But interestingly one of the best and most diverse wine regions is the one surrounding the beautiful little city of Verona. It's in the northwest part of the Veneto wine region, which ranges across Northern Italy. Veneto is arguably the most prolific wine region in the country. It deserves more recognition – although perhaps being less well known keeps the area from getting overrun with tourists.
Winemaking in the region dates back to the Romans (and there are many Roman ruins in Verona). Most of the wineries are less than an hour from the city, so they’re very easy to visit. The vast majority of the wineries are small family-owned ones.
We do recommend that you take a tour so you can enjoy the wines without worrying about driving and don’t have to handle the scheduling. Note that the tours vary, so research them carefully. I was very pleased with the tour companies we used.
But how do you prioritize which wine region(s) to visit? It depends on the time you have. Many visitors to Verona only stay a day or two, which isn’t sufficient to explore the city, let alone the surrounding area.
Here is how we recommend you prioritize your Verona wine region experience. It’s a little different from what you may expect.
Where to go if you have only one day: Valpolicella/Amarone
About 30 minutes northeast of Verona, Valpolicella/Amarone is one of the most popular wine regions in the area. It specializes in red wine; while Valpolicella is a nice lighter-bodied blend, the real star of the show (and of the entire Veneto region) is Amarone, one of the most iconic red wines of Italy. It uses the same grapes as Valpolicella but a different drying process, creating a very high-quality, full-bodied wine.
There are more than 350 wineries in the region, and many of the families live in the same building as the winery’s production facilities. Two very interesting wineries we visited are Corte Borghetti and Monte Santoccio.
We had a wonderful small group tour of this region with Virginia of Romeo and Juliet Tours.
If you have another day: Soave
For a different Verona wine region wine experience, head about 30 minutes northeast of Verona to Soave for white wine. Soave used to be the white wine Italy most exported years ago, and the area started overproducing. The region, named after Soave Castle, built by one of the ruling families of Verona in Medieval times, is on the upswing again and rebuilding its reputation, focusing once more on producing high-quality wines mainly from the Garganega grape.
There are only about 75 wineries in Soave. Since the soils vary considerably, the types of Soave produced also vary considerably; some very floral, others more mineral, and a few full-bodied. Some of the wineries we enjoyed include Corte Mainente and Ca’ Rugate.
We had a great private tour with Serena of Taste Verona.
If you have a third day: Bardolino
The wine region of Bardolino, just west of Valpolicella off the shores of Lake Garda is a great wine destination in the Verona wine region if you have another day. It not only produces a wider array of wines, but you can also try wines from some of the other, smaller nearby Lake Garda wine regions, such as Lugana. Again, most of the wineries are family-run, even larger ones such as Cantina Zeni. There are also a few wineries right on the Lake, like Casetto.
Serena was also our guide on this wonderful private tour.
If you can squeeze it in: Custoza
If you have one more day I recommend that you venture 30 minutes south of Verona to little-known Custoza for its white wines. It’s harder to find this wine outside of Italy and it’s not marketed as much as some of the other wine regions but the wine is of very high quality. We ran into very few tourists in this rural region. There are about 70 wineries in Custoza. Some of the wineries open to the public include Monte del Fra and Cantina Gorgo.
We had a great private tour with Jay from Pagus Wine Tours.
Wait! What Veneto wine region is missing here?
You may be surprised that we did not include on our list Prosecco, probably the most famous wine from the Veneto wine region.
I love Prosecco and would have visited that area had we more time, but frankly it’s widely available all over the world, compared to the other regions mentioned. I’d rather try wines I am less familiar with and/or haven’t sampled before. It’s also north of Venice, so it’s more of a trek from Verona, about a two hour drive.
Some of the wineries in the regions we recommend you visit also make sparkling wine (for example, Custoza is known for its Spumante); so you can still get your “bubbles” fix. Or have Prosecco at dinner, like I did.
We hope you find these suggestions helpful on how to prioritize your Verona wine region experience! Keep an eye out; we’ll be delving deeper into each of these regions in future articles. Please feel free to contact us and share your own experiences.
Have any suggestions or feedback? Don’t hesitate to send us a message at info@winewithourfamily.com.
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