Venice-wine purchase?

[cruiselovin'girl]

Hello,

This may seem like a silly question but my first trip to Venice is coming up so I thought I'd ask: where is a good place to buy wine to bring on my cruise? Are there Wine stores there or is it available at grocery stores?

 

Thanks,

Pam

[traveling1969]

There is a grocery store a hundred yards or so to the north of Piazzale Roma. That is the main bus drop-off spot for Venice and where the taxis line up to take you to the cruise port. Just walk towards the bridge to the train station (Ponte della Constituzione) but instead of crossing the bridge, stay to the left along the water. The store is called COOP. If you zoom in on Google maps, you can find it quite easily. Of course, you can always find a wine store or other grocery store but that one is convenient and inexpensive. Don't expect to find fine wines there but there is a good selection of very drinkable wines to be had. Groceries too!

[Hlitner]

Just a crazy thought, but Venice has quite a few "fill your own" wine shops around town.  Just get a large bottle of coke, gulp down the contents, and then you can fill the bottle with your choice of wine at these shops :).   I know it sounds crazy but this practice is not uncommon in many parts of Italy.   Here is a link to an old article on the subject:

https://www.charmingitaly.com/article/the-vinaie-of-venice

 

We once bought a liter of wine at one of those shops and it was surprisingly drinkable.  I think it cost us about 4 Euros!

 

Hank

[lisiamc]

On 9/10/2019 at 12:22 AM, traveling1969 said:

There is a grocery store a hundred yards or so to the north of Piazzale Roma. That is the main bus drop-off spot for Venice and where the taxis line up to take you to the cruise port. Just walk towards the bridge to the train station (Ponte della Constituzione) but instead of crossing the bridge, stay to the left along the water. The store is called COOP. If you zoom in on Google maps, you can find it quite easily. Of course, you can always find a wine store or other grocery store but that one is convenient and inexpensive. Don't expect to find fine wines there but there is a good selection of very drinkable wines to be had. Groceries too!

 

I can’t speak for the COOP in Venice, but our local COOP (in Le Marche) has some very fine local wines.  You may not have seen the wines in the Venice COOP for sale outside of the Veneto, and the prices may be fairly modest, but the wines certainly can be very, very nice.  Names to look for:  Amarone, Valpollicella and Soave, and of course, Prosecco.  

[Hlitner]

41 minutes ago, lisiamc said:

 

I can’t speak for the COOP in Venice, but our local COOP (in Le Marche) has some very fine local wines.  You may not have seen the wines in the Venice COOP for sale outside of the Veneto, and the prices may be fairly modest, but the wines certainly can be very, very nice.  Names to look for:  Amarone, Valpollicella and Soave, and of course, Prosecco.  

The offerings in the COOP at Venice (just off the Piazale Roma) does vary (from visit to visit) but is generally nothing to write home about.  And by the way, the names you mention refer to regions  or type of wine which is not all that helpful when choosing Italian wines.  So for example, if buying a Soave (mostly from the Veneto region) you can get some cheap rot-gut Soave's, a much higher priced excellent wine (such as from Calvarino) or lots of different choices at moderate prices.  And it is the same with Prosecco's (often called Italian Champagne) which can vary from just awful to fantastic.  There are also some amazing Amarone's although they tend to be a bit pricey ($50+).

 

DW and I really enjoy Italian wines but they can be very difficult to purchase because so many come from tiny vineyards that are generally unknown.  Some of our best purchases have come by befriending the wine shop owners (or staff) and asking for their advice (it is good to be humble).

 

Hank

[lisiamc]

I think there is always a certain amount of luck involved, Hank.  I’ve had some pretty dire wines from the vino sfuso taps,, and some really good ones, but at least there you can ask for a taste.  

 

In the COOP, I’d use the same criteria I use at home.  I wouldn’t buy the cheapest offering, and probably not the most expensive.  If a clerk or manager seemed knowledgeable, I’d definitely ask for advice.  And I’d look at the labels, because care in selecting the label often (although not always) reflects care in making the wine.

[ollienbertsmum]

When  we arrived in Venice we asked the receptionist at our hotel for a grocery store.  She showed us a Despar just round the corner from our hotel which is located beside the train station and so really easy to get to.  Not a wine shop so staff would not be likely to recommend but lots of wine choices.  I picked a very drinkable Prosecco  for under $5 !   

[Hlitner]

On 9/13/2019 at 6:42 AM, lisiamc said:

I think there is always a certain amount of luck involved, Hank.  I’ve had some pretty dire wines from the vino sfuso taps,, and some really good ones, but at least there you can ask for a taste.  

 

In the COOP, I’d use the same criteria I use at home.  I wouldn’t buy the cheapest offering, and probably not the most expensive.  If a clerk or manager seemed knowledgeable, I’d definitely ask for advice.  And I’d look at the labels, because care in selecting the label often (although not always) reflects care in making the wine.

A few years ago (before cruise lines had all kinds of restrictions on how much wine you can bring aboard) we stopped at the COOP (Piazale Roma) to buy a couple of bottles of wine.  We had a long Princess cruise segment from Venice back to the USA so wanted enough wine.  As I was selecting some bottles an Italian lady pointed to a "boxed wine" and told me that it was really "drinkable."    So we bought this box (it was big and probably 4 liters) and took it back to the ship.  The wine was a pretty decent Sangiovese and kept us happy for a couple of weeks.  We have been in that COOP many times but there has never been any help from the employees on choosing wines.  It is luck of the draw unless you happen to spot a wine with which you are familiar.  The Vino Sfusu shops are certainly more fun and frequented by mostly locals.  But they are not quite as convenient in terms of location.  In our experience you need to have your own container (I have heard of some shops that will sell you a cheap container) and we have witnessed folks dumping out soft drink bottles so they can buy wine.  So much fun :).  

 

 

Hank