Practical Information for visiting The Valpolicella Wine Region

There is no railway in the valleys. The usable stations are Verona Porta Nuova and Domegliara-Sant'Ambrogio on the Brenner line, at the western edge.

Buses run from Verona into the main valley villages, but they are infrequent and will not get you between cellars.

A car is effectively necessary. Verona is 15 to 30 minutes from any of the Classico valleys, and Lake Garda about the same to the west. The valley roads are narrow, winding and slow -- distances on the map understate the time considerably.

Because tastings and driving do not mix, hiring a driver for a day of cellar visits is common and worth the cost. Cycling is excellent but genuinely hilly.

Mobile coverage is good in the valley floors and villages, and patchier in the upper valleys and on the Lessinia plateau, where reception can drop out entirely in the folds.

EU visitors roam on their own plans; others can buy a prepaid SIM in Verona, with a passport for registration. Wi-Fi is standard in accommodation and in cellars set up for visitors, though not always in the older farm buildings.

Valpolicella is safe, and its risks are those of a rural wine region rather than of crime.

• Drink-driving is the serious one. Amarone runs to 15 or 16 per cent alcohol, tastings are generous, and the valley roads are narrow, unlit and full of bends. Italy's limit is 0.5 g/l and enforcement is real -- hire a driver.
• The roads themselves are demanding: single-track sections, blind corners, and agricultural traffic at harvest.
• Cellar visits involve steps, wet floors and occasionally ladders into drying lofts; the fermentation halls also carry a real CO2 risk, which is why you should not wander off from a guide.
• Summer heat on exposed terraces is significant.
• Lessinia above the vineyards is proper mountain country -- weather changes fast and the karst has open shafts.

The valley villages have pharmacies and health centres; the nearest hospitals with emergency departments are at Negrar -- a large one, the Ospedale Sacro Cuore Don Calabria -- and in Verona, both within half an hour of most of the region.

EU visitors with a valid EHIC are treated on the same terms as residents; non-EU visitors should carry travel health insurance. Pharmacies operate a rota for nights and weekends.

Tap water is safe to drink. The practical considerations are summer heat on the terraces, uneven ground at farms and cellars, and the fact that a full day of tastings is a great deal more alcohol than it feels like at the time.

Single emergency number: 112, free from any phone, covering police, fire and ambulance.

Nearest emergency departments: Ospedale Sacro Cuore Don Calabria at Negrar, inside the region itself, and the Verona hospitals about 20-30 minutes away.

Mountain rescue: 112, which coordinates the Soccorso Alpino for Lessinia above the vineyards.

Police: Carabinieri stations in the main valley villages; a formal denuncia is required for insurance claims.

Lost passport: contact your own country's embassy or consulate, most of which are in Rome or Milan.