I was invited to Vineria All’Amarone to try their popular Wine Flights and if you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that I’m always in for wine tasting.
Before sitting down to begin, I didn’t know quite what to expect from the experience, but I definitely arrived with high expectations for the wines.
Keep reading to find out how my wine tasting experience in Venice went, which wines and food I tasted, where to find the wine bar and shop, and if it was worth it.
Wine tasting at All’Amarone in Venice
The Vineria All’Amarone is located in San Polo, on one of those frequented corridors where the crowd flows past all day. The actual wine bar is slightly tucked away, and that’s good news for you.
In fact, if on one side it’s easy to reach if you’re anywhere near Rialto or San Marco, the moment you sit down, the city outside stops being your problem.
The tasting happens at a normal table in the bar/restaurant area or at the tables just outside. It’s not inside a cellar or a separate room, and most importantly, it’s something you experience with your group, not strangers.
It’s worth knowing that, if you are interested in having complete privacy for your group or you are celebrating a special occasion, you can also hire the private tasting rooms, behind the wine shop.
What’s the wine tasting actually about?
You can choose among four Wine Flights. Each Flight includes five glasses of 7cl and there are options for both red and white wine lovers (or, if you’re like me, you enjoy both!):
- Super Reds from Italy (€68). Some big names I’m sure you’ve heard about before: Etna Rosso, Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino, Amarone della Valpolicella.
- Amarone (€58). Five different Amarone della Valpolicella, so you taste what the appassimento drying method does across five producers.
- From White to Red (€48). Two whites, an orange wine and two reds. This is the one I did and would do it again.
- Whites (€42). Franciacorta, Soave, Vermentino, Etna Bianco, Chardonnay. The one I’d probably pick for a warm afternoon.
The format is the thing that makes it unusual. An AIS-certified sommelier gives you a full introduction, explains the order you should follow to drink the wines, and then you carry on by yourself with a detailed brochure on the table.
Staff stay within reach for questions the whole time. There’s no fixed duration and no set start time. You can also order cheese and cured hams tastings or from the full food menu while you drink.
+ Book your Wine Tasting in Venice
Is the All’Amarone wine tasting worth it?
Yes, especially if you want to come away actually knowing something about Italian and Veneto wines, rather than just having drunk five glasses of them.
I thought the Wine Flight experience at All’Amarone was worth it.
Here are the 3 main reasons why:
- The variety of wines that felt like a journey across Veneto. My flight ran almost entirely through the Veneto region, and it reminded me of the amazing wines from the region I’m originally from. Here are a few names: a Lugana DOC Riserva “Sergio Zenato”, a Garganega called “Monte del Cuca”, “Il Rosso dell’Abbazia” from Montello e Colli Asolani DOC which was my favourite, and an Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG “Case Vecie” to close. These are not the typical wines you’d find in restaurants around the city, and they will surprise you.
- You set the pace. There’s no timer, no strangers joining the same tasting experience, and nobody moving you along. I stayed an hour and a half with wine and food and was never once made to feel like the table was needed.
- You can also order cheese and ham platters or have a proper meal. You come here for the wines, but cheese, hams and focaccia are amazing too.
How to find All’Amarone
A few things worth knowing before you go:
📍 Location: San Polo 1131, about a minute from the San Silvestro vaporetto stop (line 1), and a short walk from Rialto.
🕙 Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 12pm to 10:30pm. Closed Sunday and Monday.
💰 Price point: Flights from €42 to €68 for five glasses of 7cl, plus whatever you order to eat.
📅 Booking: They recommend booking in advance, but you don’t strictly need to. Walk-ins are accepted, and there’s seating inside as well as tables outside.
What happens when you book a wine tasting
When you arrive, you’ll be accompanied to your table. You’ll have a paper mat with the five numbered circles in front of you. That’s your running order, and the glasses are poured at the counter in front of you and set down onto the numbers.
Simone looked after me and after asking which wine flight I wanted to go for, introduced each wine. What I liked is Simone’s opening advice: start with the lighter wine, yes, but then stop being obedient about it. Go back.
Cross between them. Do the same with the food, and work out what your own palate prefers rather than what you’re supposed to be tasting. Then he pointed me at Parmesan cheese and cured hams to try against which glass and left me to it.
So that’s what we did, for an hour and a half. The Parmesan vertical first: 24 months, 48 months, 100 months that came with fragolaceto, a strawberry jam with balsamic vinegar.
Then the cured ham vertical: San Daniele aged 24 months, culatello di Zibello aged 12 months, and Parma ham aged 12 months in Amarone. Artisanal grissini and focaccia alongside.
And three olive oils from Veneto, Abruzzo and Tuscany, each a different scent and a different strength, which is exactly what that focaccia is there for.
The glass I keep coming back to is “Il Rosso dell’Abbazia” from Montello, and I’m not going to pretend to be surprised about it. It’s from my corner of the Veneto, and I’ve had the luck of drinking wines from those hills at family occasions all my life.
But the one I’d tell you to pay attention to is the “from black to white” Veneto IGT. A white, early in the flight, and weeks later it’s still the one I’m thinking about.
The leaflet and the detail I didn’t expect
Here’s the little game you can play during the wine tasting.
The brochure on the table is not just wine descriptions to read. There’s space to give each wine a vote and write your own comments, such as what you smelt, what it reminded you of, and whether you liked it or not.
It turns five glasses into something you’re actively paying attention to instead of politely drinking, and by the end you’re holding a record of your own preferences. You’ll need that later on when you walk into the shop next door and have to choose a bottle.
And because the format is self-guided, you can ask questions to the sommelier, if you’re into wine. Or if you’re there with friends and you’d rather talk about your own things between glasses, this is a great place to do that too.
One thing that’s really important: I never once felt left to myself with a leaflet. The explanation at the start was just right, for the wine and for the food, and the questions were always welcome.
Things I liked about All’Amarone
- Intimate space both inside and outside: A space that feels welcoming, like stepping inside that friend’s living room that’s obsessed with wines. Whereas outside, it’s great during the warmer months; you can enjoy the views of Venice while sipping on wine.
- The self-guided format: A proper introduction, then your own time to taste wines and food.
- The food: The Parmesan cheese and ham verticals – they’re the other reason why visiting All’Amarone is not just about tasting wines but other amazing local produce.
- The location: Just a few minutes’ walk from Rialto Bridge, and completely calm once you’re through the door.
The All’Amarone wine shop
What’s in the wine shop?
I went into the shop after the tasting, which is the right order to do it in. Same idea as the vineria, several floor-to-ceiling walls of storage, holding an Italian range and a great selection of Amarone from the Valpolicella.
Johann and the team will help you navigate the selection based on your taste. Usually, after a flight you have a better idea about what you like that you can share with the team.
Can you buy the wines you just tasted?
Yes. The bottles from the flights are available next door, so if one glass stands out you can take that exact wine home with you. This is where the notes you left on the brochure will come handy.
Shipping wine home
If you’d rather not carry bottles over Venice’s bridges and through an airport, they ship. They ship internationally to most destinations, including Europe, North America, Asia, and Oceania, with proper packaging, optional insurance and express options, plus local delivery within San Polo and Santa Croce.
You can order online, in store with a quick form, or over WhatsApp. Costs and delivery times depend on where it’s going, so check the current rates on the All’Amarone wine shop website or simply ask at the counter when you arrive.
Would I Go Back to All’Amarone?
Yes! Vineria All’Amarone is the only place in Venice that offers Wine Flights: the in-house sommelier welcomes you and introduces the wines, then hands you five glasses, a brochure and as much time as you want with them.
Great Italian bottles, from well-known winemakers to small vignaioli, food worth ordering for its own sake, and a shop next door that will ship home whatever you want.
I really enjoyed it here and can say that it’s for anybody after a different kind of experience in Venice, couples especially, as well as small groups. If you like good wine and good food and you’d like to leave knowing a little more about Italian and Veneto wines than when you walked in, this is where you should head to.
📝 Note: I was invited to try the wine tasting at All’Amarone, but all opinions here are honestly my own. I’d only send you somewhere I’d happily go back to myself.
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