Color: Full-bodied red wine
Country: Italy
Region: Veneto
Producer: Fratelli Zeni, Bardolino
Grape varieties: Corvina 60%, Molinara 20%, Rondinella 20%

Winemaking: The grapes are picked in 3 harvest rounds, 30% at the beginning of the harvest, 20% during, and 50% at the end. This is done to achieve as many different flavors in the wine as possible, from just-ripe to overripe red fruit. The grapes from the 1st and 2nd pickings are left to dry. After the 3rd picking, the entire harvest is fermented for 8 to 10 days, after which the wine is brought into contact in February for 1 week with the lees/sediment of Amarone, giving the wine a secondary fermentation. This gives this ‘Ripasso’ its full, rich flavor. (For clarity: Amarone is a very special Valpolicella, made from grapes dried for months.) After this, the ‘Ripasso’ matures for 10 to 12 months in new large 1500-liter barrels made of French oak. Ripasso literally means to pass again, so the wine, after normal fermentation, is brought into contact with the Amarone lees for a second time. The Ripasso contains 4 grams of residual sugar per liter.

Producer information: Since 1870, the Zeni family has been making wine on this beautiful estate in northern Italy. The tradition and knowledge of five generations and working with classic, indigenous grape varieties form the basis for the real Italian character of the wines from this house. Fausto Zeni, assisted by his two sisters Federica and Elena, produces about 1 million bottles of wine per year, of which 1/3 comes from their own vineyards. Grapes for the rest of the production are purchased from farmers in the area with whom long-term contracts are made to ensure and control grape quality. In 2010, an impressive barrel cellar was built under the premises. Zeni’s vineyards are scattered along the southeastern shore of Lake Garda. They also operate a wine museum, renovated in 2017. Many objects from viticulture can be viewed here, and wine can also be tasted. Signs in the tourist town of Bardolino point to the ‘Museo del Vino’.

Region information: The Veneto wine region (75,000 ha) borders the Adriatic Sea and stretches to Lake Garda and Trentino. It is one of Italy's most important wine regions in terms of production volume. Verona and Venice are the main cities of the area. In recent years, there has been enormous investment in this wine region. The climate is a mix between the Alpine/continental climate and the Mediterranean climate. The sometimes volcanic soil consists of red and brown earth on rubble, as well as marl and basalt. Viticulture in this part of Italy is very old and dates back to before the beginning of the era. 75% of the wines are white. The name Valpolicella dates from that time and literally means 'valley of the many (wine) cellars.' The Valpolicella area lies in the hills north and east of Verona. Here in Fumane, Zeni has his separate wine cellar where the grapes for all Valpolicellas are vinified and those for Ripassos and Amarones are dried.

To serve with: With roasted and grilled (from the green egg or BBQ) red meat, game, poultry such as duck, stews, combinations with spices and sweet components, Asian flavors, spicy, hard and blue cheeses.

Serving temperature: 16 to 18ºC

Other information: 'Marogne' refers to the small walls in the vineyards, which are meant to prevent soil erosion.