Comparison
Valpolicella vs Ripasso
What does "ripasso" do to the wine?
The short answer
Valpolicella and Valpolicella Ripasso are both made from Corvina, so the difference is about place and winemaking rather than the grape. The main differences: Valpolicella Ripasso has more body; Valpolicella Ripasso has more spice; Valpolicella Ripasso has more texture.
The difference here is not botanical. It comes from where the vines grow, how the wine is made and what the name has come to signal commercially — which is exactly why the two taste different in practice.
Choose
Valpolicella Ripasso
Choose Valpolicella Ripasso if you want something fuller and richer, spicier, rounder and creamier in texture.
Worth knowing
Ripasso means re-passing the young wine over the pressed skins left from Amarone. It picks up colour, alcohol and body, landing between a light Valpolicella and a full Amarone — which is exactly why it is sometimes called baby Amarone.
Where they genuinely differ
Only differences large enough to notice in the glass are listed here. A gap of half a point on a five-point scale is noise, and WineHQ does not dress it up as a finding.
Body
Clear differenceThe overall weight and viscosity of the wine in the mouth — a composite of alcohol, sugar, extract and glycerol.
Valpolicella Ripasso is fuller and richer: medium-plus against low-medium.
Spice
Clear differencePepper, clove, cinnamon and related spice notes, whether from the grape (as with rotundone in Syrah) or from oak.
Valpolicella Ripasso is spicier: medium against low.
Texture
Clear differenceMouthfeel independent of weight — from lean and cutting through to creamy, waxy or velvety. Driven by lees contact, malolactic conversion, skin contact and ageing.
Valpolicella Ripasso is rounder and creamier in texture: medium-plus against low-medium.
Sweetness
Clear differencePerceived sugar in the finished wine, driven mainly by residual sugar but modified by acidity, alcohol and fruit ripeness.
Valpolicella Ripasso is sweeter: low-medium against low.
Acidity
Clear differenceTotal perceived acidity. Rises in cooler climates and with earlier picking; falls with heat and ripeness.
Valpolicella is fresher and more acidic: high against medium-plus.
Tannin
Clear differencePhenolic compounds from grape skins, seeds, stems and oak. The principal structural axis of red wine.
Valpolicella Ripasso is more tannic and structured: medium against low-medium.
Where they are much the same
Just as useful: knowing which parts of the choice do not matter.
- Fruit intensity: Similar — both medium-plus.
- Aromatic intensity: Similar — both medium.
- Oak influence: Similar — both low-medium.
- Savoury character: Similar — both medium.
- Floral character: Similar — both low.
Full side by side
| Dimension | Valpolicella | Valpolicella Ripasso |
|---|---|---|
| Body | typically low-medium, ranging from low to medium (2/5) | typically medium-plus, ranging from medium to medium-plus (4/5) |
| Spice | low (1/5) | typically medium, ranging from low-medium to medium (3/5) |
| Texture | typically low-medium, ranging from low to medium (2/5) | typically medium-plus, ranging from medium to medium-plus (4/5) |
| Sweetness | low (1/5) | typically low-medium, ranging from low to low-medium (2/5) |
| Acidity | typically high, ranging from medium-plus to high (5/5) | typically medium-plus, ranging from medium to high (4/5) |
| Tannin | typically low-medium, ranging from low to medium (2/5) | typically medium, ranging from low-medium to medium-plus (3/5) |
| Alcohol | typically medium, ranging from low-medium to medium (3/5) | typically medium-plus, ranging from medium to medium-plus (4/5) |
| Perceived freshness | typically high, ranging from medium-plus to high (5/5) | typically medium-plus, ranging from medium to medium-plus (4/5) |
| Fruit intensity | typically medium-plus, ranging from medium to medium-plus (4/5) | typically medium-plus, ranging from medium to high (4/5) |
| Aromatic intensity | medium (3/5) | medium (3/5) |
| Oak influence | typically low-medium, ranging from low to low-medium (2/5) | typically low-medium, ranging from low to medium (2/5) |
| Savoury character | typically medium, ranging from low-medium to medium (3/5) | typically medium, ranging from low-medium to medium-plus (3/5) |
| Floral character | low (1/5) | low (1/5) |
| Herbal / green character | low (1/5) | low (1/5) |
| Earthy character | low (1/5) | low (1/5) |
| Carbonation | low (1/5) | low (1/5) |
| Serve at | 13–15°C | 15–17°C |
| Typical flavours | sour cherry, red plum, almond, violet, herbs | sour cherry, dried fig, cinnamon, plum, bitter chocolate |
Values are typical points within each wine’s range. Both wines vary — see the individual pages for how much.
Read more
Style
Valpolicella
Light, high-acid, sour-cherry red from the hills north of Verona — the fresh counterpart to Amarone.
Style
Valpolicella Ripasso
Valpolicella re-passed over the drained skins of Amarone, gaining body, alcohol and dried-fruit character.
Comparison
Amarone vs Valpolicella
Same grapes, same hills — how does one become 16% and the other 12%?
Comparison
Amarone vs Ripasso
The full-price version, and the one made from what it left behind.