Anteprima Amarone

Anteprima Amarone is one of the wine festivals that anchors the Veneto calendar, drawing both local visitors and international wine travellers each year. It is held at Palazzo della Gran Guardia in Piazza Bra, in the heart of one of Italy's most distinctive wine areas. It is an annual event with an established local audience and a consistent place in the regional calendar. Annual presentation of the new Amarone della Valpolicella vintage by the Consorzio Tutela Vini Valpolicella. Held in the elegant Palazzo della Gran Guardia in central Verona, the event lets producers showcase the wines that have just been released after years of ageing. A key calendar event for Italian wine professionals and journalists; some sessions are open to ticket-holding wine lovers. Italian anteprima events are the moments when each appellation's new vintages are formally introduced to the wine trade and the press. Producers typically pour current and library vintages side by side, with masterclasses on the vintage character, expert panels assessing the year's growing conditions, and structured comparisons across producers. The events serve as the entry point for the new wines into the international market, drawing buyers, sommeliers and journalists from around the world. Most anteprima events are weighted toward trade and press attendance, but include public-facing days or open masterclasses during the run of the event for wine enthusiasts willing to plan ahead. The event is organised by Consorzio Tutela Vini Valpolicella, which sets the tone and direction of the programme each year. Veneto is Italy's largest wine region by volume, producing Prosecco from the Conegliano-Valdobbiadene hills (a UNESCO-listed cultural landscape), Amarone della Valpolicella and Ripasso from the appassimento hills above Verona, Soave from the volcanic slopes east of the city, and Bardolino and Lugana from around Lake Garda. The region hosts Vinitaly — the world's largest wine trade fair — every April, and wine tourism here benefits from the proximity of Verona, Venice and Lake Garda. The 2026 edition is scheduled for Late January / early February 2026 (dates TBC). Cost details: Trade and press event (some public sessions). Full programme, ticketing and updated information are published on the official site at https://www.consorziovalpolicella.it/. Visitors are advised to check directly with the organiser for the latest schedule, as Italian festival programmes are sometimes updated close to the event date. Veneto is reached via Venice (Marco Polo airport, water transport from there to the historic centre), Verona, Treviso or Padua. A festival visit combines well with Verona's Roman amphitheatre and Romeo and Juliet sites, the Prosecco hills above Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, the Palladian villas of the Brenta riviera, and the south-Lake Garda towns of Sirmione, Bardolino and Peschiera del Garda. Venetian cuisine — risotto, polenta, baccala mantecato, sarde in saor — pairs well with the regional wines.