Wine tour
Valpolicella Wine Tours from Verona: How Tastings Work and How to Book
Degustazioni in Valpolicella
There are two ways to taste Amarone in Valpolicella from Verona: book a guided tour that collects you in the city and drives you between wineries, or book visits directly with the estates and make your own way there. Wineries are visited by appointment; the producers' consortium lists 278 member wineries and the Strada del Vino Valpolicella lists 94, with contacts but no published hours or prices.
This page sets out what the official sources say about visiting cantine: how appointments work, which wineries open at weekends without booking, the packages and bike hire the wine road association lists, the free Valpolicella Card, and what you will taste. It also says when to go if you want to see the grapes drying. For the train and bus options to reach the villages yourself, see our page on getting to Valpolicella from Verona.
Guided tour or your own winery bookings?
A guided tour from Verona is the simpler choice if you want to taste without driving. Tour operators sell half-day and full-day trips online that collect you in the city, visit two or more wineries and return you to Verona; the tour listings on this page show what can be booked. Prices are set by each operator.
Booking directly with wineries suits visitors who have a car with a non-drinking driver, or who stay in the villages and plan to cycle or use the bus. The two official lists are the starting point. The Consorzio per la Tutela dei Vini Valpolicella publishes a list of 278 member wineries, dated 7 August 2026, with each estate's address and website. The Strada del Vino Valpolicella, the wine road association, lists 94 member wineries alongside restaurants, accommodation and villas, and lets you filter them by comune.
Neither list gives visiting hours, tour formats or prices. You contact the estate through its own website or phone number, agree a time and ask what the tasting includes and costs. The consortium states that it represents over 80% of the producers who use the Valpolicella name, so its list covers most of the wineries you are likely to see on a label.
Wineries open at weekends without booking
The area's official tourism portal runs a rota called Weekend in cantina: a list of wineries open on Saturday and Sunday that you can visit without booking ahead. The portal says the area has more than 400 wineries in all and that the participating ones each have a wine shop where you can buy bottles. The rota changes, so check the current list on the portal before you set out.
The Strada del Vino also publishes extra openings around the holidays. Its December page lists member wineries open on 8, 24, 26 and 31 December, each with its own hours, which is useful if you are in Verona over Christmas and New Year.
For anything outside these lists, assume that a visit needs an appointment. This matters most on weekdays in winter and on public holidays, when small family estates may have nobody free to receive visitors. A short email a few days ahead, with your group size and the language you would like, is the usual way in. Larger estates often run fixed visit times; smaller ones fit a visit around their work in the vineyard and cellar.
Packages, guides and bike tours listed by the wine road
The Strada del Vino Valpolicella lists 19 tourist packages offered by its members. They combine stays, guided tastings, meals and cycling. One example, sold on request for a quote, includes a night in an agriturismo in the Valpolicella Classica, a private tour by minivan with a guide and sommelier, visits and tastings at two wineries with at least four wines served with bread, cheese or cured meats, and dinner in a local osteria. A two-night version adds a third winery and a lunch.
If you prefer to cycle, the association publishes nine numbered itineraries and a cycle map with over 200 km of routes between vineyards, villages, Romanesque churches and villas. It lists four operators that hire bicycles and e-bikes; two of them deliver bikes to hotels, B&Bs and agriturismi, so you can start from your accommodation.
The tourism portal also names a car-with-driver service for transfers from Verona and from the airport. Whatever you choose, plan the day so that whoever drives does not taste.
What you taste: four wines from one blend
A Valpolicella tasting usually covers four wines made from the same grapes. Valpolicella is the young red from fresh grapes, with at least 11% alcohol; the Superiore type needs 12% and a year of ageing. Valpolicella Ripasso is Valpolicella refermented on the pomace left after pressing Amarone or Recioto, for at least three days, and reaches at least 12.5%. Amarone is the dry wine from dried grapes, with at least 14% and two years of ageing. Recioto is the sweet wine from the same dried grapes.
The consortium counted 59 million bottles in 2024: 48% Ripasso, 29% Valpolicella and 23% Amarone and Recioto together. So a winery that makes Amarone almost always pours its Valpolicella and Ripasso too, and a tasting is the easiest way to compare the three methods side by side.
Our page on the differences between Amarone, Ripasso, Recioto and Valpolicella sets out the rules for each wine in detail, and the page on what Amarone is explains the drying process you may see in the cellar.
When to go: the drying lofts and the cellar year
The production rules give the visiting calendar. Grapes for Amarone and Recioto are picked between the last ten days of September and the first week of October, according to the technical report attached to the Amarone disciplinare, and dried in lofts called fruttai. They may not be made into wine before 1 December, unless the Regione del Veneto allows an earlier start because of the weather. So from October to December the lofts are full, and from December onwards the dried grapes are pressed and fermented.
From January to September the visit centres on the barrel cellar, where Amarone spends its compulsory two years of ageing (four for the Riserva), and on the tasting itself. Spring and autumn are also when the wine road holds its open-cellar days, such as the Giornata dei Colli Veneti on the last Sunday of March and Val Polis Cellae on the second Sunday of October; dates and how they work are on our page on the Valpolicella wine road and events.
If you want the harvest itself, ask the winery: the consortium's vintage reports show harvest dates that move by a fortnight or more from year to year.
The free Valpolicella Card and the information points
The tourism portal offers a Valpolicella Card that is free and not for sale; you apply for it online and show it at participating businesses during your stay. In November 2026 it listed four offers: 5% off wine purchases at Cantina Corte Archi in Valgatara di Marano, the adult ticket at Villa del Bene in Dolcè reduced from 6 to 5 euros, 12% off the full ticket for the Parco delle Cascate di Molina, and 5% off a spend of at least 50 euros at a butcher's in Sant'Anna d'Alfaedo.
The Strada del Vino lists eight information points in the area, and its own office is in Via Ingelheim in San Pietro in Cariano. These are the places to ask about the current weekend rota and events.
One programme that is not for visitors: the consortium's Valpolicella Education Program is a three-day certification course aimed at the press, trade professionals and wine educators. If you see it mentioned, it is not a tasting you can book as a tourist.
Frequently asked questions
5 questionsDo I need to book a winery visit in Valpolicella?
Usually yes. Visits are arranged directly with each estate. The exception is the tourism portal's Weekend in cantina rota, a list of wineries open on Saturday and Sunday without booking.
How much does a wine tasting in Valpolicella cost?
No official source publishes a price or price range. Neither the producers' consortium nor the Strada del Vino lists tasting prices, so ask the winery or the tour operator when you book.
How do I get to Valpolicella wineries from Verona without a car?
Book a guided tour with transport from Verona, or take a regional train to Domegliara-Sant'Ambrogio (15 minutes) or ATV bus line 103 to San Pietro in Cariano and Sant'Ambrogio, then walk, cycle or arrange a pick-up with the winery.
When can I see the grapes drying for Amarone?
From the harvest in late September or early October until December. The grapes cannot be made into wine before 1 December, so the drying lofts are full through the autumn.
How many wineries are there in Valpolicella?
The consortium's member list, dated 7 August 2026, has 278 wineries. The Strada del Vino lists 94 member wineries, and the tourism portal says the area has more than 400 in all.
Related guides
3 guides- Wine explainedWhat Is Amarone? Grapes, Drying and the Rules Behind the WineAmarone explained from its official rules: Corvina and Rondinella dried in lofts, 14% minimum alcohol, no pressing before 1 December, two years of ageing.
- TransportGetting to Valpolicella from Verona: Train, ATV Buses and TaxiVerona to Valpolicella: 15-minute train to Domegliara for 3.10 EUR, ATV bus 103 to San Pietro in Cariano, Sunday buses, day passes and the taxi tariff.
- Wine explainedAmarone, Ripasso, Recioto and Valpolicella: The DifferencesAmarone, Ripasso, Recioto and Valpolicella compared from their official rules: same grapes, different methods, alcohol, sweetness, ageing and release dates.