Wine route
Valpolicella Classico Loop
Half day · 5 stops
Open the driveVeneto · DOC
Valpolicella DOC Fresh, Cherry-Led Corvina Red of Verona
Valpolicella DOC is Veneto's everyday red, a ruby wine built on Corvina fruit. The blend takes in Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella, grown across 19 towns north of Verona. This is the fresh, cherry-driven base of a ladder that climbs through Ripasso, Amarone and Recioto della Valpolicella. It drinks young, and it pairs with everyday Veneto tables.
99
Wines live now
£10-£450
Price range today
22
UK retailers
Decode the label
What the label tells you
One word on the front changes the ageing, the strength and the price.
On the label
Valpolicella
the fresh original
45-95% Corvina and Corvinone
11% minimum alcohol
The undried side of the family: sour cherry and white pepper, bottled young with no ageing mandate at all.
In stock from £9.95 See the 21 bottles ↓On the label
Valpolicella Classico
the five original communes
Five communes Fumane, Marano, Negrar, Sant'Ambrogio, San Pietro
Same recipe as the wider zone
The historic valleys north-west of Verona; on a fresh Valpolicella the word Classico is geography, not age.
In stock from £10.95 See the 21 bottles ↓On the label
Valpolicella Superiore
a year of patience, a degree more
1 year from 1 January after harvest
12% minimum alcohol
Riper fruit and a year in the cellar: darker cherry, a firmer middle, the tier serious estates build on.
In stock from £10.11 See the 47 bottles ↓The boundary
Where it is
Everything on this page, the estates, the bottles, the sub-zones, sits inside this line.
Wine route
Strada del Vino Soave
1 day · 7 stops
Open the drive
Estate 1
Cantina Valpolicella Negrar
Visit →Negrar di Valpolicella
Book online
Denomination
Grapes Used
Estate 2
Allegrini
Visit →Fumane · Classico
Tastings available
Denomination
Grapes Used
Estate 3
Pasqua Vigneti e Cantine
Visit →Verona
Tastings available
Denomination
Grapes Used
Estate 4
Azienda Agricola Masi
Visit →Gargagnago · Classico
Tastings available
Denomination
Grapes Used
Estate 5
Dal Forno Romano
Visit →Illasi · The eastern valley
Tastings available
Denomination
Grapes Used
Estate 6
Azienda Agricola Brunelli Luigi
Visit →S. Pietro in Cariano
Tastings available
Denomination
Grapes Used
Estate 7
Giuseppe Quintarelli
Visit →Negrar · Classico
Tastings available
Denomination
Grapes Used
Estate 8
Tedeschi
Visit →San Pietro in Cariano · Classico
Tastings available
Denomination
Grapes Used
Estate 9
Azienda Agricola Massaro
Visit →Negrar di Valpolicella
Tastings available
Denomination
Grapes Used
Valpolicella DOC zone
Estates you can visit Wine routes in the zoneOutside the zone
Nineteen communes on the hills north of Verona, from the Classico valleys of Fumane, Marano and Negrar in the west, across the Valpantena valley, to the eastern ridges of Illasi, Tregnago and Montecchia di Crosara. Cherry orchards and drying lofts share the slopes with the vines: the same map feeds the fresh wine on this page, the Ripasso, the Amarone and the sweet Recioto.
Inside the zone
19
Communes
5
Classico communes
12 t/ha
Maximum yield
4
Wines off one map
Click or tap a pin for its estate. The numbered pins match the estate cards below.
Towns worth knowing
Negrar
Fumane
Marano
San Pietro in Cariano
Sant'Ambrogio
The five Classico communes; Grezzana holds the Valpantena, and the zone's eastern arm reaches Illasi and Mezzane.
In the glass
What it tastes like
Cherry
Almond
Leather
Plum
Cinnamon
Vanilla
Chocolate
The disciplinare
The rules that define it
The same table on every denomination page, straight from the production rules.
Grape & its role
Share of the blend
050100%
Corvina and/or CorvinoneThe lead pair of the Verona hills45 to 95%RondinellaThe reliable partner5 to 30%Other Verona redsNon-aromatic local varieties, jointly cappedup to 25%Solid means the rules demand it. Striped means optional, up to that amount. The words on the right say the same rule.
The base wine has no ageing mandate it may be bottled and poured as soon as it is ready: freshness is the style.
Superiore means one year and 12% counted from 1 January after the harvest.
The same grapes become four wines Valpolicella, Ripasso, Amarone and Recioto all start from this vineyard recipe.
Ripasso answers to its own DOC split from this rulebook in 2010, made by re-passing the wine over Amarone skins.
Yields are generous by design 12 tonnes per hectare, nearly half of which the Amarone drying lofts will claim.
Ageing and alcohol minimums per tier are in the label guide above.
Editor's cellar
Bottles to try, and what Valpolicella costs in the UK
Every live Valpolicella listing, cheapest to dearest
89 wines · 22 retailers
By style, today
Normale
from £9.95
Superiore
from £10.11
Live prices, compared across 22 UK retailers.
Cellar doors · inside the zone
Estates you can visit
9 working estates with their gates open, numbered to match their pins on the map above.
Only show
No estates match these filters. Clear a filter to see more.
Experiences in the Valpolicella zone
Cellar experiences here average around €45. These are the strongest fits for this page.
Tasting & tour
Classic
Cantina Valpolicella Negrar
The guided tour offers a fascinating journey into the heart of the Valpolicella wine-making tradition. The experience begins in the Appassim…
1 h 30 From €25 pp
Book via
Winalist
Tasting & tour
Maggiore
Cantina Valpolicella Negrar
The guided tour offers a fascinating journey into the heart of the Valpolicella wine-making tradition. The experience begins in the Appassim…
1 h 30 From €35 pp
Book via
Winalist
Tasting & tour
Amarone
Cantina Valpolicella Negrar
The guided tour offers a fascinating journey into the heart of the Valpolicella wine-making tradition. The experience begins in the Appassim…
1 h 30 From €50 pp
Book via
Winalist
Two names the label may add
The mentions
Classico marks the five original communes, Valpantena the single valley north-east of Verona. Both mean geography, never age.
Classico
The heartlandThe five valleys the name first meant: Fumane, Marano, Negrar, Sant'Ambrogio and San Pietro in Cariano, north-west of Verona.
Valpantena
The single Pantena valley running north-east from Verona, historically a lighter, earlier-drinking Valpolicella.
The years
Valpolicella vintages, 2011-2022
Chart ratings 2011 to 2016 come from the Consorzio Tutela Vini Valpolicella's Amarone DOCG stelle annate PDF; 2017 to 2022 come from Italy's Finest Wines (JM Palmieri). Base Valpolicella DOC follows the same Verona hills weather and Corvina fruit each year, but skips the post-harvest appassimento, so quality can diverge in difficult drying autumns.
2011
2012
2013
2014
Difficult drying autumn.
2015
Eccezionale (E) on Consorzio chart.
2016
2017
3.5 stelle on IFW scale, rounded up; robust …
2018
Lower tannin, pronounced acidity; inconsiste…
2019
Perfect balance, cool start with warm finish…
2020
2021
Low yield, excellent ripening ('poca ma buon…
2022
Reading the years
2011
Exceptional · 5/5
The short version: Made for youth: 2019 and 2021 rate top, 2014 is the one to skip.
Tap a year for its note.
How Valpolicella is made
Valpolicella DOC was recognised by presidential decree on 21 August 1968. The rules were last revised in 2003. Fruit comes from 19 towns north of Verona. The Classico area covers Fumane, Marano di Valpolicella, Negrar, San Pietro in Cariano and Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella. Valpantena takes in the side valley of that name. The rules set the blend at 45 to 95 per cent Corvina and Corvinone. Corvinone may replace up to half of the Corvina. Rondinella takes 5 to 30 per cent. Other authorised Veronese varieties may fill up to 25 per cent. Yields cap at 120 quintals per hectare. The base wine must reach at least 11 per cent alcohol. Superiore asks for twelve months in cask and at least 12 per cent alcohol. That extra strength comes either from selected vineyards or from a brief drying of the grapes. The base wine is made quickly, with little air, and reaches the bottle within a year.
In depth
Valpolicella sits on the hills rising north of Verona, between the Adige river and the Monti Lessini. The production zone fans east from Lake Garda towards the city. The Classico heartland lies in the western valleys, cutting down from the Lessini plateau.
Vines have been worked here since Roman times. Pliny the Elder, Virgil, Martial and Suetonius all name wines from the Verona hills. The DOC itself is younger, authorised in 1968. It now sits in a four-tier ladder: Valpolicella DOC, Valpolicella Ripasso DOC, Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG and Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG. All four share the same grape trio, but they differ in technique and intent.
Soils in the Classico are glacial moraine and limestone. They give floral fruit and a bracing line of acidity. Valpantena's alluvial valley produces a rounder, riper style. The wider eastern zone spans volcanic basalt and limestone. Roughly 8,000 hectares are in production, about 19,760 acres. Around 15 million litres leave the cellars each year, close to 20 million bottles.
Benchmark producers span the stylistic range. Allegrini and Tedeschi make polished Classico. Quintarelli and Dal Forno Romano hold to traditional long ageing. Masi and Bertani stand for the old merchant-house blending. Zenato works the Bardolino border. The Consorzio Tutela Vini Valpolicella, founded in 1924, oversees the rules and the anti-counterfeiting Valpolicella Wine Register.
On the table
What to eat with Valpolicella
A brisk, cherry-led table red: it handles risotto, hard cheeses and lighter game without needing the weight of Amarone.
Risotto
Radicchio risotto
Risotto al Radicchio, known for its slightly bitter and nutty flavor from the radicchio, can be paired effectively with a red wine that has little or no tannins.
In-depth guide
Valpolicella, answered
Valpolicella DOC is a light-to-medium red from the hills north of Verona. The blend is 45 to 95 per cent Corvina and Corvinone, with 5 to 30 per cent Rondinella. Up to 25 per cent may come from other approved Veronese varieties. It sits at the base of the four-tier Valpolicella ladder. Above it come Valpolicella Ripasso DOC, Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG and Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG.
The blend is built on Corvina. The larger-berried Corvinone can replace up to half of the Corvina, and Rondinella is the secondary grape. Minor permitted varieties such as Molinara, Rossignola, Oseleta and Negrara may complete the blend. Corvina gives cherry fruit and acidity, Corvinone adds structure, and Rondinella lends colour.
Classico is a zone label, scoped to the historic villages of Fumane, Marano di Valpolicella, Negrar, San Pietro in Cariano and Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella. Superiore is an ageing category. It requires twelve months in cask and at least 12 per cent alcohol. A wine can carry both, as Valpolicella Classico Superiore. Valpantena is the third named zone, covering the side valley north of Verona.
Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG is made from grapes dried for roughly 100 days (appassimento) before fermentation. The result is a powerful, high-alcohol dry red. Valpolicella Ripasso DOC starts as a base Valpolicella. It is then refermented on the leftover skins of Amarone or Recioto, which adds structure and depth. Base Valpolicella DOC is the youngest, freshest form of the blend.
The Consorzio recommends 14 to 16 degrees Celsius. Serve a base Valpolicella at the cooler end of that range to bring out the Corvina cherry fruit. Let a Superiore sit at the warmer end to show its body. The base DOC does not need decanting.
The base wine works with Veronese salumi, pastissada de caval and risotto all'Amarone. It also suits tagliatelle al ragù, roasted pork, grilled poultry and alpine cheeses such as Monte Veronese. Stronger Superiore and Ripasso bottles match braised beef, game and aged Parmigiano.
Explore more Veneto
Same region only: the denominations Valpolicella drinkers reach for next.
