Grape Guide
Corvinone
RedCorvinone is a black-skinned Veneto variety grown almost entirely in the Valpolicella and Bardolino zones, where it works as a partner and partial substitute for Corvina. Its large berries, loose bunches and thick skins dry well for Amarone and Recioto, and it contributes fresh acidity, red-fruit flavor and structure to blends.
Key characteristics
- Distinct variety from Corvina, confirmed by ampelography and DNA profiling
- Large berries on loose, winged, pyramidal bunches
- Ripens late, around mid-October in the Veneto
- Thick skins resist grey rot during drying
- Plantings rose from under 100 ha (2000) to about 930 ha (2010)
Typical flavors
Major regions
Valpolicella (Veneto) · Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG · Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG · Valpolicella Valpantena · Bardolino (Veneto) · Verona IGT
Also known as
Corvinon · Cruinon
Corvinone is a red grape of the province of Verona whose name translates roughly as "big Corvina". It has traditionally been seen as the large-berried sibling of Corvina Veronese, and for decades growers and officials treated it as a clone. It is now recognized as its own variety, and in practice it behaves differently in the vineyard and in the cellar.
In the glass, Corvinone gives wines with a little more weight and tannic grip than Corvina, together with bright acidity and flavors of red cherry, raspberry and plum, sometimes with a chocolate or bitter-almond edge as it ages. It is almost always part of a blend, usually with Corvina, Rondinella and sometimes Molinara or Croatina, and it is valued most in wines built from dried grapes. A handful of producers bottle it alone under a regional IGT, but these remain rare.
Corvinone is native to the hills around Verona, and its close resemblance to Corvina explains why it was long catalogued as a selection of that variety. Its name, along with the local forms Corvinon and Cruinon, reflects the same impression of a larger, coarser Corvina. The turning point came in 1993, when Cancellier and Angelini used ampelographic description, isoenzyme analysis and DNA profiling to show that the two are separate varieties. They considered it likely that the two are genetically related, but no parent-offspring or full-sibling relationship has been established, and the parentage of Corvinone itself is still not documented in the international databases.
For most of the twentieth century Corvinone was a minor presence in Veronese vineyards, mixed in with Corvina and only occasionally planted on its own. Its fortunes changed as Amarone and Recioto grew in commercial importance and growers looked for varieties that dry well without rotting. Official recognition as an allowed substitute for part of the Corvina share in the Valpolicella appellations was decisive, and Italian vineyard registers show the area growing from under 100 ha around 2000 to about 930 ha by 2010, with a single hectare recorded in Argentina. It is still grown almost exclusively around Verona.
Corvinone is a vigorous vine that ripens late, usually harvested in the second half of the season, around mid-October in the Veneto, later than Corvina. Its bunches are winged and pyramidal, larger and looser than those of Corvina, and the berries are notably big, ellipsoidal and blue-black with a waxy bloom. Loose bunches ventilate well, and the thick skins give good resistance to grey rot, which are two reasons it is favored for the long drying period (appassimento) that precedes Amarone and Recioto. The variety is susceptible to downy mildew. It is productive when not restrained, so yield control matters for concentration, and it is generally considered to do best on calcareous clay soils, with sites in the foothills of the Lessini mountains well suited to ripening it fully.
Corvinone is rarely vinified alone for the appellation wines. In Amarone della Valpolicella and Recioto della Valpolicella it contributes structure, tannin and a fleshy red-fruit core to the Corvina-led blend, and its large berries lose water slowly during drying, helping the fruit stay intact. In Valpolicella DOC, Valpolicella Superiore and Ripasso it adds body and acidity, and it can appear in Bardolino and Bardolino Superiore, where it brings more color and depth than the lighter local varieties. Aromas lean to cherry, raspberry and plum, with chocolate, dried fruit and subtle herbal notes emerging with age or drying. A small number of single-variety Corvinone bottlings are released as IGT wines, for example from Valpolicella estates such as Ca' La Bionda, and they tend to be medium-bodied with firm tannin and brisk acidity.
Where it grows
Valpolicella
This zone is the variety's heartland. Under the Valpolicella DOC, Amarone and Recioto rules, Corvina Veronese must make up 45 to 95 percent of the blend, and Corvinone may stand in for as much as half of that portion. Rondinella fills 5 to 30 percent, and a restricted share is left for other approved red varieties.
Amarone della Valpolicella and Recioto della Valpolicella
Corvinone is most prized in these DOCG wines, because its berries hold up through weeks of drying on racks or in drying lofts. Some producers release blends in which Corvinone accounts for a quarter or more, alongside Corvina and Rondinella.
Valpolicella Valpantena
This valley lies east of the Classico zone and belongs to the Valpolicella DOC. Corvinone is handled here just as elsewhere in the denomination, blended within the same percentage limits.
Bardolino
Along the eastern shore of Lake Garda, Corvina leads the blend, and Corvinone is allowed as a supporting grape for the Bardolino DOC and the Bardolino Superiore DOCG.
Verona IGT and Veneto IGT
These categories offer the path to a varietal Corvinone, since the traditional appellation blends do not let the grape dominate. A small group of producers relies on them for single-variety bottlings.