Corvinone is a red

Italian wine Italian wine is produced in every region of Italy. Italy is the world's largest producer of wine, with an area of under vineyard cultivation, and contributing a 2013–2017 annual average of 48.3 million hl of wine. In 2018 Italy accounted fo ...

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variety native to the

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

region of northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. In 2010 a total grape growing area of was planted worldwide, with all of it in Italy save for in

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. Seldom found in

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...

alone, Corvinone is blended, along with Rondinella,

Molinara Molinara is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania, located about 80 km northeast of Naples and about 20 km northeast of Benevento. Molinara borders the following municipalities: Foi ...

and other autochthonous varieties, in Corvina-dominant red wines of the Valpolicella and

Bardolino Bardolino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about west of Venice and about northwest of Verona. Geography Located on the eastern shore of Lake Garda, Bardolino borders the followi ...

regions of

. Corvinone is similar enough to the more widespread Corvina variety that it has historically often been mistaken as a clone; indeed its name in Italian suggests a meaning of "large corvina". More recent ampelographical work and

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has shown it to be a separate variety, however.

Viticulture and winemaking

Corvinone produces winged pyramidal bunches, larger and more loosely packed than Corvina, and ripening later (mid-October). Individual grapes of Corvinone are larger too, making the variety suitable for drying, part of the winemaking process for several Valpolicella wine styles, most notably Amarone and Recioto. Since the 1990s, Corvinone has become more important in the blending of these red wines. Most sources say the blend is Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara, often omitting Corvinone because it was not always recognised as a separate variety. It has become more popular with winemakers than Molinara due to its denser colour and superior flavours. As a result, its growing area in

between 2000 and 2010 increased more than ten-fold from just to , whilst in the same period that of Molinara dropped from to .

References

{{wines Wine grapes of Italy Wine grapes of Veneto Red wine grape varieties