Valpolicella Wine Tours & Amarone
Valpolicella is the hill country north of Verona where Amarone is born: grapes dried on racks for months, then pressed into one of Italy’s richest dry reds, alongside its easier siblings Ripasso and Valpolicella and the sweet Recioto. Compare the top-rated Valpolicella wine tours below, then read our notes.
Valpolicella wine tours and Amarone tastings
Formats: half- and full-day tours from Verona or Lake Garda with two or three cellars; Amarone-focused tastings with the drying lofts; wine-and-lunch days in the Classico villages; private driver tours.
What you taste: Amarone della Valpolicella, Ripasso (“baby Amarone”), Valpolicella and Valpolicella Classico, and the sweet Recioto, made from Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara, with local cheese and salumi.
Price: roughly 60 to 90 dollars for a half-day with two cellars; 110 to 160 for a full day with lunch and transport.
How Amarone is made
The thing that sets Valpolicella apart is appassimento: after harvest the best bunches are laid on racks or in slotted crates in airy lofts and left to dry for three or four months, losing water and concentrating sugar and flavour. Pressed and fermented dry, they become Amarone, high in alcohol, dark and long-lived; fermented and stopped sweet, they become Recioto, the region’s ancient dessert wine. A cellar visit that shows you the drying lofts, the fruttaio, is the one to book.
Ripasso, Valpolicella and the Classico zone
Not everything here is Amarone. Ripasso is ordinary Valpolicella refermented on the Amarone skins – richer, and excellent value. Straight Valpolicella is a bright cherry-and-almond red for everyday. The heart of quality is the Classico zone, the western valleys of Fumane, Marano, Negrar, Sant’Ambrogio and San Pietro in Cariano, where most of the visitable estates are. The grapes are Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara.
How to visit
From Verona the hills are twenty minutes; tours with a driver let you taste across two or three estates and eat a hill lunch. Autumn is the moment – harvest into October, and the lofts filling with drying grapes. Combine it with a day on Lake Garda for the lighter wines.
How we choose
We list only experiences with a strong rating over a meaningful number of reviews and free cancellation where available, and we favour small-group and family-run hosts. FindEatLocal earns a commission when you book through GetYourGuide or Viator links on this page; it doesn’t change the price you pay. More about how we choose.
FAQ about Valpolicella Wine Tours & Amarone
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Amarone and Ripasso?
Amarone is made entirely from dried grapes and is powerful and expensive; Ripasso is normal Valpolicella refermented on the Amarone skins for extra richness at a fraction of the price.
Can I see the grapes drying?
Yes, if you visit in autumn and winter; ask for a cellar with a fruttaio, the drying loft, which is the heart of how Amarone is made.
Where do I base myself?
Verona is closest and best connected; Lake Garda works too, and many tours run from there. The Classico villages are the quality core.