Corvina

Corvina is the heart of Valpolicella, the red grape that gives the wines of Verona in north-eastern Italy their bright, sour-cherry lift and their gentle, easy-drinking charm. Light to medium in body, pale to bright cherry-red in the glass, and low in tannin with fresh acidity, it makes fragrant, cherry-scented reds meant to be enjoyed young. But Corvina has a second, more dramatic life: left to shrivel on drying racks for months, its grapes concentrate into the rich, raisined power of Amarone and the sweetness of Recioto, turning a thirst-quenching everyday red into one of Italy's most opulent wines. From simple Valpolicella to the near-Port intensity of Amarone, it is the versatile, signature grape of the Veneto.