Venice's region is Italy's leader
in the production and commerce of classified wine. A major share of the
DOC (which represents about 225 million bottles a year) consists of the
Verona trio of Soave, Bardolino and Valpolicella. But since DOC represents
less than a fifth of the region's total, the Veneto also figures as a
major producer and exporter of unclassified table wines, often of moderate
price.
There are three general areas of premium production: the western province
of Verona in the hills between Lake Garda and the town of Soave; the
central hills in the provinces of Vicenza, Padova and Treviso; the eastern
plains of the Piave and Tagliamento river basins along the Adriatic coast
northeast of Venice.
Verona's classic wines are bona fide natives. Soave, from Garganega and
Trebbiano di Soave, is usually dry and still, though spumante and sweet
Recioto versions are also prescribed. Third after Chianti and Asti
Spumante in volume among classified wines (with some 50 million litres a
year), Soave has long been Italy's most popular DOC wine abroad.
Valpolicella, made from a blend of Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara, is
very high in volume among DOCs with about 35 million litres. Valpolicella
is noted as a full and fruity red to drink relatively young, though grapes
from its vineyards in the hills north of Verona can also be partly dried
and made into the richly dry Amarone della Valpolicella or the opulently
sweet Recioto della Valpolicella.
