Part of the story of the Valpolicella region is a familiar one in Italian wine: a storied region achieves international success, the DOC then expands massively and does not regulate the means of production enough to ensure continued quality, consumers run for the exits. In Valpolicella’s case, however, there was a twist. The once rarely produced Amarone della Valpolicella, a dryish, full-bodied red wine made from raisinated grapes, the same used in regular Valpolicella, Corvina, Rondinella, Corvinone and others, became a huge success in the 80s, rescuing the Valpolicella producers from the sins of their DOC. Then in the 2000s came Ripasso di Valpolicella, made by adding the unpressed skins from Amarone or Recioto (a dessert wine made from raisins) to regular Valpolicella to resume fermentation, adding more alcohol, tannins and extract and thereby making a full-bodied wine. The fashion of the times favored big wines, so regular Valpolicella production declined steadily until it nearly disappeared from shelves and wine lists. Thankfully the pendulum has swung back in favor of light, refreshing red wines and we are starting to see regular Valpolicella recover. Tenuta Sant’Antonio is run by the four Castagnedi brothers whose family has a long history of wine production in the region. Sustainably farmed younger vines from their hillside vineyards are used to make this unoaked, fresh, fruity and spicy wine, with structure similar to Beaujolais. Notes of cherry, pomegranate and oranges, offset by a tinge of peppery herbs make this suitable for everything from cioppino to burgers. Please note this wine has a glass topper, so just remove the foil and pull!