🍷 Amarone · 🍷 Strohwein