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Great Wine Values: Masi Campofiorin, Veneto, Italy

    by Marnie Old, FOR THE INQUIRER
    Published 

The hills around Verona are known for two red wines -- lightweight, slurpable Valpolicella and its expensive raisiny variant, Amarone -- and this wine combines the best of both in one bottle.

Masi is a leading producer of Amarone, a brooding beast of a wine made by drying Valpolicella grapes for months before winemaking begins.

Lowering their water content concentrates and strengthens the wine significantly.

For Campofiorin, Masi pioneers a middle way. First, it makes a premium Valpolicella, reserving a fraction of its corvina, rondinella and molinara grapes. These are partially dried, as for Amarone, but then added back into the finished Valpolicella to ferment a second time, boosting the wine's color, flavor, and texture without losing the lighter red's freshness and vibrancy. The resulting wine is pure pleasure to drink -- as if someone had distilled the essence of decadent chocolate-covered brandied cherries and infused them seamlessly into orchard-fresh black cherries, leaving all the excess sugar, fat, and booze behind.

Masi Campofiorin, Veneto, Italy, $14.99, PLCB Item #6188 (sale price through April 2, regularly $18.99).