Wine region
Veneto
Veneto makes over a fifth of Italy’s wine: Prosecco, Amarone, Valpolicella, Soave and Bardolino between Lake Garda and the Adriatic.
- Vineyard area
- about 100,000 hectares, over a fifth of Italy’s wine
- Main grapes
- white: Glera, Garganega, Pinot Grigio; red: Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Merlot
- Appellations
- 14 DOCG and about 30 DOC
- Signature wines
- Prosecco, Amarone, Valpolicella Ripasso, Soave, Bardolino
- Speciality
- Appassimento: Amarone grapes are dried for about 100 to 120 days
- Landmark
- the Prosecco hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, UNESCO World Heritage since 2019
Veneto, in the north-east of Italy, stretches from Lake Garda in the west through Verona, Vicenza and Treviso to the Adriatic near Venice, and in the north up to the Dolomites. With about 100,000 hectares of vines it supplies over a fifth of Italy’s wine and in most years is the region with the largest output. The range is huge: from simple everyday wine to wines of world renown. The region has 14 DOCG and about 30 DOC.
The best known is Prosecco. The grape has been called Glera since 2009; Prosecco is now only the protected appellation, named after a village near Trieste. The DOC area covers nine provinces in Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia, and about 600 million bottles reach the market every year. The sparkling wine is made by the Charmat-Martinotti method in a pressure tank, which preserves freshness and fruit: apple, pear, white blossom. The best sites lie in the steep hills between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, about 50 kilometres north of Venice: 15 communes, vines on grassy terraces, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2019. About three fifths of the sparkling wine imported into Switzerland comes from Italy, much of it Prosecco.
North-west of Verona lies Valpolicella. Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella give a light, cherry-fruited Valpolicella; Ripasso, refermented over the pomace of Amarone, has more body. For Amarone della Valpolicella, also DOCG, the grapes dry for about 100 to 120 days on racks (appassimento), their sugar concentrates, and the wine is fermented dry: powerful, usually with 15 to 16 per cent alcohol and aromas of dried fruit, cherries and chocolate. Recioto stays sweet, the older speciality of the area.
East of Verona grows Garganega, the grape of Soave, which must make up at least 70 per cent of the wine. The heart of the zone is the Classico area around Soave and Monteforte d’Alpone, where volcanic soils give the wines a taut, mineral note; scents of almond and white blossom add to it. On the eastern shore of Lake Garda grows Bardolino, a light red, mainly from Corvina.
At the table: Prosecco as an aperitif, with fish and seafood; Soave with asparagus risotto and lagoon fish; Valpolicella with pasta and grilled dishes; Amarone with braised meat, game and aged cheese.