DOCG Red

Amarone Della Valpolicella - Vivaldi

Vivaldi

Grapes
Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella
Denomination
Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG
Region
Veneto
ABV
15.5%
Drink
Now to 2035

Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG from Vivaldi, a Verona label owned by Cantina Valpolicella Negrar. Appassimento-dried Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella at 15.5%, with dried cherry, plum and dark chocolate. A well-liked, affordable Amarone.

Price
£28.31

2021 · 75cl · checked 27 Oct · Delivery £6 for 1 to 6 bottles, £0.50 per extra bottle

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Where to buy Amarone Della Valpolicella - Vivaldi

£28.31 price · 1 retailer in stock · checked 27 Oct 2026

One shop sells this wine in the UK, so there is no price to compare between shops. Each price is the one on its page today, read daily.

Vinatis Best price 2021 · 75cl · checked 27 Oct · Delivery £6 for 1 to 6 bottles, £0.50 per extra bottle
Read from the retailer's page once a day. Confidence is low, so treat it as a guide and confirm at the retailer.
£28.31 £37.75/L
Buy

Stock status is read from each retailer’s page once a day and may lag.

Tasting Notes

Dark chocolate, plum and the raisin edge of appassimento

Dark chocolate and vanilla oak lead, then plum and blackberry, with the prune and raisin notes that come from drying the grapes. Vivaldi's own cellar notes name sour cherries in spirit, dried flowers and sweet spice over well-polished tannins. It is bold, dry and tannic at 15.5%.

Tasted by
ItalianWines editorial
Tasted on
12 July 2026
Vintage in glass
2021
Source
Drinker consensus · confidence Medium
Typical of Corvina
Body Light / Full
Tannins Smooth / Grippy
Sweetness Dry / Sweet
Acidity Soft / Crisp
Nose

Sour cherries preserved in spirit, dried flowers and sweet spice, as Vivaldi's own cellar notes have it, then plum, blackberry and a clear dark-chocolate-and-vanilla oak lift. The appassimento drying shows as prune and raisin. There is a leather-and-earth note beneath.

Black cherryBlack cherry
PlumPlum
PrunePrune
RaisinRaisin
LeatherLeather
LiquoriceLiquorice
VanillaVanilla
ChocolateChocolate
Palate

Bold and dry despite the raisined concentration, carried by 15.5% alcohol and structure with softness. Well-polished tannins frame plum and dried cherry rather than fresh fruit. The 2021 is full of classic Amarone flavour.

Finish

The close is warm and savoury, with dark chocolate, liquorice and a dried-fig sweetness that lingers without turning heavy in this more balanced 2021.

Overall

An affordable, widely enjoyed take on Amarone della Valpolicella from the Negrar co-op's Vivaldi label: dried-fruit richness, oak-spice depth and a well-liked record with drinkers, best decanted alongside braised meat.

Drink now Best by 2035
Live UK pricing

What around £29 buys in Amarone della Valpolicella

One UK retailer currently lists the 2021 at £29.22, which places it among the more affordable wines in the DOCG. Amarone is expensive to make because the grapes are dried for months and lose up to 40% of their weight before pressing, so a sub-£30 example leans on the scale of the Cantina Valpolicella Negrar co-op behind the Vivaldi label.

Best price · 75 cl · 2021 £28.31 at Vinatis
75cl · 2021 available from Vinatis £28.31, in stock
Vintages live 2021 Current release: 2021
Per-litre (75cl · 2021 basis) £37.75 Lowest current 75cl · 2021 offer
Last checked 27 Oct 2026 Refreshed once every 24 hours
Wine fit score

Where this Amarone fits: food, value and occasion

A full-bodied, 15.5% Amarone is a special-occasion red before it is an everyday pour. It scores well for food and for the price it asks within the DOCG, and it suits a beginner curious about appassimento, but its weight and warmth make it a poor match for a casual weeknight glass.

Best with food 8.8/10

Its 15.5% weight and firm tannins are built for braised beef, lamb ragù and aged cheese.

Best for an occasion 8.2/10

Rich, warming and recognisably Amarone, it suits a celebratory dinner or a cold-weather feast.

Best value 7.4/10

At about £29 it is one of the more affordable ways into Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG, and a well-liked one.

Best intro to this style 6.2/10

A clear, fruit-forward introduction to appassimento, though its alcohol and richness ask for food alongside.

Best for cellar 5.5/10

Structured enough to hold through roughly 2035, but this entry-tier bottling is made to enjoy young rather than to lay down.

Best everyday bottle 2.8/10

At 15.5% and full-bodied, it is a weekend-roast wine rather than a weeknight pour.

Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our Wine Fit Score methodology.

Denomination Compliance Snapshot

Amarone della Valpolicella in five fields

A compact view of what the Amarone della Valpolicella denomination actually requires, and how this bottle sits inside it. Pulled from the official Italian disciplinare.

Allowed grapes
3 varieties listed
This bottle: Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella.
Minimum ageing
24 months minimum
No oak ageing required.
Region / area
Verona
Source: Disciplinare.
Style
DOCG · Amarone della Valpolicella
Minimum ABV at this colour: 14.0%.
Classification
DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita)
What that means →
Vintages

Why 2021 is one of Valpolicella's stronger recent years

Growers call 2021 in Valpolicella poca ma buona, low in yield after an April frost but high in quality. A moderate summer that rarely pushed past 33°C and a wide day-to-night temperature swing through September let Corvina ripen evenly, giving balanced, fruit-defined Amarone that trade critics place at the level of the excellent 2019. This bottle is built to drink through about 2035.

2021 Current release
Best price
£28.31
Retailers
1 in stock
ABV
15.5%
Window
Drink now through 2035

The 2021 Valpolicella season was low-yielding after an April frost but high in quality, with a moderate summer and a wide September day-to-night swing that ripened Corvina cleanly. Expect a balanced, fruit-defined Amarone at 15.5%, built to drink through about 2035.

2021 Current release
Best price
£28.31
Retailers
1 in stock
ABV
15.5%
Window
Drink now through 2035

The 2021 Valpolicella season was low-yielding after an April frost but high in quality, with a moderate summer and a wide September day-to-night swing that ripened Corvina cleanly. Expect a balanced, fruit-defined Amarone at 15.5%, built to drink through about 2035.

Drink-now / hold guidance reflects general style cues for this wine, not a forecast for a specific bottle. Where vintage-level editorial notes exist, they appear above.

The disciplinare, the place, the label

Amarone della Valpolicella was promoted to DOCG in 2010

Amarone sits at the top of the Valpolicella hierarchy: only fully dried grapes, months of appassimento and a long, dry fermentation qualify for the DOCG. Vivaldi draws on the Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella of the Verona hills that the disciplinare requires. The appellation still defines the wine as dry, despite its raisined concentration and 15.5% alcohol.

01

DOC, DOCG, IGT: what the badges mean

Italian wine law sorts bottles into a pyramid. DOCG sits at the top: tightly drawn boundaries, prescribed grapes, mandatory ageing, government tasting before release. DOC is the same idea with looser thresholds. IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) is broader still, requiring only that 85% of the grapes come from the named territory.

Amarone della Valpolicella is in the DOCG tier. That is not a quality verdict, it is a description of how much freedom the producer has at vinification and ageing.

02

The denomination rules, in detail

  • Allowed grapes. 3 varieties listed in the disciplinare
  • Yield ceiling. 12.0 tonnes per hectare
  • Minimum ABV. 14.0% vol
  • Minimum ageing. 24 months total
  • Tasting panel. Mandatory pre-release tasting commission
03

Region and area context

Amarone della Valpolicella falls within Veneto, covering Verona. The denomination is further divided into 2 sub-zones.

Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG zone Wine routes in the zone

Wine routes in the zone: Valpolicella Classico Loop, Strada del Vino Soave.

04

Reading the label

  • VivaldiProducer / brand
  • Corvina · Corvinone · RondinellaGrape varieties
  • Amarone della Valpolicella DOCGGeographic indication and quality tier
  • 2021Vintage (year of harvest)
  • 15.5% vol · 75 clAlcohol by volume and bottle size
05

What sits behind the price of Amarone Della Valpolicella - Vivaldi

Tracked from
£28.31
Direction
Mostly cost up
Drivers
3 up / 2 down
Main factor
Appassimento drying and yield loss
  1. 01

    Appassimento drying and yield loss

    Cost up

    Grapes are dried on racks for months and lose up to 40% of their weight before pressing, so each bottle needs far more fruit than a standard red, the single biggest reason Amarone costs more than Valpolicella.

  2. 02

    DOCG rules and long ageing

    Cost up

    Amarone della Valpolicella earned DOCG status in 2010 and requires a minimum two years of ageing, tying up capital and cellar space before the wine can be released and sold.

  3. 03

    Co-op scale behind the Vivaldi label

    Cost down

    Vivaldi is owned by the large Cantina Valpolicella Negrar cooperative, whose volume and shared drying facilities keep this bottling near £29 rather than the £40 and up of estate Amarone.

  4. 04

    UK duty and VAT

    Cost up

    UK excise duty adds about £2.67 per bottle in 2026 and 20% VAT applies on top, a fixed cost that weighs proportionally heavier on an affordable Amarone like this one.

  5. 05

    Negociant sourcing, not a single estate

    Cost down

    Fruit is selected across the Valpolicella zone for the Vivaldi brand rather than from one estate or cru, trading vineyard prestige for a lower shelf price.

01

Appassimento drying and yield loss

Cost up

Grapes are dried on racks for months and lose up to 40% of their weight before pressing, so each bottle needs far more fruit than a standard red, the single biggest reason Amarone costs more than Valpolicella.

Perfect Pairings

Dishes that go with this wine

Stilton, plated

Stilton
Food Pairing

Built for braised beef, lamb ragù and aged cheese

Vivaldi's 15.5% weight and firm, well-polished tannins want fat and protein to lean on. The producer points to noble red meats and beef braised with plums; beef, lamb, game and blue cheese all suit it. The dried-fruit sweetness in the aroma flatters slow-cooked, savoury dishes rather than anything delicate or fiery.

Fat cutting Strong match

Char-grilled T-bone

A char-grilled Fiorentina gives the 15.5% alcohol and well-polished tannins the fat and char they need, so the wine reads as smooth rather than hot. This is the red-meat match Vivaldi's notes call for.

Try with: Fiorentina steak · More pairings →

Tannin softening Good match

Slow-braised beef

Slow-braising renders enough collagen and fat to round off Amarone's grip, while the wine's dried-plum sweetness echoes a braise finished with fruit, exactly the beef-with-plums pairing the producer suggests.

Try with: Brasato al Barolo · More pairings →

Body matching Strong match

Marrow-rich veal shank

The gelatinous richness of veal shank and marrow stands up to the raisined weight of appassimento fruit, so neither the dish nor the 15.5% wine overpowers the other.

Try with: Ossobuco alla Milanese · More pairings →

Aromatic bridge Good match

Lamb ragù

Prune and dried-cherry aromatics from the dried grapes bridge to the sweet, long-cooked depth of a lamb ragù, the lamb pairing it suits best.

Try with: Agnello Ragu Lucano · More pairings →

Salt balance Good match

Aged pecorino

A mature pecorino's salt and crystalline crunch balance the wine's dried-fruit sweetness and coax its tannin softer, the classic aged-cheese match for this wine.

Try with: Pecorino sardo e pan carasau · More pairings →

Avoid Clash

Chilli-hot pasta

Skip chilli-hot arrabbiata: the 15.5% alcohol amplifies the capsaicin burn and the tannins turn coarse, flattening the wine's dried-fruit sweetness.

Skip with: Pasta arrabbiata · Pairing guide →

Drinking + cellar

Open now or hold the 2021 to about 2035

Amarone is a wine of structure rather than fragility, and this 2021 has the fruit and tannin to keep through roughly 2035. There is no need to wait: decant it into a carafe and serve at 16 to 18°C, as the producer advises, and the raisined fruit and chocolate show at once. Cellaring is optional insurance, not a requirement, at this price.

Drinking window
2024 → 2035

Peak around 2029. Best in the years above; holds without falling over either side.

Decanting
30 minutes

A short splash decant softens the first-pour edge and opens the aromatics.

Serving temperature
16-18°C

Aim for the cooler end on a warm day; warmer end opens up more aromatics.

Cellar potential
Medium

Structured enough to hold through roughly 2035, but this entry-tier bottling is made to enjoy young rather than to lay down.

Buy now or wait?
Buy now

£28.31 for a 75cl bottle of the 2021, at Vinatis, is the best price we track, and we have no signal of further discounting.

Sources & trust

Sources behind this Vivaldi Amarone page

Prices & stock

Read directly from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Last refresh: 27 Oct 2026, 04:55 BST. We do not hold stock and we do not accept payment for placement.

Confidence · High
Tasting notes

Drawn from published drinker ratings, summarised in our own words. A crowd read across many tasters, not a single critic.

Confidence · Medium
Appellation rules & ageing

From the official Italian disciplinare for this denomination, cross-checked against the Ministry of Agriculture register.

Confidence · High
Why it costs what it costs

Our reading of the price, drawn from the disciplinare, public UK duty rates, and typical landed-cost benchmarks. Not a quote from the producer or a retailer.

Confidence · Medium
Drink window & cellar potential

Style guidance for this kind of wine at this price point. Treat it as advice, not a forecast for the bottle in your hand.

Confidence · Medium
Related

How this Amarone links to its grapes and Valpolicella

Grapes
Corvina Corvinone Rondinella
Denomination
Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG
Region
Veneto Region guide
Cuisine
British Cuisine 1 dishes paired

Common Questions

Vivaldi is a Verona wine label, Vini Valli di Verona, founded in 2004 by oenologist Daniele Acco and owned by the Cantina Valpolicella Negrar cooperative. The Amarone is made in Valpolicella from Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella dried by the traditional appassimento method.

It is a full-bodied, dry red at 15.5% alcohol. Dark chocolate and vanilla oak stand out, then plum and blackberry. Appassimento drying adds raisin and dried cherry, with a leather edge and well-polished tannins.

Serve at 16 to 18°C and decant it into a carafe before drinking, as the producer advises. The 2021 will drink well through about 2035, so there is no rush to open it.

Reach for braised and grilled red meat, lamb ragù and aged hard cheese. The producer suggests noble red meats and beef braised with plums; beef, lamb, game and blue cheese all work. Avoid chilli-heavy dishes, where the 15.5% alcohol amplifies the heat.

At around £29 it sits at the affordable end of Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG. Drying the grapes into raisins, and the yield loss that follows, is what drives the price up. It is a well-liked Amarone at the price.

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Amarone Della Valpolicella - Vivaldi
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