Prosecco Region for Beginners

Updated: Jan 14, 2023

After three days and two nights, here's everything we know about Italy's Prosecco Region:

In France, they call it Champagne. In Spain, Cava. And in Italy, it is known as Prosecco. In any language, sparkling wine is a delicious beverage. We happen to be particularly fond of the Italian variety, so in October of 2021, we made a pilgrimage to the country's sparkling wine region, which is still relatively unknown to American tourists.

The Prosecco region is comprised of two towns: Valdobbiadene and Conegliano. They are situated in a hilly region of Northeast Italy about an hour from Venice. Since we only had two nights to spend in the region, sadly, we never made it to Conegliano.

Valdobbiadene is a picturesque agricultural town that is perched along the edge of a long valley. Ancient stone buildings dot the landscape, and narrow roads wind their way through vineyards that stretch out towards the horizon in every direction. There are many wineries that welcome guests to come inside and sample their products. Although we visited the region during the pandemic, many of the facilities were still open and welcomed us with open arms.

The area is very difficult to get to. There is no train service and we were unable to find transportation by mass transit. Also, taxis were not available in the area to shuttle us between wineries, so we recommend renting a car. It’s not as scary as we thought. While the wineries are fairly close to each other, we don’t recommend walking. The roads are narrow and curvy, and you have to share them with the motorists.

How to get there:

After quite a bit of research, we found the easiest way to get there was to catch a Trenitalia train to the Venezia Mestre station in Venice. We then walked 300 yards to Avis and picked up a car that we reserved ahead of time. They are located at Via Venezia 3, Venezia Mestre, Italy 30171. The phone number is +39 041-931957. We were a little nervous about cell service and getting directions, but we had no problem using Apple Maps on our iPhone with our Verizon Wireless service. There were quite a few roundabouts, which were a little nerve-racking at first. My husband found it necessary and very helpful to announce each exit out loud to ensure that he used the right one (inverted eye-roll).

On our way to Valdobbiadene, we had to drive through our first toll booth. We’re not gonna lie, it was very stressful. At the first booth, you collect a ticket. A few miles up, there is a second booth where you pay the toll. It’s VERY IMPORTANT to go in the correct lane for payment. We did it right the first time, but the second time was a whole different situation. We didn’t notice the signs posted above the lanes for pass, credit or cash. The first time, I guess, we got lucky and happened to go in the correct lane for cash payment. The fee when we went was 3.40 euros. We simply put our cash in the bin and continued on our way. We were quite surprised by how easy it was. On the way back, we were not so lucky. Still not noticing the signs posted above the lanes, this time we entered the wrong lane. We were in the lane that accepts credit cards only. Had we realized that, we would have just paid with a credit card, but we were all prepared with our exact change of 3.40 euros. To our amazement, there was no bin for the change. We had a big line behind us and didn't know what to do except panic and yell at the machine until a nice worker came out to help us.

Another "oops" we made was not noticing the speed cameras right away. They are posted with an image of an officer. We got 3 violations, which weren’t too bad, but Avis’s processing fee was $50, making each violation $55. We received the bills three months later.

Where to stay:

After reading a lot of reviews on third-party sites like Booking.com & Trip Advisor, we decided to stay at Agriturismo Due Carpini in Valdobbiadene. We were lucky enough to stay in the Salis Room aka The Dew Room. It was beautiful. It was smaller than we thought but everything else made up for the size, so we didn’t mind at all! The view was just amazing! The bed was comfy. The room had everything we needed, great coffee and minibar. Alexandra and Maria were so lovely and helpful. We were given a long list of wineries and restaurants to choose from. The breakfast was great. My husband’s favorite was the cappuccinos and mine was the fresh bread and homemade jams!!!

They even gave us a lovely thank you gift: a Prosecco cork that works great! Those are hard to come by! When we got home, I found them on Amazon because I wanted to give some as gifts to friends and family. We definitely would recommend it and will be back! The hotel's restaurant is hard to get into. So if you come hungry, make sure to have reservations there or somewhere else. We came in on a Monday, and it was difficult to find a restaurant open or available in the area. We were disappointed that their guests did not have priority for reservations.

Where to go:

Since our time was limited, we couldn’t visit all of the wineries, so we chose the following:

Our favorite was Ca' Salina. It was an amazing experience. The owner, not only explained the entire Prosecco-making process but the different types, history, as well as his own family's history, which we really enjoyed. Both of his sons are involved in the family business. One with the vineyards and the other with the winery. We really enjoyed his company, and his property was lovely. After the tasting, we enjoyed a glass of Prosecco at his gorgeous gazebo that overlooks the valley below. We definitely recommend this winery!!!

Colessel was also very nice. Natalie did a great job explaining the different types of Prosecco with our tasting. We paid 15 euros for 3 hefty tastings. Bottles ranged anywhere from 8 to 15 euros.

At this point, we felt that we had enough education on the different types of Prosecco, so we stopped in at La Casa Vecchia Winery for a glass of Prosecco and sat outside on their patio and watched some cats play. We only paid 3 euros per glass.

Another winery that we stopped at for a glass of Prosecco and to get out of the rain was a beautiful boutique hotel called Municipio 1815. They were very friendly and accommodating. We sat in their dining room and enjoyed some Prosecco and snacks. They have a fantastic view of the countryside from their dining area.

Where to Eat:

Although we didn’t have time to visit many restaurants, we especially enjoyed a place called Osteria DolceVista. They presented us with a chalkboard menu consisting of four courses that were delicious.

On our last night there, we chose to order some pizza to go at Belvedere Trattoria Bar & Pizzeria. While waiting for our pizza, we enjoyed some beer and Prosecco on their patio. We then took the pizza back to our room because we did, after all, have the best view to enjoy our meal.

A Must-Do:

You must visit Osteria Senz' Oste, the Prosecco vending machine vineyards. It’s a little complicated, but worth it. The parking…well, just in between the rows of grapes. You walk up the hill to the right to the vending machines where you can purchase glasses for 1-2 euros and then, a little further up the hill is where the vending machines are located. You can purchase a bottle of Prosecco from one of the region’s vineyards, ranging anywhere from 10-20 euros. The only problem was that you had to swipe an Italian ID card to purchase a bottle. We were lucky enough to have a kind gentleman offer to swipe his ID for us to purchase a bottle. The machines take cash or card. We then went into the store to purchase some cheese and bread. You help yourself to the mini-fridge for your cheese choice and the bread from the basket. They run on the honor system, so you enter the items you purchased into the cash register and pay with cash or credit. We took it up to one of their tables at the top of the vineyard and thoroughly enjoyed having a picnic with a panoramic view.

Don’t forget to bring a pen and napkin or paper to sign and hang amongst the other visitors. We did not have any paper so we thought it was appropriate to sign a paper mask since we were there during Covid.