Private days
Latest from Verona & the Veneto
From new DOC approvals and emerging appellations to wine fair reports and notable vineyard discoveries, this section covers the news that matters to anyone serious about Italian wine and travel in the Veneto.
The Enouting team follows developments in the region closely — as local guides and wine specialists, we report on what's changing, what's opening and what's worth knowing before you visit.
Gift ideas for wine lovers who have everything: private cellar visits and tastings in Valpolicella — as an open-dated gift card, a surprise wine day, or a Wine Passport that lasts a whole year.
The Arena di Verona seating plan decoded: what poltronissime, poltrone, numbered and unnumbered stone actually mean, which sectors are worth the money for the opera, and the honest trade-offs between view, sound, comfort and price.
Cicchetti are Venice's small bar bites, eaten standing at a bacaro with an ombra of local wine. What the words mean, what to order (baccalà mantecato first), how a bacaro crawl works, where the good counters cluster — and what it all costs.
The best day trips from Venice, ranked honestly: Verona, the Valpolicella and Prosecco wine countries, Soave, Lake Garda, Padua, Treviso, the Dolomites and the lagoon islands — travel times, how to do each by train, and which ones deserve a guide.
You don't need a packaged opera holiday to see Aida in the Arena. How to plan a two- or three-night Verona opera break yourself: when to book, where to stay, how to spend the day before a 9pm curtain — and why the afternoon belongs in the Valpolicella vineyards.
There is no enforced dress code at the Arena di Verona — but there is a 2,000-year-old staircase, a marble seat and a midnight temperature drop. What people actually wear in each sector, what to bring, and the few things that genuinely don't work.
Everything you need to plan a night at the Verona opera: how the Arena Opera Festival works, when the season runs, how tickets and seating really work, what to wear, what happens if it rains — and how to build the perfect opera day around it.
Venice has wonderful wine bars but no wine country — the real tastings happen 30 to 80 minutes inland. Where to drink well in the city (bacari, ombre, cicchetti), and which regions near Venice are worth a day: Valpolicella, Soave, Prosecco and Lugana.
How to take a wine tour from Venice: the three day-trip regions that actually work — Valpolicella for Amarone, the Prosecco hills for bubbles, Soave for whites — travel times, what each day looks like, and how to do it all by train plus private guide.
A complete guide to the wines of Verona: the Valpolicella family from Classico to Amarone, Soave, Bardolino, Lugana and Custoza — what they taste like, how they differ, and how to visit the cellars.