Amarone – halting the decline?

Ten of the most influential producers of Amarone have teamed up to reverse what they call the 'trading down' of one of Italy's most important wines, Amarone. The producers have formed an association, Le Famiglie dell'Amarone d'arte or Amarone Families, to voice their concern over what they see as the wine's increasing loss of identity.

In recent years, Amarone has become an international success to such an extent that production figures have tripled over the last 10 years, from 2.3 million bottles in 1999 to more than 8 million in 2007, resulting in lower prices and lower quality overall, as...