Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and the Other Amarone Grapes

What the rules say about the Amarone grapes

The disciplinari of Amarone della Valpolicella, Recioto della Valpolicella, Valpolicella and Valpolicella Ripasso use the same wording for the grapes. The wines must come from vineyards which, across the producer's estate, contain Corvina Veronese (also called Cruina or Corvina) and Corvinone, alone or together, for 45% to 95%, and Rondinella for 5% to 30%.

Up to 25% may come from other grapes, in two parts. Up to 15% may be red, non-aromatic varieties authorised for the province of Verona in the national register of vine varieties, with no more than 10% for any single one. The remaining 10% may come from red varieties classed as Italian natives under national law (Law 238/2016, article 6) and authorised for the province.

Two points follow. First, the rules count Corvina and Corvinone as one quota, so a wine may be made with much more of one than the other. Second, the rules do not change from one wine to the next: Amarone has no more Corvina by law than a basic Valpolicella. The rules also fix how the vines are trained, only on wires (spalliera) or on the single or double inclined Veronese pergola, with at least 3,300 vines per hectare in new vineyards, a number that may be lowered on narrow hillside terraces with the Regione del Veneto's approval.

Corvina: the backbone of the blend

Corvina is the main grape of the area. The producers' consortium reports that 56% of the vineyard is Corvina, by far the largest share, and describes it as the backbone of the Valpolicella blend, giving the wine structure, aromas and softness (Consorzio per la Tutela dei Vini Valpolicella, 2026).

In the national register of vine varieties, Corvina N. carries code 070. It was admitted on 25 May 1970, by notice in the Gazzetta Ufficiale of 17 June 1970, and its official synonym is Cruina, the same name the disciplinari use.

The Valpolicella disciplinare calls Corvina the most important variety of the blend, because its behaviour in the cellar and its phenolic content give the wine structure and body. It says the grapes reach the harvest with average sugar and an acidity that varies with the season but is always enough to keep the wine fresh. The historical part of the same text records that the first catalogue of grape varieties, in the nineteenth century, named Corvina the typical grape of the Valpolicella.

For a visitor, the practical point is that under any of the four Valpolicella denominations Corvina must always share the vineyard with Rondinella, so no Amarone or Valpolicella is legally a single-grape Corvina wine.

Corvinone: a separate variety, counted with Corvina

The Valpolicella rules treat Corvinone together with Corvina, but the national register lists it as a variety of its own. Corvinone N. has code 328 and was admitted to the register on 15 July 1993, by notice in the Gazzetta Ufficiale of 2 August 1993, more than twenty years after Corvina.

The register lists the wines in which it is authorised: the DOCGs Amarone della Valpolicella, Recioto della Valpolicella and Bardolino Superiore; the DOCs Valpolicella, Valpolicella Ripasso and Bardolino; and the IGTs Trevenezie, Vallagarina, Veneto and Verona.

The consortium gives Corvinone 18% of the vineyard and describes it as marked by spicy notes of morello cherry, adding aromatic complexity and structure. The Valpolicella disciplinare groups it with Corvina as the grapes rich in polyphenols that give the wines their structure and their capacity to age.

Because the two share one quota of 45% to 95%, a producer may lean towards either. The denomination on the label does not say which, so ask at the tasting. The consortium's summary of the varieties gives the same 45% to 95% range to each of the two, which is the shared quota read from the rules.

Rondinella: colour and resistance

Rondinella is the second grape the rules require, at 5% to 30% of the vineyard. The consortium reports it on 19% of the vineyard, slightly more than Corvinone, and describes it as a variety very resistant to bad weather and disease that gives colour and flavour to the wine.

The Valpolicella disciplinare makes the same point about colour: it calls Rondinella particularly important for the colour it brings to the wine, while Corvina and Corvinone bring structure and longevity. In its account of how soils and slopes shape the wines, the same text singles out the native Rondinella for a broad and harmonious sensory profile.

In the national register, Rondinella N. has code 212 and was admitted on 25 May 1970, on the same day as Corvina and Molinara. The register also holds a separate entry, Rondinella RS., code 896, admitted on 23 May 2019, which is a different register entry from the Rondinella N. of the Valpolicella blend.

Rondinella rarely appears alone on a label, but in a blend it is the grape the rules ask for in every Valpolicella wine, so at any winery visit you will be tasting it alongside Corvina.

Molinara, Oseleta and the other permitted grapes

The consortium groups the rest under complementary and other varieties, which together hold 4% of the vineyard. All of them fall within the 25% of other grapes the rules allow, with the 10% limit for any single one.

Molinara is the best known. The consortium calls it a complementary native variety that gives freshness and flavour, and shows its range in the blend as 0% to 10%. In the national register Molinara N. has code 148, was admitted on 25 May 1970, and has the official synonyms Rossano and Rossanella.

The consortium then lists four others. Oseleta has small, compact clusters, buds late, gives a steady crop and is suitable for drying, adding colour and structure; it entered the register on 6 December 2000 under code 358. Croatina, often trained on Guyot and suited to clay and calcareous soils, gives notes of red and purple fruit with spicy and balsamic touches; code 071, admitted in 1970. Dindarella, with a good and steady crop and good resistance, lends itself well to drying; code 316, admitted on 23 July 1987. Spigamonti, with a red stalk and many anthocyanins, gives colour and body; code 472, admitted on 10 July 2013.

If a winery names one of these on its label or technical sheet, it is using part of that 25% allowance.

Pergola and Guyot: how the vines are grown

Most Valpolicella vines grow on pergolas. The consortium puts the pergola at 75% of the vineyard and Guyot, a low system on wires, at 25%. It calls the pergola the traditional form of growing here, with more than 2,000 years of history: the foliage shades the bunches from the sun, while the height keeps them away from frost and damp and still allows a good difference between day and night temperatures. Guyot arrived around 1870, according to the consortium, and has been adapted to the native grapes, for example by raising the fruiting cane higher than usual.

The Amarone and Valpolicella disciplinari describe the same change from the grower's side. They record that the double Veronese pergola, called tendone, has been replaced by the simple pergola and the pergoletta veronese, which renew the cane often and limit the crop on each vine. Filtering the sunlight on the bunches lets the grapes for Amarone and Recioto ripen fully by the harvest, between the third ten days of September and the first week of October, so that they can stand the long drying.

To see the grapes on the vine, visit in late summer or at harvest; to see them drying, visit a winery between the harvest and the winter pressing. Book directly with the winery, or see our guide to Valpolicella wine tours from Verona. For where the vineyards are, see the Valpolicella zones.