Gillian Knows Best guide to Wine in Venice
+ 10 addresses for the best glasses of Prosecco and bottles of Soave
I don’t get lost in the calle and I even know a few words in Venetian but there are so many things to learn about my still new-ish home.1 Wine is one of them. Literally millions of cases of wine are produced in the Veneto. Where to even begin? I know about crisp Soave’s and can usually pronounce Valdobbiadene (one of the places where Prosecco is grown) and that finding Franciacorta is next to impossible. My drink of choice in Venice is almost always a spritz bianco. It is refreshing and light and is made with either sparkling (often but not always Prosecco) or white wine (you might be asked frizzante o fermo) and fizzy water. Sometimes there is a slice of lemon and sometimes there is an olive. Once you have figured out what (and where) you are going to eat, you can move on to what wines to drink.
📍Just beyond the Veneto are the regions of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trentino Alto Adige that combined make up the Triveneto. Slovenia is super close too.
🍇 A few grape names to know:
Glera (hello, Prosecco)
Garganega (the star of Soave)
Malvasia (aromatic and lovely)
Valpolicella (bright, juicy reds)
🍷Keep an out for wines like Schioppettino and Tazzelenghe.
My approach for learning about wine in Venice is exactly the same as learning about wine in Rome. 1️⃣ I am not a wine expert. I have learned a lot 2️⃣ My biggest piece of advice is ask and trust 3️⃣ These are some of the experts that I ask and trust