Ep 603: The Veneto Region of Italy (2026 Update)
Wine for Normal People
Wine for Normal People
4.6 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 15 April 2026
⏱️ 55 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
I haven't given an update to the Veneto region in more than a decade. With an upcoming Patron trip to the region, I think it's high time!
Veneto is in northeastern Italy and is famed for wines like Prosecco, Valpolicella (including Amarone), Soave, and Bardolino. With 14 DOCGs, 29 DOCs, and 10 IGPs, covering about 104,400 ha (258,000 acres) of vineyards, the province makes every style of wine imaginable. Approximately 75% of plantings are white varieties—dominated by Glera at around 39% (this is the main Prosecco grape)—while 25% of plantings are red, led by Corvina with Corvinone, Rondinella, and Molinara.
In this show, I discuss the history of Veneto, and then break the province down into three distinct regions, with some star DOCs and DOCGs:
- Eastern part: Prosecco/ Treviso Province Wine Zones: Valdobiaddene, Conegliano, Asolo, Cartizze
- Central part of Veneto: Around Vicenza/Padova - Breganze, Gambellara, Colli Berici, Colli Euganei
- Western Part: In the Hills of Verona: Valpolicella, Bardolino, Custoza, Lugana, Soave, Garda
I address some of the unfair criticisms levied against Veneto by certain wine writers, talk about how to find the best of the best wines from this region, and suggest some top producers.
A great show and a fun update after all these years! So much has changed and improved!
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Wine for Normal People, the podcast for people who like wine, but not the snobbery that goes with it. |
| 0:15.8 | I'm your host Elizabeth Schneider, author of the Wine for Normal People book and Certified Wine Dork. |
| 0:21.4 | This episode is brought to you by Wine Access. If you love discovering great wine but |
| 0:25.8 | hate the guesswork, Wine Access has you covered. They work directly with top importers and |
| 0:31.0 | wineries to bring you exclusive small batch wines. Every wine comes with expert notes and pairing |
| 0:37.3 | tips so you learn about the wines as you drink them. |
| 0:39.9 | And they ship the wines right to your door. |
| 0:42.4 | Head to wineaccess.com slash WFMP. |
| 0:46.3 | Listen in the middle of the show for more details. |
| 0:49.8 | I have not covered Veneto, the major province in Italy, the number one producing province in Italy in over a decade. |
| 1:00.5 | And I can guarantee you that things have changed, including my attitude towards it, because I've spent a lot more time in Italy and I've spent some time in Veneto and |
| 1:11.7 | some time with the wines. And I think it's really important for us to revisit this. Now, I am doing |
| 1:17.7 | this a little selfishly because I am preparing for a trip with a group of patrons to Veneto |
| 1:24.7 | and Alto Adi-J in the beginning of May, and I am really, really excited about it. |
| 1:30.0 | So in my research efforts, I figured I would share with the bigger audience, things about Veneto |
| 1:35.6 | that have changed and some things that I really want to point out that are important for us |
| 1:42.7 | as smart wine drinkers to start to think about and |
| 1:47.1 | question to be quite honest. And I'm not talking about questioning the producers of Veneto. |
| 1:51.9 | I'm talking about questioning some of the writing, especially in the British press, |
| 1:56.9 | but in the American press as well, that negatively casts Veneto as a place of bulk |
| 2:03.4 | wine and terrible farming and all this kind of stuff. But I toyed with whether or not to bring |
| 2:07.7 | this up. I'm not going to name names of who wrote this particular thing. But I am going to say, |
... |
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