Amarone Families Introduce Latest Releases to U.S. Market

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Oct 20, 2011) - Recently, Le Famiglie dell'Amarone d'Arte (Amarone Families) educated wine industry professionals with a guided seminar and walk-around tasting at the Gansevoort Hotel Park Avenue showcasing their latest Amarone releases. Producers from all 12 of the Amarone Families -- Allegrini, Begali, Brigaldara, Masi, Musella, Nicolis, Speri, Tedeschi, Tenuta Sant'Antonio, Tommasi, Venturini, Zenato -- poured their latest releases and educated participants about the unique qualities of Amarone.

Robin Kelley O'Connor, Head of Wine for Christie's Americas, led the seminar entitled "Amarone 2001, Elegance with Age," where the Amarone Families presented their Amarone 2001 vintage in a guided tasting. O'Connor was joined by panelists Stefano Cesari, VP of Amarone Families and producer of Brigaldara; Salvatore Esposito, COO of Italian Wine Merchants; and Rubén Sanz Ramiro, Head Sommelier, Veritas.

"The Amarone Families are a dynamic coalition producing a truly unique wine that is a 'force of nature' with minimal human intervention," said Robin Kelley O'Connor. "The process to make Amarone is interpretive but exacting. The end result yields some of Italy's greatest red wines. The intrigue is in the aroma and taste. The wines are powerful but have finesse and breed. They are four legged with strength, stamina and muscle. The Amarone Families brought the magnificent 2001 vintage to tantalize our taste buds and elucidate their passion."

Each producer had the opportunity to speak to the seminar audience on topics ranging from technical aspects of making Amarone and the unique terrior of the Valpolicella Classico region to marketing Amarone in the U.S. and classic and unique food pairings.

"The tasting showed the diversity of styles in Amarone through a fantastic vintage as 2001," commented Rubén Sanz Ramiro. "That diversity of style creates a rich and unique expression of a single region [the Valpolicella Classico region] and its indigenous grape varieties, which is marked by the complex mix of terroir where different type of soils, vineyards expositions and altitudes live together. The tasting was a tour de force around the great world of Amarone."

The seminar was directly followed by a walk-around tasting where the 12 Amarone Families members poured a variety of Amarone vintages and were on hand to answer questions from trade and media about the specific elements of their Amarones.

"Amarone is unquestionably one of Italy's most exceptional, remarkable wines," said Salvatore Esposito, COO of Italian Wine Merchants. "Amarone producers have an uncompromising commitment to maintain the traditional style and quality of these wines. At Italian Wine Merchants we tell people it's a wine that never fails to bring people closer together."

About Amarone Families Group

The Amarone Families focus on protecting the legacy and traditions associated with one of Italy's most noble and robust red wines, Amarone. Their mission is preservation of the traditional character, quality and value of Amarone, keeping it a true artisanal wine, which they have seen threatened by relaxation of strict standards, including widening of the approved production zone and a large increase in volume. For more than a year, these producers have been united, publishing a manifest and using a distinctive badge of quality, a hologram with the letter "A" on their wine bottles, as a sign of their determination to defend the excellence of their production. Amarone DOC has been elevated to DOCG with the 2010 vintage, thereby raising the bar of production requirements. To learn more about Amarone wines and Amarone Families, visit http://www.amaronefamilies.it/inglese/index.html.