Curated by Michele Edington, Certified Sommelier
Venice has wine growing right inside its lagoon, including the almost-lost Dorona grape, plus Raboso, Manzoni Bianco, serious Prosecco and one of my favorite wine traditions anywhere, standing at a bàcaro with an ombra and way too many cicchetti.
At a glance
Wine snapshot
Dorona can get golden, textured and almost tannic with quince, chamomile, herbs, dried citrus and this salty little lagoon edge that I absolutely want from a wine grown surrounded by water. Manzoni Bianco goes toward pear, nectarine and acacia, while Raboso gives you sour cherry, blackberry, violet, spice and enough acidity to make the wine feel awake even after years in bottle.
Also worth a sip
Venice might be one of the easiest cities in the world to accidentally turn one drink into an entire afternoon. The spritz culture alone could keep you busy, but there’s also the Bellini, local grappa, radicchio amaro and sgroppino, which is basically lemon sorbet deciding it would rather become a cocktail. I support this decision.
Order at least one Select Spritz instead of defaulting automatically to Aperol. Select was created in Venice in 1920, and the classic Venetian version combines Select, Prosecco and soda with a big green olive. It’s a little more herbal and bitter, which I personally love beside salty cicchetti. Then look for Amaro San Nicolò if you want the weird souvenir drink. Rechsteiner makes it with radicchio, because apparently Veneto looked at bitter red chicory and thought, “you know what this needs? Alcohol.” They were correct.
Common questions
- What wine is Venice known for?
- Dorona can get golden, textured and almost tannic with quince, chamomile, herbs, dried citrus and this salty little lagoon edge that I absolutely want from a wine grown surrounded by water. Manzoni Bianco goes toward pear, nectarine and acacia, while Raboso gives you sour cherry, blackberry, violet, spice and enough acidity to make the wine feel awake even after years in bottle.
- What grapes are grown around Venice?
- Dorona di Venezia, Raboso Piave, Manzoni Bianco, Glera, Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, Tai, Verduzzo, Carmenère.
- Why is Venice a notable wine stop?
- Venice gives you two completely different wine worlds sitting almost on top of each other. The lagoon preserves Dorona and tiny island vineyards, while the land behind the city opens into Venezia DOC and the Piave, where grapes like Raboso and Manzoni Bianco have their own deep history. There’s even a small conservation vineyard beside Santa Lucia station containing around twenty endangered historic varieties, which feels extremely Venice somehow. There are secret grapes hiding behind a monastery wall beside the train station because of course there are.
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Nearby winery
Venissa Wine Resort
Local label terms, decoded
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