Alpha Zeta's 'A' Amarone della Valpolicella offers a powerful, full-bodied taste experience with intense aromas of dried cherries and blueberries laced with notes of spiced autumn fruit compote. Ripe tannins and concentrated savoury cherry fruit character bring balance to the smoky finish. Enjoy by the fire for an elegant and indulgent evening.

About the Producer

In 1999, Liberty Wines initiated Alpha Zeta to craft a selection of contemporary, fruit-forward wines from the hills around Verona. Matt Thomson, a renowned New Zealand vintner, joined forces with the organization to partner with growers (rather than acquire bulk wine, which is commonplace among wines from Verona in this price range) and guarantee ripe grapes (through yield reduction and later harvesting). Thanks to Matt's knowledge, the flavours of these grapes were preserved in the wines. The outcome: a testament to the latent potential in Veronese viticulture.

Vineyard and Winery

The vineyards are situated at 100-400 metres above sea level in the hills outside Verona, in the Valpantena Valley, on south/southeast facing slopes. Cool breezes blow down the valley from the foothills of the Dolomites, which moderate the climate, enabling the grapes to ripen and helping them to retain their aromatic compounds and acidity. The soil is poor and chalky so the vines are put under stress and produce superior quality fruit. The vines are 20-30 years old on average and are trained using both the traditional Pergola Veronese and Guyot systems.

Selected grapes were hand harvested in mid-September and left to dry in specially ventilated rooms until the end of January. During this time the grapes lost about 40% of their natural weight. The grapes were destemmed and crushed at the end of January. Fermentation temperature was between 18-20°C with daily periodic pumping over, while the length of maceration was 20 days. This Amarone was matured in French oak barriques for 18 months and transferred into concrete tanks for final filtration before bottling.