The Veneto is situated in the northeast of Italy between Lake Garda and the Adriatic. The Po, Italy's longest river, forms it southern border with Emilia Romagna. To the east the region stretches as far as Friuli Venezia Giulia. The contours of the land and the soils are extremely varied, ranging in altitude and composition from the plains of the Adige and Piave rivers to the mountains of the Dolomites. The climate varies too, with temperatures which go from Alpine to Mediterranean, although these extremes are tempered by the influence of the rivers and lakes which create ideal micro-zones for viticulture. The two most famous DOC zones are Valpolicella and Prosecco, but there are many others worthy of note such as the Colli Euganei, the Colli Berici, Montella, parts of the Piave and the east bank of Lake Garda.

The Veneto is one of the two biggest wine producing regions in Italy. Its 50,000 hectares of vineyard turn out 15 million quintals of grapes a year and around 9 million hectolitres of wine, of which 1.8 million has DOC status. The most important of these wines are Amarone and Valpolicel la, which are both made from the local grape varieties Corvina, Molinara and Rondinella, and the white Soave made from Garganega. The Prosecco grape is responsible for the popular sparkling wine of the same name. Raboso is the traditional red grape of the Piave. In addition to these local varietals, there is a growing presence of high quality Merlot and Cabernet.