Millefiori Appassimento IGT Rosso del Veneto, Orion Wines

Description

Millefiori Appassimento is a red wine made from semi-dried grapes in the Veneto region of Italy. It is made by Orion Wines, a company created to bring together interesting wines from small growers and wineries from all over Italy. The company was created by Luca Pomaro and winemaker Alessandro Michelon and Orion Wines retains complete control over the vineyards and growers they work with. The idea is to produce wines from indigenous grapes that express the typicity of the particular region where they are grown. Millefiori Appassimento is a blend of 60% Corvina and 40% Merlot grapes sourced from selected low-yielding vineyards near the town of San Pietro in Cariono, in the province of Verona. The vines have an average age of 30 years old. At harvest, in early October, approximately 60% of the picked grapes are placed into small wooden 5kg crates. These crates are then placed in the “fruttaio”, a temperature and humidity contolled loft where the grapes are left to dry until December. During the “appassimento”, or drying process, the grapes lose up to 50% of their weight, thereby concentrating the flavours, aromas and natural sweetness. The non-dried grapes are vinified normally and the wine is allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation. In December the dried grapes are destemmed, crushed and vinified in stainless steel. This fermentation is very slow and takes approximately 30 days at a temperature of 24C followed by malolactive fermentation. In the early February following harvest the two wines are blended together. 50% of the blend is aged in first and second fill American and French oak barriques for 12 months.