We recently completed another food and wine pairing at Chef Mavro for our autumn menu change.

The four Mondays a year that our committee meets are among my favorite times. We sit down as a staff, try each new menu item with five different wines that I pre-select, and vote on the best pairing. It is a wonderful time to try new and different wines and be re-acquainted with old ones that may have slipped away from my memory.

In this recent tasting there was one wine, Cesari Mara Valpolicella Superiore di Ripasso, that stood out from the rest and was selected by the staff to accompany our new roast pork dish with fresh wasabi-flavored green apple, puree of parsnips, and sweet-and-sour pork jus. It's a wine that stands out in part for the unique way it is produced.

Valpolicella wines are produced in the northeast of Italy, in the Veneto region. The wines date back to Roman times, although they were known then as something else, and are now classified as denominazione di origine controllata (DOC), the second tier of the Italian classification system. DOC wines must follow certain regulations and guidelines in producing their wines to maintain quality and standard levels. With DOC Superiore on the label they must follow even stricter guidelines and the grapes must be harvested from certain vineyards.

Ripasso is a wine-making technique started in 1964. The young Valpolicella wine is fermented on the lees (the left-over grapes and skins) of Amarone wines. Amarone wines are produced using dried grapes — drying concentrates the sugar levels in the wines and allows for fuller-bodied wines with higher alcohol levels. The wines are fermented for about three weeks and then left to age for about one year in oak barrels. The resulting wines are less fruity than regular Valpolicella, more robust, have a deeper color, higher alcohol level, and less acidity. The normal grape blend in a Valpolicella Superiore di Ripasso is about 70 to 75 percent corvina veronese, 20 percent rondinella, and 5 percent molinara, a slightly higher percent of the corvina veronese than regular Valpolicella. While the alcohol levels are higher than normal Valpolicella, they are not high by any means and usually fall between 13 and 14 percent.

Some Valpolicella Ripassos to keep an eye open for are:

• The one I mentioned earlier that we are featuring with our new pork dish, the Cesari Mara Valpolicella Superiore di Ripasso 2006, with notes of ripe cherries and blackberries, preserved plums, a hint of licorice, spice, polished tannins and a long finish, for around $38.

• Next, from one of my favorite producers in the Venetos: a Tommasi Viticoltori Ripasso Classico Superiore Valpolicella 2007, full and spicy on the nose with loads of black pepper, intense black cherry, blackberry, raisin, full on the palate with sweet fruit and more spice, for around $27.

• And, finally, a wine from another of my favorite Italian producers: a Zenato Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso 2005, with perfume and floral notes on the nose, dried fruit and licorice, spice, a hint of smoke, complex with great depth, for around $28.