Alpha Zeta "R" Valpolicella Ripasso

This wine is made using a traditional Veronese practice known as ‘Ripasso’. Traditionally, the young wine was re-fermented on the skins of the Amarone grapes once they had finished fermenting. The new, more expensive approach is to ferment the young wine together with dried grapes, giving the wine more body and depth. This blend of modern and traditional winemaking produces a wine with a combination of freshness, structure and depth that is fairly unique among Ripassos.

Alpha Zeta was started in 1999 when Liberty Wines set out to produce a range of modern, fruit driven wines from the hills outside Verona. Working with leading New Zealand winemaker, Matt Thomson, our aim was to work with growers (rather than buy bulk wine, which is standard among most wines from Verona at this price) to obtain ripe grapes (by reducing yields and picking later) and then, using Matt's expertise, preserve these flavours in the finished wines. The result is a realisation of the potential inherent in Veronese viniculture.