Amarone country: Valpolicella for golfers

Wine made by drying the grapes first

Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG is what Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara become once the grapes are dried before fermentation, concentrating sugar and flavour into a wine considerably stronger than the region’s everyday Valpolicella. Masi, in Valpolicella, bottles its version as Costasera Amarone, alongside Campofiorin and Mazzano. Allegrini, in Fumane, takes a different route with La Poja, a Corvina Veronese released outside the Amarone denomination altogether, alongside its own Amarone della Valpolicella Classico and Palazzo della Torre. Zenato, based in the Lugana zone by the lake itself, makes the Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva Sergio Zenato from Corvina and Rondinella, alongside a Lugana Riserva and a Ripassa.

The drying process itself, appassimento, is what separates this corner of Veneto from most other Italian reds: grapes rest on racks for months before pressing, losing water rather than ripening further, which is why an Amarone label carries more weight, literally and in the glass, than a standard Valpolicella from the same hills. Ripasso, a lighter style that reuses leftover Amarone skins on a second batch of Valpolicella, sits between the two: Zenato’s own version, Ripassa, sits on its list alongside the Amarone Riserva itself.

Where to taste it

Two more names carry as much weight as any of the three above: Giuseppe Quintarelli, 21.1 km from the anchor course, whose flagship is an Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva, and Dal Forno Romano, the furthest out at 37.1 km, known for its own Amarone della Valpolicella. Masi, Allegrini and Zenato sit in their respective zones, Valpolicella, Fumane and Lugana, close enough to the lake to fold into the same day as golf without the distances working against you.

Two smaller producers sit much closer to the golf itself: Corte Pianton, 3.7 km from the anchor course, and Ca’Lojera, at 4.1 km. Both are a shorter trip than any of the five names above, useful for a quick stop between a morning round and an afternoon drive out toward Quintarelli or Dal Forno Romano.

The spread of distances here, from just under 4 km to just over 37 km, is wide enough that the itinerary works equally well as a one-day sampler close to the course or a multi-day circuit that runs the full length of the Valpolicella hills.

The courses nearby

Golf Club Paradiso del Garda anchors the Lake Garda & Valpolicella itinerary. Chervò Golf San Vigilio is 9.4 km away, 36 holes at the southern tip of the lake set among Lugana vineyards, which puts it closest to Zenato’s own zone. Gardagolf Country Club sits 20.0 km out, beneath the Rocca di Manerba and consistently ranked among the top ten courses in Italy.

Three courses inside one itinerary means a multi-day stay can rotate rather than repeat, and the fact that Chervò’s own 36 holes sit inside the Lugana zone gives the golf side of the trip a direct link to at least one of the wineries above rather than a purely coincidental overlap.

When to go

October is Lake Garda’s best-scoring month in our data: 19.3 degrees average high, 9.6 rain days and 6.8 washout days across the month. May, the month many visitors assume is the safer bet, is actually the wettest reading in the entire dataset for this itinerary, 15.9 rain days and 11.7 washout days, nearly double October’s washout count for a similar temperature. January posts even fewer washout days than October, just 3.9, but at 7.9 degrees average high it trades dry fairways for a genuinely cold round. If the trip is built around a dry round as much as a dry tasting room, the shoulder season beats the obvious choice here.

Planning the trip

Lake Garda sits within a manageable drive of two more itineraries on this site. Franciacorta & Bergamo is 72 km away, close enough to pair Amarone with a Franciacorta cellar on the same trip, and Euganean Hills & Abano sits at 84 km. The lake itself also carries two well-known thermal stops, Aquaria Terme di Sirmione on the Sirmione peninsula and the Lefay Resort & SPA above the water, either one a reasonable way to close out a day that already covered golf and a tasting room. For the complete picture of the lake itself, see the Lake Garda & Valpolicella itinerary.