Best Veneto wines: Expert picks

Decanter's tastings team picks out some top wines from this important Italian region, the home of Prosecco, Soave, Valpolicella and more. With an introduction by Aldo Fiordelli...

Bottled wine exports from the Veneto region topped one billion euros in the first half of 2018, accounting for a third of all Italian wine exports by value, according to Italy’s national statistics agency, Istat.

As many readers will be aware, Veneto is one of Italy’s largest wine producing regions. Quantity is helped both by climate and by the fact that 56% of Veneto’s vineyards lie on the plains. Today, the region comprises around 87,000 hectares of vineyard.

Scroll down to see the best Veneto wines to try

Prosecco

The Prosecco DOP, which officially includes both DOC and more highly prized DOCG vineyards, accounts for 24,450ha of plantings in the region.Today, the area is at full tilt, producing sparkling wines for the export market in the face of increasing demand worldwide. There was early optimism around the 2018 vintage, which was said at the time of harvest to have provided almost perfect growing conditions compared to 2017.

Valpolicella

Valpolicella Classico is sheltered to the northwest by Monte Baldo, with the cooling influence of the Adige Valley and Lake Garda. These factors reduce the effects of a continental climate in this area.

Producers to know 

Among the area’s Amarone producers, Bertani shines as the most traditional. Meanwhile, Marilisa Allegrini, who hosted 40 of the most talented millennial wine professionals in Villa della Torre last September, is steadily becoming one of the more modern wine producers in Valpolicella.

Tommasi, another heavy hitter in the area, recently came out with a new luxury brand called De Buris.

Among the smaller scale producers, Dal Forno and Quintarelli still lead the way with their outstanding wines.

Soave

Soave’s climate is classified as warm and temperate. In recent years, several producers have gone a long way to restoring Soave’s reputation, with the area’s white wines previously branded neutral and lacklustre by some critics.

The characteristics of the eclectic Garganega grape, grown on a rich mosaic of volcanic and limestone soils, together with the slightly more acidic Trebbiano di Soave, are particularly well expressed in Soave cru wines; one of the most interesting stories of the last few years.

The Soave crus identified so far are:

• sinuous Costeggiola
• poetic Carniga and Sengialta
• black-soiled Carbonare
• heroically terraced Slavinus
• mighty Foscarino
• gently sloped Pressoni
• continentally cool Salvarenza.

Some traditional methods have come back in to fashion in Soave. The pergola training system, for example, replaced in the past with Guyot or cordon, is on-trend again due to its potential to produce grapes with more acidity and lower alcohol; often decreasing the latter by half a degree.

Earlier this year, the region lost pioneer Leonildo Pieropan, yet his winery persists as one of the best in Soave, boasting differing styles from Calvarino and La Rocca.

Best Veneto wine: Expert picks

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