Still red in Veneto

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Bold · Elegant

A 100% Corvina IGT aged in French barriques rather than dried: La Poja demonstrates the varietal's structure and ageing potential when treated outside the appassimento framework, producing a powerful, savoury red that rivals Amarone in complexity.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Rustic · Easygoing

A Veronese IGT using partial ripasso over Amarone pomace adding richness to the Corvina-Rondinella blend, while a small Sangiovese component adds acidity. Approachable but complex mid-tier red from Allegrini.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Easygoing · Rustic

Allegrini's estate Classico Superiore reflects the house's high Corvinone proportion (45%) adding floral lift and softer tannin alongside Corvina's cherry-herb character; a bright, food-friendly everyday Valpolicella.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Rustic · Easygoing

Bertani's Ripasso benefits from the estate's traditional Corvina-Rondinella blend and refermentation over dried Amarone skins, producing a mid-weight red with the freshness typical of the traditional house style.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Easygoing · Refreshing

Ca' La Bionda's Classico Superiore reflects the upper Marano valley's mineral character in a lighter-bodied, tart cherry register; crisp, food-friendly and genuinely typical of the traditional Valpolicella style.

Dry · Light-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Easygoing · Rustic

One of Bardolino's oldest estates, founded in 1889. Campagnola's Bardolino Classico is a genuine expression of the pale ruby, low-tannin, cherry-scented style from the original lakefront Bardolino zone. The estate's daily opening policy makes it a popular stop on the Lake Garda wine tourist circuit.

Dry · Light-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Easygoing · Rustic

Campagnola's Valpolicella Classico from the estate's hillside vineyards in the historic Classico zone. A traditional expression of the DOC: light in colour and body but with the characteristic Corvina sour cherry and almond character of the Classico hills.

Dry · Light-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Easygoing · Rustic

Corte Gardoni's Bardolino Classico is produced from Corvina-dominated vines on the southern Garda morainic soils. Light-bodied, pale ruby and fresh: a classic everyday Garda red suited to fish, vegetable dishes and outdoor drinking.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Savoury · Rustic

The Le Fontane (the springs) red from Corte Gardoni is a Garda DOC Cabernet-based blend aged in oak. The Garda DOC permits Bordeaux varieties and the morainic soils of Valeggio sul Mincio give the Cabernet a mineral freshness that distinguishes it from warmer Veneto reds.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Funky · Rustic

Soraigo shows what biodynamic Valpolicella Classico tastes like with minimal intervention: earthy, mineral, tart cherry with clay soil expressiveness and a savoury, food-friendly character that makes it a superb natural-wine discovery.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Bold · Contemplative

Dal Forno's entry into the Valpolicella range already shows the estate's signature intensity: deeply coloured, barrique-aged and concentrated beyond what the DOC classification implies.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Bold · Contemplative

A blend of local Corvina with international Cabernet in the Quintarelli style: concentrated, savoury and structured, with the Bordeaux varieties adding colour and spine to the Valpolicella base.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Rustic · Savoury

Quintarelli's entry-level Valpolicella is already a lesson in traditional winemaking: high-acid, savoury cherry fruit with dried-herb complexity and three years in large oak adding gentle structure.

Dry · Light-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Easygoing · Refreshing

Gorgo's Bardolino Classico from vineyards along the eastern Garda shore. A light, fresh Corvina-Rondinella red for everyday drinking, complementing the estate's main Custoza white wine focus.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Easygoing · Rustic

Gorgo's Garda DOC Merlot provides a red wine counterpart to the estate's primary Bianco di Custoza focus. Lake Garda's moderating effect on the climate produces a well-rounded Merlot with soft tannins and ripe fruit.

Dry · Light-bodied · Low tannin · Medium acidity · Easygoing · Rustic

A classic light-bodied Bardolino Classico from the Lake Garda shoreline estates. The Classico denomination requires production from the original Bardolino historic core. Guerrieri Rizzardi, as one of the oldest estates in the zone, produces a benchmark expression of the pale ruby, cherry-scented style.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Rustic · Savoury

Pojega is the top expression from Guerrieri Rizzardi's Bardolino range, bottled under the Bardolino Superiore DOCG. Oak ageing adds structure and complexity to the base Classico profile. Named for the Pojega wine museum located on the estate.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Easygoing · Rustic

The Piave plain Merlot DOC from Italo Cescon is a classic Trevisan everyday red. Merlot on the alluvial Piave soils produces a plum-forward, medium-bodied wine with soft tannins suited to simple food pairings.

Dry · Medium-bodied · High tannin · High acidity · Rustic · Bold

Raboso Piave is one of Italy's most ancient and austere red grapes, native to the Piave river plains in Treviso province. Italo Cescon has championed its rehabilitation since the 1960s. High tannin and acid give the wine its characteristic austerity, but serious age-worthiness.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Rustic · Easygoing

Le Salette's Classico Superiore benefits from the high-altitude Fumane terroir that gives freshness and floral lift to the Corvina base; an elegant, food-friendly expression of the appellation.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Rustic · Easygoing

Begali's Valpolicella Classico Superiore from Ca' Bianca old vines shows the same mineral-iron freshness as the estate's Amarone in a lighter register; a food-friendly expression of traditional San Pietro in Cariano Corvina.

Dry · Full-bodied · High tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Bold

Fratta is Maculan's Bordeaux-inspired flagship red, one of northeastern Italy's landmark wines. A Cabernet-Merlot blend aged 18 months in new French oak, it rivals top Veneto reds in complexity and ageing potential. Fausto Maculan was among the first producers in the Veneto to vinify Bordeaux varieties at serious quality levels.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Rustic · Easygoing

Campofiorin pioneered the ripasso technique in 1964, passing fresh Valpolicella wine over dried Amarone grape skins to extract colour, richness and complexity. A seminal wine that created an entire style category.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Bold · Rustic

Masi's Toar is a 30% Oseleta-dominant Veronese IGT that deliberately showcases the rarely-used indigenous variety; partial drying of the Oseleta component adds concentration and the grape's characteristic dark spice and iron mineral character.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Rustic · Easygoing

The Nicolis estate Classico Superiore offers an honest, traditional Valpolicella from the Villa Girardi hillside; cherry-tobacco character with the freshness typical of a classic-zone Corvina aged gently in large casks.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Easygoing · Rustic

Santa Sofia's Classico Superiore is a reliable, food-friendly, accessible Valpolicella from the historic Pedemonte estate with cherry-tobacco character and good acidity.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

The flagship of the Montello DOCG, one of northeastern Italy's most serious Bordeaux-blend reds. Serafini and Vidotto pioneered quality Bordeaux-variety production on the Montello hills in the 1980s when the zone was considered secondary. Il Rosso dell'Abazia has become the reference point for the designation.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Easygoing · Rustic

Phigaia is the accessible second wine from Serafini and Vidotto, allowing the estate to express the Montello terroir at a lower price point. The Cabernet Franc and Merlot blend is lighter, fresher and more immediately enjoyable than Il Rosso dell'Abazia.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Rustic · Easygoing

Speri's La Roverina Classico Superiore with partial ripasso technique; fresh cherry and tobacco character from the traditional large-cask approach, with added concentration from the ripasso step and the estate's characteristic acidity.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Rustic · Easygoing

The Capitel dei Nicalo is Tedeschi's Valpolicella Superiore partially ripassoed over dried skins, offering accessible Corvina cherry fruit with tobacco structure and good food-pairing versatility.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Rustic · Easygoing

Tenuta Sant'Antonio's Ripasso shows the Mezzane valley's characteristic earthiness alongside cherry-tobacco fruit; the small Oseleta addition adds a distinguishing spice note that sets it apart from Classico-zone examples.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Rustic · Easygoing

Tommasi's Ripasso offers the hallmark refermentation complexity over dried Amarone skins in a well-structured, cherry-tobacco dominated medium red that is one of the zone's best-value offerings in the Ripasso DOC.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Rustic · Funky

Valentina Cubi's organic Valpolicella Superiore shows the freshness of high-altitude Fumane fruit with earthy mineral character from organic farming; a genuinely characterful everyday Valpolicella with better-than-average expressiveness.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Savoury · Rustic

A Cabernet-focused red from the volcanic slopes of the Euganean Hills. The Colli Euganei DOC allows Cabernet varieties and Vignalta's version shows the distinctive mineral thread of volcanic soil combined with the classic Cabernet Franc herbal character.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Gemola is the flagship red of Vignalta and one of the Veneto's most distinctive non-Valpolicella reds. The volcanic basalt soils of the Euganean Hills give a distinctive mineral thread to this Merlot-Cabernet Franc blend that is unlike the softer alluvial reds of the plain.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Rustic · Refreshing

Viviani's Classico Superiore from the high Mazzano ridge shows the altitude freshness that characterises all the estate's wines: iron mineral, tart cherry and mountain herbs in a lean, food-loving medium-red.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Rustic · Easygoing

Zenato's Ripassa shows the Oseleta grape's peppery-spice influence even at the mid-tier level: good concentration from refermentation over dried skins with a distinguishing warmth from the native Oseleta component.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Bold · Funky

A 15-variety blend in the Veronese IGT classification, Harlequin is Gaspari's conceptual statement: every grape variety grown across Zyme's vineyards co-fermented after partial drying, producing a complex, layered wine with extraordinary aromatic diversity.