"There was a particularly festive atmosphere this year at “Amarone Preview Vintage 2006” for two unsuspecting reasons. For years, Valpolicella was considered a prestigious Italian wine region, but wasn’t formally recognized until it was awarded the “Wine Region of the Year 2009″ by the authoritative American magazine, ‘Wine Enthusiast‘. The other four wine regions in the running were: Champagne, the Rhone Valley in France, California’s Russian River Valley, and Stellenbosch in South Africa, all of which provided very stiff competition".

Palate Press, February 24