CENT’ ANNI – VENETO

CENT’ ANNI – VENETO 

by David Rich 

Since we have an event coming up in April saluting Veneto, Giuseppe LaPira and I have decided to make that our first region to discuss. Just like many people can only name Venice as a city in Veneto, very few can name any wine from the region. In fact, Veneto is one of three highly productive Italian regions known collectively as the Tre Venezie. The three are Friuli Venezia-Giulia (the Easternmost region, bordering Austria), Trentino-Alto Adige (to the Northwest, bordering Switzerland and Austria), and Veneto (the largest of the three), and each produces distinct wines.

Veneto is the 8th largest region of Italy in land mass, and the 6th largest in population. It has over 220,000 acres of vineyards, of which 35,400 are acclaimed DOC, making it the biggest DOC producer in Italy. White wine accounts for 55% of the DOC production in Veneto, and it is home to the famous Soave and Prosecco wines. (Note, Prosecco used to be the name of the grape as well as the sparkling wine, but the grape has been renamed Glera.)

The cooler climate in the foothills of the Alps form the northern portion of Veneto and are well-suited to white varieties like Garganega (the main grape for Soave wines), while the warmer Adriatic coastal plains, river valleys, and Garda Lake zone are the places where the renowned Valpolicella, Amarone, and Bardolino DOC reds are produced.

In Veneto, two different wine areas are clearly distinguishable: an Eastern part, close to the Venice Lagoon between the hills of Treviso, the plain of the Piave river, and the Adriatic coast, where the famous Prosecco (Glera) and other varieties are grown – like Merlot, Carmenere, Verduzzo, Raboso Piave, Refosco, Tocai, Verdiso, and Marzemino; and the Western part, close to Garda Lake and the city of Verona, famous for the wines based on the varieties Corvina, Rondinella, Garganega, Trebbiano of Soave, and Oseleta.

There are two other famous areas of Veneto. In the central area the wine-making transitions between the varieties and styles of the Eastern and Western parts. There you can find the Colli Euganei, the hills close to Padua, that is a special Mediterranean micro-climate, famous for Moscato fior d’arancio, a sparkling dessert wine. The second famous area, the North-center of Veneto close to Asiago, is Breganze, where a dessert wine called Torcolato is produced with the Vespaiolo grape.