Veneto Wine

Veneto wine is produced in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy, which covers several wine-producing provinces, including Verona, Vicenza, Padua, Treviso, Venice, Belluno and Rovig.

Veneto encompasses various landscapes ideal for grape growing, including mountainous cliffs, rolling hills and fertile grasslands. Maritime breezes from the nearby Adriatic Sea sweep across the region. Veneto’s climate sees warm summers and mild winters that create the perfect conditions for grapes to ripen fully. You can spot vineyards on terraces or steep slopes across the region, and this diverse range of altitudes creates various microclimates ideal for cultivating flavorsome grapes.

Veneto wine is known for its depth of flavor and complexity and accounts for around 15% of Italy’s wine production.

Red wines from the region are often full-bodied, with dark fruit accents, while the white wines are crisp and refreshing, with lively citrus fruit notes. The famous sparkling wine, Prosecco, is considered fruity and vibrant, bursting with effervescent bubbles.

Veneto has a rich history of winemaking that dates back to Roman times.

It’s estimated that viticulture was introduced to the region in the eighth century B.C. But it wasn’t until the Middle Ages that the Veneto wine region became more prominent, becoming a key player in the wine trade, with Venice being a well-known port for the export of wines. The Venetian Republic also influenced the growth of the region’s winemaking industry, introducing regulations to ensure that Veneto wines upheld a respectable reputation on the world stage.

Throughout the centuries, the Veneto region expanded and saw the exploration of new grape varieties and winemaking techniques. It became recognized for producing some of the world’s most sought-after wines.

Some of the region’s most famous wines are:

• Prosecco: Prosecco is embedded into Veneto’s winemaking culture, as many vineyards grow the Glera grape, which is the key variety in Prosecco. Veneto winemakers use the Charmat method (aka, tank method) to make Prosecco, which sees the wine undergo secondary fermentation in steel tanks. This fermentation technique retains the sparkling wine’s lively and fruity characteristics.
• Amarone della Valpolicella: Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara grapes make this classic, full-bodied red wine. The grapes undergo a unique method before fermentation—once ripened, they are dried on straw mats or in ventilated rooms for several months. The method is known as appassimento, and it concentrates the sugar and flavors of the grapes, resulting in rich and full-bodied red wines with sophisticated flavors.
• Pinot Grigio: A white wine made from the Pinot Grigio grape in the Veneto region, often planted on high elevations. Some Venetian winemakers use extended skin contact to add complexity to the white wine.
• Cabernet Franc: A red wine made from the Cabernet Franc grape in the Colli Berici region. Venetian Cabernet Franc is celebrated for its age-worthiness, as it is known to develop in-depth flavors and aromas over time.
• Valpolicella: A red wine made from a blend of Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara grapes in the Valpolicella region. Grapes can be grown in diverse microclimates, which varies the taste of the wines. Some are light and fruity, while others are more full-bodied and complex. The mild climate and cool breezes from Lake Garda also contribute to the wine’s unique flavor profiles.

• Conegliano-Valdobbiadene: Famous for growing and producing the Glera grape, which creates lively Prosecco wines, Conegliano-Valdobbiadene boasts a mixture of soils situated on hilly terrains. This unique microclimate allows for slower grape ripening, producing sparkling wines with balanced acidity and sugar levels.
• Valpolicella: With unique terroir, which includes diverse ground encompassing clay, limestone and volcanic soil, that welcomes cool breezes from Lake Garda, Valpolicella creates the perfect conditions for growing red grapes like Corvina. Corvina is the most widespread grape grown in the region, and it’s known for producing wines with medium to high acidity and luscious notes of cherry and spice.
• Soave: Winemakers in Soave use the mild climate and volcanic soil to grow a variety of grapes. Garganega is the dominant grape variety grown in Soave and is known for producing crisp, light-bodied white wines with citrus and almond flavors.
• Lugana: The Turbiana grape is grown in Lugana to produce white wines with zippy minerality plus citrus, pear and green apple notes. This sub-region boasts a range of fertile soils and welcomes refreshing breezes from Lake Garda, perfect for ripening grapes.
• Colli Berici: Recognized for producing elegant red wines, Colli Berici’s climate has hot summers and cool winters, which offer the ideal growing conditions for various red grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot to produce an assortment of rich and smooth red wines.