Valpolicella: Amarone Wine Tasting & Vineyard Walk with Winemaker

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/18

Duration2h 30m

GroupUp to 18

LanguagesEN · IT

Mobile ticketAccepted

Vineyard, Cellar & Tasting in Valpolicella's Heart

You walk the vineyards with the winemaker, see how Amarone grapes dry in a centuries-old room, tour a 17th-century cellar, and taste three wines paired with local cheese and salami on a terrace overlooking Valpolicella. The winery is family-run and works directly with visitors — no intermediaries or tour operators — so what you're tasting is what they actually make.

2h 30m

Step-by-step itinerary

Valpolicella vineyard tour and tasting

Walk in vineyards with family history
Visit 17th century cellar
See traditional grape drying room
Learn wine process and refinement
Taste Valpolicella, Ripasso, Amarone wines
Enjoy local cheeses and salami
Sample organic extra virgin olive oil
Relax on terrace with vineyard views

The Experience

You've just landed in Verona, or maybe you're staying nearby with an afternoon free. The Valpolicella wine region is close enough that you can be standing in a vineyard within the hour, and that's exactly where this starts — not at a tour office, but at the winery itself, in Marano di Valpolicella. The family who runs it will be waiting, and they're the ones pouring the wine, not a hired guide reading from a script. You walk straight into the rows of vines, and the winemaker tells you the actual history of the place: how long the family has been here, which parcels produce what, why the slope matters.

The real work happens next. You'll see the fruttaio — that's the traditional drying room where Amarone grapes hang for months, shriveling into concentrated sweetness through a process called appassimento. It's not dramatic, but it's the thing that makes Amarone different, and once you've stood in that room and touched a dried grape, you understand why the wine tastes the way it does. Then you move into the 17th-century cellar, stone walls and oak barrels, where the wine actually lives while it's becoming itself. The winemaker walks you through what's happening in each barrel — the age, the blend, how long it's been sitting. It's the kind of detail you only get when the person talking actually made it.

Tasting comes at the end, on the terrace overlooking the hills. You taste three wines: Valpolicella, Ripasso, and Amarone, and the winemaker teaches you how to actually taste — what to look for in the color, how to smell it, what the flavors are telling you. It's not pretentious; it's practical. Alongside the wines, you get local Monte Veronese cheese, Soppressa salami from the region, and their own organic extra virgin olive oil. The view doesn't hurt either. You're not rushed through this part. The whole experience is built around the idea that you came to understand something, not to collect a checkbox.

What’s included

A walk through the Valpolicella vineyards with the winemaker, a visit to the 17th-century cellar and the traditional drying room where Amarone grapes are prepared, tasting of three wines (Valpolicella, Ripasso, and Amarone) with instruction on how to evaluate them by sight, smell, and taste, local Monte Veronese cheese, Soppressa salami, the winery's organic extra virgin olive oil, and access to the terrace overlooking the Valpolicella hills.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleStroller friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by TENUTA SANTA MARIA VALVERDE

Is this one for you?Right for travelers staying in or near Verona who want to understand how Amarone is actually made, not just taste it. The winemaker leads the whole experience, so you're learning directly from the person who made the wine, which is what makes a small family winery different from a larger tour operation.