Wine explained
Valpolicella Ripasso Explained
Valpolicella Ripasso DOC
Valpolicella Ripasso is a dry red DOC wine made by refermenting Valpolicella, a wine from fresh grapes, for at least three days on the pomace left after Amarone or Recioto has been drawn off. The finished wine must reach 12.50% vol of alcohol, or 13.00% for the Superiore, and may not be sold before 1 January of the second year after the harvest.
Ripasso is the biggest of the Valpolicella wines by volume: 48% of the 59 million bottles counted by the producers' consortium in 2024. This page follows its official production rules, the disciplinare, step by step, from the base wine and the pomace to the release date and the words on the label, then sets out the history the same text records and how to taste and buy the wine on a winery visit. For Ripasso next to Amarone, Recioto and Valpolicella, see our page on the differences between the four wines.
What Valpolicella Ripasso is
Valpolicella Ripasso has been a denomination in its own right since a ministerial decree of 24 March 2010, which approved its first separate disciplinare; the text in force was last amended by decree of 3 August 2023. Until then the wine had sat inside the Valpolicella DOC, recognised in 1968. The rules allow the name Valpolicella Ripasso with the geographical mentions Classico or Valpantena and with the specification Superiore, and the vintage must appear on every label.
The grapes are the same as for the other three Valpolicella wines: Corvina Veronese and Corvinone together 45% to 95%, Rondinella 5% to 30%, and other authorised red grapes up to 25%. What makes Ripasso is a cellar operation, the ripasso itself: a wine made from fresh grapes is passed again over the skins of dried grapes after Amarone or Recioto has been drawn off them.
The consortium describes the result as a wine of medium structure and fairly high alcohol, which gains alcohol, polyphenols and extract from the pomace. It is also the wine the area makes most of. Of 59 million bottles of Valpolicella wines in 2024, 48% were Valpolicella Ripasso, against 29% for Valpolicella and 23% for Amarone and Recioto together (Consorzio per la Tutela dei Vini Valpolicella, 2026).
How Ripasso is made, step by step
The base is a wine from fresh grapes. The vineyard may yield up to 12 tonnes of grapes per hectare, with at least 10% vol of natural alcohol, or 11% for the Superiore, and at most 70% of the grape weight may become wine, which the rules put at 84 hectolitres per hectare. Before the ripasso, this wine must have at least 11.50% vol of total alcohol, or 12.50% vol for the Superiore.
The ripasso is a single refermentation on the pomace left after the wine destined to become Recioto or Amarone has been drawn off. That pomace must still hold at least 0.50% vol of potential alcohol. The liquid it carries must be between 10% and 15% of the volume of base wine, up to 9.36 hectolitres per hectare, and the operation must last at least three days. The base wine and the pomace must belong to the same producer.
The volume of base wine that may be passed over the pomace is at most twice the volume of Amarone or Recioto the grapes could give at a 40% yield, which the rules put at 62.4 hectolitres per hectare. The Regione del Veneto may lower this ratio to one to one on the consortium's proposal. The finished Ripasso may not exceed 71.8 hectolitres per hectare. Base wine not used for the ripasso may be used to top up Ripasso already ageing, or sold as Valpolicella.
- Base wine11.50% volWine from fresh grapes with at least 11.50% vol total alcohol
- Pomace0.50% volLeft after Amarone or Recioto is drawn off, with at least 0.50% vol potential alcohol
- Ripasso3 daysA single refermentation lasting at least three days
- Finished wine12.50% volAt least 12.50% vol actual alcohol, 13.00% for the Superiore
- Release1 JanuaryNot before 1 January of the second year after the harvest
Source: Ministero dell'agricoltura, della sovranità alimentare e delle foreste (2023).
What the rules require in the glass
When it is sold, Valpolicella Ripasso must have at least 12.50% vol of actual alcohol, with no more than 0.60% vol of potential alcohol left, which keeps it dry; the Superiore needs 13.00% vol. Total acidity must be at least 5.0 g/l, and the non-reducing extract at least 24.0 g/l, or 26.0 g/l for the Superiore. The plain Valpolicella from which it starts needs only 11.00% vol and 18.0 g/l of extract.
The official description is a deep red tending to garnet with age, a characteristic and pleasant nose, and a full, velvety, full-bodied taste. The disciplinare's account of the product says Ripasso has more structure and longevity than the basic Valpolicella, more alcohol, lower acidity, more roundness and higher extract and phenolic substances, with a ruby colour, garnet reflections, a slightly ethereal nose with notes of vanilla, and a harmonious, dry and velvety taste.
The consortium's tasting notes speak of a dark ruby colour, red fruit, marasca cherry, spice and vanilla, and its English website suggests serving the wine at 15 to 18 °C. The disciplinare adds one practical detail from the cellar: the contact between wine and pomace is kept short, so that the tannins in the seeds pass into the wine and give it its dry finish.
Release date, Superiore and the words on the label
Every Valpolicella Ripasso, whatever its mention, may be sold only from 1 January of the second year after the harvest. Wine from the 2025 harvest, for example, may reach the market from 1 January 2027. The disciplinare's description of the method speaks of ageing in wooden barrels and then in bottle, with the wine reaching the market no sooner than two years from the harvest.
Superiore is a stricter specification. It needs riper grapes (at least 11% vol of natural alcohol), a stronger base wine (12.50% vol) and a stronger finished wine (13.00% vol), with more extract. Only the Superiore may carry the vigna mention, followed by the registered name of a single vineyard whose wine is made and aged separately.
Classico and Valpantena are place names. Classico means the grapes come from Negrar, Marano, Fumane, Sant'Ambrogio or San Pietro in Cariano, and Valpantena means the valley of that name; with either mention, winemaking and ripasso must take place inside that zone. Without a mention, the wine may come from anywhere in the 19 comuni of the production area. Words such as extra, fine or scelto are banned. Ripasso is sold in glass bottles; crown caps, screw caps and pull-tab closures are not allowed, except that bottles of up to 0.375 litres may use a screw cap.
Where Ripasso comes from: the history in the rules
The historical account in the disciplinare is the producers' official story of the wine. It names retico, the wine of the Veronese hills praised by Roman writers, as the distant ancestor of all Valpolicella wines, and calls the ripasso a technique of old custom worked out by the area's growers. It says traces of the practice appear in medieval purchase deeds for vineyards and in agreements for the sale of grapes and wine, and that under the Republic of Venice the wines of the Valpolicella were called vini dogali, favoured by the doges.
In the nineteenth century, the text continues, the Società Enologica Veronese documented technical progress in the area, and at the 1873 Universal Exhibition in Vienna the wine that would become Valpolicella Ripasso received favourable reviews. In the early twentieth century the Veronese poet Berto Barbarani wrote of a Valpolicella made of velvet, which the text reads as closer to Ripasso than to the basic wine.
The practice was first regulated in the 1960s, by the prefectural decrees that governed the harvest in the Valpolicella. The first production rules and the Valpolicella DOC followed in 1968, and on 24 March 2010 ministerial decrees made Valpolicella, Ripasso, Recioto and Amarone four separate denominations.
Tasting and buying Ripasso in the Valpolicella
Ripasso depends on Amarone or Recioto. Their dried grapes may not be made into wine before 1 December, so the pomace for the ripasso only exists from the winter after the harvest. Because the base wine and the pomace must belong to the same producer, every Ripasso comes from a winery that also dries grapes for Amarone or Recioto. The disciplinare describes the base grapes as harvested traditionally in the third and fourth weeks of September, before the long drying of the Amarone grapes.
In the rules, Ripasso sits between Valpolicella and Amarone: more alcohol and extract than the basic wine, less than Amarone. The consortium suggests it with winter first courses, meat dishes, grills, cold cuts and medium-aged cheeses.
Book winery visits directly. The Strada del Vino Valpolicella lists 94 member wineries with their contacts, and the consortium publishes its own list of members with addresses and websites; neither publishes tasting prices, so ask what is included when you book. For tours with transport, see our guide to Valpolicella wine tours from Verona; for the villages where most wineries are, see the Valpolicella Classico villages; and for the grapes behind the blend, our page on Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella. Plan the day so that nobody who has been tasting drives.
Frequently asked questions
5 questionsWhat is Valpolicella Ripasso?
It is a dry red DOC wine made by refermenting Valpolicella, a wine from fresh grapes, in a single operation lasting at least three days on the pomace left after Amarone or Recioto has been drawn off. The rules require at least 12.50% actual alcohol, or 13.00% for the Superiore, and the wine gains alcohol, extract and polyphenols from the pomace.
Is Valpolicella Ripasso a DOC or a DOCG?
Valpolicella Ripasso is a DOC. It has had its own production rules since a ministerial decree of 24 March 2010, which separated it from the Valpolicella DOC. Amarone della Valpolicella and Recioto della Valpolicella are the two DOCG wines of the area, while Valpolicella and Valpolicella Ripasso are DOC.
When can Ripasso be sold?
Every type of Valpolicella Ripasso may be released only from 1 January of the second year after the harvest, so a 2025 Ripasso may reach the market from 1 January 2027. The disciplinare's own description speaks of ageing in wooden barrels and then in bottle before the wine is sold.
What does Superiore mean on a Ripasso label?
Superiore is a stricter version under the same rules. The grapes need at least 11% natural alcohol, the base wine 12.50% and the finished wine 13.00%, against 12.50% for the standard Ripasso, with a higher extract minimum of 26.0 g/l. Only the Superiore may name a single registered vineyard with the vigna mention.
What food goes with Valpolicella Ripasso?
The producers' consortium suggests Ripasso with winter first courses, meat dishes, grills, cold cuts and medium-aged cheeses, and its English website suggests serving it at 15 to 18 °C. The disciplinare names winter first courses, main courses, cured meats and medium-aged cheeses.
Related guides
3 guides- Wine explainedAmarone, Ripasso, Recioto and Valpolicella: The DifferencesAmarone, Ripasso, Recioto and Valpolicella compared from their official rules: same grapes, different methods, alcohol, sweetness, ageing and release dates.
- Wine explainedWhat Is Amarone? Grapes, Drying and the Rules Behind the WineAmarone explained from its official rules: Corvina and Rondinella dried in lofts, 14% minimum alcohol, no pressing before 1 December, two years of ageing.
- Wine explainedRecioto della Valpolicella ExplainedRecioto della Valpolicella explained from its rules: dried grapes at 14% natural alcohol, at least 2.80% left unfermented, history, labels and pairings.