Gallery
Vineyards in Soave, Veneto
Prosecco Valley, UNESCO
Vineyards in Valpolicella
Venetian wine is produced in Veneto, a highly productive wine region in northeastern Italy.
The broader area comprising Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol is known collectively as the Tre Venezie , after the Republic of Venice. Veneto is the most populous and biggest denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) producer of the three regions. Although the Tre Venezie collectively produces more red wine than white, the Veneto region produces more whites under DOC and is notably home to the Prosecco and Soave wines.
The region is protected from the harsh northern European climate by the Alps, the foothills of which form Veneto's northern extremes. These cooler climes are well-suited to white varieties like Garganega (the main grape for Soave wines), [1] while the warmer Adriatic coastal plains, river valleys, and Lake Garda zone are the places where the renowned Valpolicella, Amarone and Bardolino DOC reds are produced.
The indigenous red grape varieties Corvina and Rondinella have a long tradition of cultivation and they are the used in the production of famous Amarone, Valpolicella and Bardolino wines. A good Valpolicella is a ruby red in youth, then garnet red. It has a powerful body and is often described as velvety-harmonious. [2]
The famous red wine from Veneto is Amarone. The dense, rich, and often expensive wine is made from air-dried, resinated grapes. The Amare also has a sweeter version that's called Recioto.
On the right bank of Lake Garda the vine thrives on moraine hills with gravel and sand, where they produce Bardolino wines.
The most popular grape variety in the Veneto wine region is white Garganega, which is the predominant grape for Soave and Gambellara wines. This wine is one of the most popular white wines from Veneto region. It produces fragrant white wines with a fine lemon and almond flavour making it one of the most renowned Italian whites.
The Soave must be at least 70% from the Garganega grape pressed and stored for at least eight months if he wants to get the coveted designation Classico.
In Veneto, two different wine areas are clearly distinguishable: an eastern part, close to the Venetian Lagoon between the hills of Treviso, the plain of Piave river and Adriatic coast, where it is typical to produce the famous Prosecco (Glera), and other varieties are grown like Merlot, Carménère, Verduzzo, Raboso Piave, Refosco, Tocai, Verdiso, Marzemino; and the western part, close to Lake Garda and the city of Verona, famous for the wines based on the varieties Corvina, Rondinella, Garganega, Trebbiano of Soave, and Oseleta.
In the central part of Veneto the winemaking transitions between the varieties and styles of the Eastern and Western parts. In that area you can find the Colli Euganei, the hills close to Padua, that is a special Mediterranean microclimatic zone; it is even famous for the Moscato fior d'arancio production, a sparkling dessert wine.
Another area in the northcenter of Veneto, close to Asiago, is Breganze, where the dessert wine Torcolato is produced with the Vespaiola grape.
The traditional vine training system of the eastern part is the Sylvoz system, today replaced by the Guyot system, while in the western part there is more traditionally the Pergola system. Veneto's growers use modern growing methods and systems in the vineyard and for wine making. While most of the 'classic' wines from this area are based on native grape varieties, like Glera (formerly known as Prosecco) and Verduzzo, high demand for Veneto wines in the European and US markets has galvanized the region's producers into experimentation with Cabernets, Chardonnay and Pinot varieties, among others.
One of Italy's leading wine schools, Conegliano, is based here and the nation's most important wine fair, Vinitaly, takes place each spring in Verona. [3]
Veneto is the 8th largest region of Italy in land mass, and a population of 4,371,000 ranks it 6th in that regard. It has over 90,000 hectares (220,000 acres) of vineyards, of which 35,400 are acclaimed DOC. Annual production totals 8,500,000 hectolitres, 1,700,000 or 21% of which is DOC, making it the biggest DOC producer in Italy. White wine accounts for 55% of the DOC production in Veneto. [4]
Amarone della Valpolicella, usually known as Amarone, is an Italian DOCG denomination of typically rich dry red wine made from the partially dried grapes of the Corvina, Rondinella (5–30%) and other approved red grape varieties.
Valpolicella is a viticultural zone of the province of Verona, Italy, east of Lake Garda. The hilly agricultural and marble-quarrying region of small holdings north of the Adige is famous for wine production. Valpolicella ranks just after Chianti in total Italian Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) wine production.
Corvina is an Italian wine grape variety that is sometimes also referred to as Corvina Veronese or Cruina. The total global wine-growing area in 2010 was 7,495 hectares, all of which is grown in the Veneto region of northeast Italy, except for 19 hectares planted in Argentina. Corvina is used with several other grapes to create the light red regional wines Bardolino and Valpolicella that have a mild fruity flavor with hints of almond. These blends include Corvinone, Rondinella, and Molinara, and Rossignola for the latter wine. It is also used for the production of Amarone and Recioto.
Rondinella is an Italian wine grape variety. Almost all of the total global growing area of 2,481 hectares is in the Veneto region of northern Italy, and the grapes are used in wines from the Valpolicella and Bardolino wine regions. Rondinella always appears in these wines blended with Corvina, as a secondary constituent along with Corvinone and Molinara. The grape has rather neutral flavors but is favored by growers due to its prolific yields. The vine is very resistant to grape disease and produces grapes that, while they do not necessarily have high sugar levels, do dry out well for use in the production of Valpolicella straw wine styles such as Recioto and Amarone.
Prosecco is an Italian DOC or DOCG white wine produced in a large area spanning nine provinces in the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions, and named after the village of Prosecco, which is in the province of Trieste, Italy. It is made from the Prosecco grape but denomination rules allow up to 15% of the wine to be other permitted varieties. Prosecco is almost always made in sparkling or semi-sparkling style, but a still wine is also permitted. Within the larger designation are two small DOCG areas, Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco in the hills between the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, and Asolo Prosecco around the nearby town of Asolo. Prosecco Superiore is always spumante and comes only from these DOCG areas.
Italian wine is produced in every region of Italy. Italy is the world's largest wine producer, as well as the country with the widest variety of indigenous grapevine in the world, with an area of 702,000 hectares under vineyard cultivation, and contributing a 2013–2017 annual average of 48.3 million hl of wine. In 2018 Italy accounted for 19 per cent of global production, ahead of France and Spain. Italian wine is both exported around the world and popular domestically among Italians, who consume an average of 42 litres per capita, ranking fifth in world wine consumption.
Soave is a dry white Italian wine from the Veneto region, in northeast Italy, principally around the city of Verona. Within the Soave region are both a denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) zone and, since 2001, a denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG) designation known as Soave Superiore, with both zones being further sub-divided into a general and Classico designation for the wines produced in the heartland of the Soave region, around the sloping vineyards of Verona.
Colognola ai Colli is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about 90 kilometres (56 mi) west of Venice and about 15 kilometres (9 mi) east of Verona.
Straw wine, or raisin wine, is a wine made from grapes that have been dried off the vine to concentrate their juice. Under the classic method, after a careful hand harvest, selected bunches of ripe grapes will be laid out on mats in full sun.. This drying will probably be done on well exposed terraces somewhere near the wine press and the drying process will take around a week or longer. Small scale productions were laid out on flat roofs; however, if this still happens, it is extremely rare nowadays.
Molinara is a red Italian wine grape which accounted for 595 hectares of planting land in Italy as of 2010, almost exclusively in the Veneto region. It adds acidity to the wines of the Valpolicella and Bardolino regions, which are made with blends of Corvina, Corvinone, Molinara and Rondinella. The wine's high propensity for oxidation, coupled with its low color extract, has caused a decline in favor and plantings among Venetian vineyards, declining in ten years by more than half from an area of 1,301 hectares in 2000. There has been debate about whether the grape is purple or blue. This grape is occasionally blended with Merlot to produce soft elegant rosés, and Molinara also accounts for 122 hectares of planting land in Spain.
Bardolino and Bardolino Superiore are Italian red wines produced along the chain of morainic hills in the province of Verona to the east of Lake Garda. Bardolino takes its name from the town Bardolino on the shores of Lake Garda and was awarded Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) status in 1968. The Superiore is a stronger aged wine, and was promoted to Denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG) status in 2001. The blend of grapes used to produce the wine primarily includes Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara. Up to 15% of the blend is allowed to include Rossignola, Barbera, Sangiovese, or Garganega, in any combination.
Lombardy wine is the Italian wine produced in the Lombardy region of north central Italy. The region is known particularly for its sparkling wines made in the Franciacorta and Oltrepò Pavese areas. Lombardy also produces still red, white and rosé wines made from a variety of local and international grapes, including Nebbiolo wines in the Valtellina region and Trebbiano di Lugana white wines produced with the Chiaretto style rosé along the shores of Lake Garda. The wine region currently has 22 denominazione di origine controllata (DOC), 5 denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG) and at least 13 indicazione geografica tipica (IGT) designations. The main cities of the region are Milan, Bergamo and Brescia. The region annually produces around 1.3 million hectolitres of wine, more than the regions of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Marche, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Umbria.
Friuli-Venezia Giulia wine is wine made in the northeastern Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. There are 11 denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) and 3 denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG) in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia area. The region has 3 indicazione geografica tipica (IGT) designations Alto Livenza, delle Venezie and Venezia Giulia. Nearly 62% of the wine produced in the region falls under a DOC designation. The area is known predominantly for its white wines, which are considered some of the best examples of Italian wine in that style. Along with the Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige, the Friuli-Venezia Giulia forms the Tre Venezie wine region, which ranks with Tuscany and Piedmont as Italy's world class wine regions.
Incrocio Manzoni or Manzoni grapes is a family of grape varieties named after Professor Luigi Manzoni (1888-1968) of Italy's oldest school of oenology located in Conegliano, in the Veneto region. Manzoni created the new grape varieties by selecting, crossing and grafting vines from various vineyards during the 1920s and 1930s. The family includes both white and red grape varieties. Although most Manzonis are grown in northeastern Italy, they are mainly grown in the Piave area of Province of Treviso and are only now starting to be sold commercially in Europe and the United States.
Negrara is a red Italian wine grape variety grown in north east Italy including the Veneto region where it is a permitted variety in the Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) wine Amarone. While the grape was once more widely planted in the region its numbers have been steadily declining for most of the late 20th and early 21st century.
Marzemina bianca is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy. Ampelographers believe that the grape is a natural crossing of the Trentino wine grape Marzemino and the Soave wine grape Garganega. This parent-offspring relationship between Marzemina bianca and Marzemino makes the variety distinct from grapes like Pinot blanc and Grenache blanc which are other color mutations of Pinot noir and Grenache, respectively. DNA analysis has confirmed that the Veneto grape Raboso Veronese is the offspring of Marzemina bianca and Raboso Piave.
Rossignola is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Veneto wine region of northeast Italy. The variety was first mentioned growing in the province of Verona in the early 19th century and today is a permitted blending variety in several Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) wines of the Veneto including Bardolino and Valpolicella.
Corvinone is a red Italian wine grape variety native to the Veneto region of northern Italy. In 2010 a total grape growing area of 930 hectares was planted worldwide, with all of it in Italy save for 1 hectare in Argentina. Seldom found in wine alone, Corvinone is blended, along with Rondinella, Molinara and other autochthonous varieties, in Corvina-dominant red wines of the Valpolicella and Bardolino regions of Veneto. Corvinone is similar enough to the more widespread Corvina variety that it has historically often been mistaken as a clone; indeed its name in Italian suggests a meaning of "large corvina". More recent ampelographical work and DNA profiling has shown it to be a separate variety, however.
Oseleta is a rare, autochthonous red wine grape variety from the Valpolicella area in the Veneto region of Italy. It was almost extinct after the phylloxera blight of the 19th and early 20th centuries, but was rediscovered and replanted in small areas by the wine producer Masi in the early 1980s. The variety is now permitted in the Valpolicella DOC and Amarone DOCG rules, and a small number of wine producers, including Masi, make a varietal wine with it.
| Provinces and places |  | |
|---|---|---|
| History | ||
| Politics and government | ||
| Education and culture | ||
Wines and winemaking | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
