Top Local Wines of Venice
Updated: July 2023
Prosecco
Prosecco, the faintly grapey, fairly dry, very cold, and fizzy cousin of Champagne, is an elegant yet casual Italian drink. It gained popularity as the base for the luscious Bellini cocktail, invented at Harry’s Bar. Prosecco is produced in tanks using the Charmat method between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, in the province of Treviso, about 32 kilometers north of Venice. Many food writers and gourmands suggest it as a refreshing aperitif or prelude to meals. It comes in both spumante (fully sparkling) and frizzante (semi-sparkling) styles.
Mionetto is Italy’s largest producer of Prosecco, specializing in the traditional style. Their frizzante has about half the sparkle of Champagne and costs $10-12. With its appley and bubbly archetype, Mionetto Prosecco makes a wonderful companion on warm weather days. It pairs best with antipasti, cold soups, or pasta primavera. The traditional base for a Bellini cocktail is Nino Franco Prosecco de Valdobbiadene “Rustico,” which is more champagne-like and has a bit more staying power than most Proseccos. A bottle of this bubbly costs $14-21.
Soave
Soave comes from the verdant hills of the charming town of the same name between Valle d’Illiasi and Val d’Alpone. It pairs best with Venice’s scrumptious fresh seafood dishes. Colman Andrews wrote in his delightful essay on the wine in Saveur magazine (Issue #38), “At its best soave is intensely but not cloyingly aromatic, abundantly fruity, and subtly complex.” It complements Venetian dishes like fritto misto de mare and sarde in saor.
One of Soave town’s premier wineries is Coffele, which produces Soave Classico, Ca Visco, and Recioto di Soave wines primarily from Garganega grapes. These wines are exported to Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Great Britain, the USA, Australia, and Hong Kong. Coffele welcomes wine tastings at a cost of 6 euros per person for three wines or 12 euros when served with cheese. If you’re lucky, the Coffele family may invite you into their garden below Soave’s castle for wine tastings.
Valpolicella
Valpolicella is made from the same grapes as Bardolino. Tony Aspler wrote in his bestselling book from Canada Tony Aspler’s Wine Lover’s Companion that this wine “has a ruby, cherry and banana nose, a fresh and dry fruit flavor and a bitter finish.”
Grappa
Grappa is a colorless Italian brandy made from grape skins and seeds left in the wine press after juice has been removed to produce wine. It is the most famous (or infamous) among Venice’s wines – a clear spirit served at the end of a meal or mixed with coffee as caffe corretto. Robert Joseph wrote in his definitive book The Wine Travel Guide to the World that Grappa was revolutionized by Benito Nonino. Since then many other wine producers have followed his lead and grappas are now made from almost every local and international grape.
