In terms of geography, culture and wine styles, it represents a transition between the alpine, Germano-Slavic end of Italy and the warmer, drier, more Roman lands to the south.
Veneto is slightly smaller than Italy’s other main wine-producing regions – Piedmont, Tuscany, Lombardy, Puglia and Sicily – yet it generates more wine than any of them.
Here is the list of main CDO (Controlled Designation of Origin) wines:
Arcole is a DOC of the Veneto wine region in north-eastern Italy. It covers a wide array of wine styles of all three colors, blends and varietals, and in dry, sweet and sparkling manifestations. Its focal point is the town of Arcole, in the Verona province, although the vineyards which produce Arcole wines radiate far out from the town itself. The official catchment area for the DOC spans more than 20 communes, spreading east from the edge of Verona city and spilling into the south-west of the Vicenza province.
Bagnoli di Sopra (or simply Bagnoli) is a DOC of the Veneto wine region in north-eastern Italy. The title covers a wide spectrum of wine styles, from varietal reds and sparkling rosés and whites to sweet, fortified vin da viajo ('traveler's wine'). Bagnoli wines come in many guises. Sparkling Bagnoli Spumante can be either white (bianco) or rosé (rosato) and is made predominantly from the local Raboso variety. As this is a dark-skinned grape, it must be vinified without any skin contact to produce the sparkling white.
Bardolino is a light red wine made on the eastern shores of Lake Garda, in the Veneto region of north-eastern Italy. Its DOC title was granted in 1968. Like its more famous neighbor, Valpolicella, Bardolino is made from a blend of Corvina and Rondinella. The former constitutes 35–65% of any Bardolino or Bardolino Classico wine, contributing structure, weight and a sour-cherry aroma; Rondinella is responsible for the wine's characteristic and appealingly fresh, herby flavor.
Bianco di Custoza is a white-wine DOC in the Veneto region of north-eastern Italy. The wine might be seen as the white answer to Bardolino, particularly as the production areas of the two DOCs overlap significantly. The main white grapes grown to produce Bianco di Custoza wines are Trebbiano Toscano (20–45% of the blend), Garganega (20–40%) and Tocai Friulano. The latter variety is known locally as Trebbianello, meaning that local grape growers and winemakers have not been hit so hard by the name Tocai being outlawed here (to avoid confusion with sweet Tokaj wines from Hungary). A final mandatory component in Bianco di Custoza is an addition of 20–30% of Bianca Fernanda (a local clone of Cortese), Malvasia Bianca, Riesling Italico, Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay and Manzoni Bianco, as a blend or individually.
Breganze is an ancient viticultural center in the Vicenza province of Veneto, north-eastern Italy. The area's Breganze DOC, awarded in 1969, covers red (rosso) and white (bianco) wines, and the well-respected Torcolato. A wide range of varietal wines are made under the Breganze DOC title, from a combination of local and international grape varieties. The reds are Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir), Marzemino, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Each of these comes in a higher-quality riserva form, for which the wine must come from vineyards managed to lower yield tolerances and be aged for at least two years before commercial release. The white Breganze varietals are Vespaiolo, Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Bianco and Tocai (now named Tai to avoid confusion with the famous sweet wines of Tokaj).
The title covers a wide range of wine styles including red, white and rose (rosso, bianco and rosato) wines, a foaming Colli Berici Spumante and a portfolio of varietal wines. Varietals made under the Colli Berici name are split evenly between red and white. The former category includes Pinot Nero, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet (a combination of the two), Carmenere and Tai Rosso (formerly known as Tocai Rosso, the lesser-known red form of Tai/Tocai). Their white equivalents are Chardonnay, Garganega, Pinot Bianco, Sauvignon, Tai and Professor Luigi Manzoni's Riesling–Pinot Bianco hybrid Manzoni Bianco. For any of these wines to bear the name of its variety, it must be made from at least 85% of the stated grape.
The Colli Euganei are the hills which rise up from the Po-Venetian plain a short distance south-west of Padova (Padua). Their volcanic origin means their soils are rich in minerals and trace elements not found in other Venetian terroirs, and are particularly well suited to the production of wines with complex organoleptic profiles.
Corti Benedettine del Padovano Bianco is a dry white wine based on the local Tocai Friulano grape (now named Tai to avoid confusion with Hungary's sweet Tokaji), which must account for at least 50% of the final blend. Its red counterpart, Corti Benedettine del Padovano Rosso, is made from a core of Merlot (60–70%) with a minimum 10% addition of local grape Raboso.
Gambellara is a dry, white Garganega-based wine from the Veneto region of north-eastern Italy. The classic Gambellara wine is crisp and refreshing (thanks to Garganega's naturally high levels of acidity), with notes of lemon sherbet, almond, and an alluringly faint hint of sweet, fragrant spice.
Garda Veneto is the Venetian part of the Garda DOC which is split between the western edge of Veneto, in north-east Italy, and the eastern edge of Lombardy. The title covers 31 communes between the provinces of Mantua and Brescia in Lombardy and 40 communes in the province of Verona in Veneto. The regulations for the Garda DOC allow the producers to select only the best grapevines to suit their vineyards’ conditions, from a choice from 18 grape varieties.
The Lison-Pramaggiore portfolio covers all manner of styles including several varietals, rosso and bianco (red and white) blends, foaming spumante and semi-sparkling frizzante, youthful-styled, early-drinking novello and high-quality, aged riserva.
Lugana is a picturesque, white wine-specific viticultural region in northern Italy, its vineyard area straddling the regional border between Lombardy in the west and Veneto in the east. It is located at the southern end of Lake Garda, the vines a relatively new addition to a landscape of fishing villages and castled towns. The Verdicchio grape variety (aka Trebbiano di Lugana) is the essential ingredient in the area's bianco (white) wines. It thrives in the zone's calcareous clay soils, which are rich in mineral salts and help the fruit to reach high levels of ripeness and organoleptic (sensory) complexity. All Lugana wines must comprise at least 90% of this variety.
Merlara is a DOC of the Veneto wine region in north-eastern Italy. It covers a wide portfolio of wines including rosso and bianco (red and white) blends, semi-sparkling frizzante wines and a number of varietals based on both local and more international grape varieties.
Montello e Colli Asolani varietal wines are made from such popular and highly marketable grape varieties as Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, alongside local varieties Manzoni Bianco and Bianchetta. Even the resurgent Carmenere now figures in the wines. The majority of the wines made here are non-sparkling, but foaming spumante styles are made from both Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco, quite distinct from the long-established Prosecco style.
Monti Lessini offers reds, whites, blends, varietals, foaming spumante (both white and pink) and sweet passito nectars made from dried grapes. The varietal wines made under the Monte Lessini title are Garganega, Pinots Nero, Bianco and Grigio, and Chardonnay. The DOC's standard bianco and rosso (white and red) blended wines have a decidedly modern, international (read: French) feel about them, with Chardonnay and Merlot at their cores respectively, to a minimum of 50%.
As well as being the name of the river which flows north-west to south-east through eastern Veneto, it is the name of the region's most famous cheese; like the Piave wine, it is protected and regulated under EU law. Piave wines can be both blends (Piave Rosso and Piave Bianco) and varietals. Most of them are dry, but dried-grape passito wines are made with Verduzzo and Raboso grapes. The red wines may bear the title riserva if aged for two years and if they reach a final level of 1% alcohol by volume higher than the required minimum for the standard wines. A greater alcohol level is an indirect indicator of quality as it is directly linked to the ripeness, and thus the potential alcohol, of the grapes at harvest.
Prosecco is a sparkling white wine from north-eastern Italy, specifically the Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia wine regions. It is also the informal name for the grape variety used to make these wines, which is known officially as Glera. The Prosecco DOC covers three styles of wine: still Prosecco, lightly sparkling Prosecco Frizzante and foaming Prosecco Spumante. there are four sweetness levels which apply to Prosecco wines. From driest to sweetest, these are Brut, Extra Dry, Dry and Demi-Sec.
the Riviera del Brenta wine portfolio is based largely on varietal wines and such popular, marketable 'international' varieties as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio. Local grapes Raboso, Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso and Tai (formerly known as Tocai) also qualify for the varietal treatment. Rather than have too wide a range of varieties, however, the approach in Riviera del Brenta has been to produce two or three styles for each variety. Thus there are lightly sparkling frizzante variants for the bianco (made from white grapes Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio), foaming spumante versions of the Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco, a youthful novello form of the rosso (red) and an aged riserva option for Cabernet, Raboso and Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso.
the DOC title covers wines made from Garganega grapes grown on the hillsides east of Verona, in the Veneto wine region of north-eastern Italy. A dry, crisp, fruity white wine, Soave's naturally refreshing appeal led it to phenomenal popularity in the second half of the 20th century. Although Soave is widely thought of as a still wine, there is also a foaming Soave Spumante version. The area also produces sweet wines under the Recioto di Soave DOCG. These are based on the same uvaggio (grape makeup) as standard, still, dry Soave, and the delimited production areas are also roughly the same.
Valpolicella is arguably the most famous red wine to come out of the Veneto wine region in north-eastern Italy. This typically mid-bodied, fruit-driven wine is equally enjoyable at room temperature or slightly chilled on a warm summer afternoon. The defining character of a quality Valpolicella is its fragrant, tangy cherry aroma, which has led it to be regarded by many as the Italian answer to Beaujolais. The grapes used to make Valpolicella are Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara. Corvina is generally regarded as the finest of the three, and is certainly the most traditional.
Valpolicella Ripasso is a fruity, complex red wine from the Valpolicella viticultural zone of Veneto, north-eastern Italy. Because Valpolicella's wines generally lean towards the lighter end of the scale, for centuries the local winemakers have employed various techniques to improve the depth and complexity of their cuvees. The ripasso method is to 're-pass' (re-ferment) the passito grapes with standard Valpolicella wine, creating a deeper, more character-laden result.
Venezia goes beyond the traditional red and white (rosso and bianco) wines. It still offers these standard blends, but complements them with three red varietals (Bordeaux's Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot) and two whites (northern Italy's flagship Pinot Grigio and the ever-popular Chardonnay). There is even a Venezia Rosato to fill the middle ground between the bianco and rosso wines. It comes in still, lightly sparkling frizzante and foaming spumante forms. The wine may be labeled either with the Italian word rosato or the French word rose.
The Vicenza wine portfolio holds red and white (rosso and bianco) blends and are based on Merlot and Garganega respectively. The reds are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Carmenere (these three may also be combined to produce the 'varietal' wine named 'Vicenza Cabernet'), Merlot, Pinot Nero and the local favorite Raboso; the whites are Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Moscato, Riesling and two northern Italian specialties, Garganega and Manzoni Bianco.