Tenuta Santa Maria Valverde is a tiny estate at about 500 metres above Marano di Valpolicella, and it can be visited by reservation. With roughly 10,000 numbered bottles a year, it sits at the opposite end of the appellation from the famous houses — and that is exactly its appeal. This guide covers where it is, what you’ll taste, and how to arrange a private visit.
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Why Tenuta Santa Maria Valverde is worth visiting
Owner-winemaker Nicola Campagnola, with Ilaria Nidini, farms a hillside the family has held since the 1800s — the vines appear in Napoleonic-era land registers. The setting explains the wines: south-facing terraces braced by two-hundred-year-old dry-stone walls, clay-limestone and volcanic soils, and the cool air of the high Marano valley.
Everything here is at artisan scale. Around 10,000 numbered bottles leave the estate each year, vinified parcel by parcel, and the appassimento happens the old way — grapes drying in a natural stone chamber inside the restored nineteenth-century cellar. If large-cask cathedral cellars are one face of Amarone, this is the other.
Where it is and how to get there
The estate stands on the upper slopes of Marano di Valpolicella, one of the five communes of the Valpolicella Classica, at roughly 500 metres — among the highest serious vineyards in the appellation. From Verona the drive is about 30 minutes, and a shuttle from the city can be arranged with the visit.
What you’ll taste
The range walks the full Veronese ladder at miniature scale:
- Valpolicella Classico and Superiore — the freshest reading of the high-altitude fruit.
- Ripasso — the middle register, deepened on Amarone skins.
- Amarone della Valpolicella, including a Classico Riserva — stone-chamber appassimento, long ageing, small numbers.
- Recioto — the appellation’s ancestral sweet red.
- Savine — the estate’s Cabernet Sauvignon, the one deviation from tradition.
The standard experience is a roughly two-hour cellar visit and tasting from about €65, with olive oil, truffle-hunting and e-bike add-ons for those making a day of it.
The high Marano valley
Marano is the quiet, high side of the Classica — cooler and finer-boned than the valley floor. Its two visitable poles complement each other neatly: this artisan terrace estate and the four-century house of Albino Armani minutes away. For the appellation’s cult extreme, the road continues to Quintarelli above Negrar; our appassimento guide explains the technique that unites them all.
How to arrange your visit
Visits are private and by reservation. Enouting handles the booking, transport from Verona or Lake Garda, and a sommelier who places these small-parcel wines in the wider Valpolicella. The Taste of Valpolicella day is the natural frame; Between Soave and Valpolicella adds the white half of Verona’s story.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you visit Tenuta Santa Maria Valverde?
Yes, by reservation. This is a small estate that receives visitors privately, with a cellar visit and tasting lasting around two hours from about €65, and a shuttle from Verona can be arranged. Enouting organises the private visit with transport and a sommelier.
Where is Tenuta Santa Maria Valverde?
The estate sits at around 500 metres on the upper slopes of Marano di Valpolicella, in the Valpolicella Classica, among south-facing terraces held by two-hundred-year-old dry-stone walls. It is about a 30 minute drive north-west of Verona.
What wines does Tenuta Santa Maria Valverde make?
The range covers the classic Veronese ladder — Valpolicella Classico, Valpolicella Superiore, Ripasso, Amarone della Valpolicella including a Classico Riserva, and Recioto — plus a Cabernet Sauvignon called Savine. Total production is only about 10,000 numbered bottles a year, made parcel by parcel.
How is the Amarone made at Tenuta Santa Maria Valverde?
The grapes — Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Molinara and Oseleta — are dried for appassimento in a natural stone chamber within the estate's restored nineteenth-century cellar, an unusually traditional setting for the method, before long ageing.
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