Happy to give insight on places to stay on the Amalfi coast, to suit the style you like. If it’s apartments, I’d definitely recommend local agency L’altracostiera, who are based in Amalfi itself, but manage rentals across the area.
Part of the fun of traveling for me is seeking out new wines or producers as opposed to things I already know. I usually have very good luck asking for recommendations from the somm or owner at restaurants. On our trip last year we had delicious local wines in Como and Cinque Terre that I wouldn’t be able to find in the US. There were more famous wines on the lists, but if I’m in that area I want to try the wines from that area as opposed to drinking Tignanello or something you can find anywhere. And while in Piedmont we drank local wines from producers or vintages I hadn’t tried or producers I hadn’t had in a long time. I like interacting with the wine people at restaurants and getting their suggestions.
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Given that you like wine without excessive intervention, you might like L’Arco by Luca Fedrigo in Valpollicela. He worked with Quintarelli. I had one of my more unique visits with him. All tasting by candlelight and little of it down in the cellar. An interesting guy. Wines were good but I had trouble with the very high VA, and I am fairly tolerant of it. Also, I thought, not such great value, but still good wines and a good visit.
Also second Ian’s rec for Maule. Very cool stuff.
Not sure if it would be to your liking but you might want to look into Garsparini Venegazzù. Trad Bordeaux style and they’ve been doing it for a long time.
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Topic drift here, but if the restaurant scene in Rome and Florence is a minefield, in Venice is directly carnage, usually the best options are in Dorsoduro.
True for any heavily touristed place. And yet there are good restaurants in these cities. A little homework is needed. Thank you all here on WB for making that research so easy!
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Wow. Just had to digest this. Thanks so much for the write up Ian. Extremely helpful.
My partner is very spontaneous and we have many parameters to align, so the Amalfi leg is still up in the air. So far I’ve eyed Vietri Sul Mare/Raito just because it’s so damn close to Salerno. There’s weekly flights from Venice to Salerno.
So yes it’s definitely the Northern areas I got my eyes on first, except for Amarone and Valpolicella. They had a mob like chokehold on the Danish wine commerce scene when I had my first sips of wine some 15 years ago and it’s traumatized me. Beyond therapy at this point.
I’ve had the top wines from Feudi di San Gregorio a few times, and while they are good wines, they are too polished for me.
@TGibson Thanks for L’Arco. Looks like it could pass.
@Marshall_Manning Exactly. It’s all about diving in locally with hopefully enough knowledge to understand just a bit of what it’s about.
@Mariano_Chiaramonte Yes and that will be the first hurdle. We’ll be in Venice some 3 weeks for work…
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Vietri a cool choice for sure. From memory there’s a super seafood place nearby, and of course their famous ceramics. Salerno in easy reach for other meals out and a cheap taxi back. Also a simple bus ride to get to Minori, Atrani and Amalfi, but a change of buses at Amalfi to get to Ravello (but I’d recommend the walk down the 1200 steps to Minori or Amalfi on the return leg. Julian Tippett’s pocket book in the sunflower series also went online in recent years - great if you fancy walking a few of the wonderful old criss-cross of paths).
I had no idea Salerno had an airport! We live and learn, so thanks for sharing.
Agreed on Feudi di San Gregorio. Well made, and at the lower end of their scale less worked/polished, but I think of them as polished to the point of a little blandness.
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Seconded.
They can get impressive with enough age (+ 20 to 25 years), but it’s a gamble; some have evolved enough to integrate the oak with the fruit - and some just can’t age long enough for it to happen and have fallen apart by that point.
However, there are many better choices in the region.
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Stopping in just to say that this is yet another WB classic thread. I’ve been eying some Quinterellis for a while. And noticed a Paolo Bea recently but wasn’t sure what to make of it.
Stayed in Vietri a long time ago. Lots of ceramics. If you go to the Amalfi Coast, be sure to have dinner at Don Alfonso 1890. See if you can get a cellar tour too.
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Funny, but I was going to recommend some other areas of Italy to visit. Not because they’re better, but also wonderful, perhaps less crowded. But so many options (and so much opportunity for thread drift). I’ll just mention two.
Southern Adriatic coast. Otranto is a lovely castle town on the sea and the beaches in this area are excellent, very Italian family oriented. The wines of Puglia are good, cheap and abundant.
Liguria (so called Italian Riviera). Good local wines and Piemonte close by so fairly local too and available in restaurants. Great food, coastal beauty, a wonderful area. Cinque Terre is close by but my theory is that the 5 towns are no more interesting than any other five cute coastal Italian towns, but are so well marketed that they are shockingly overrun with tourists. Only go if you like (literally) fighting your way elbow to elbow to walk across teensy little towns.
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I was thinking to mention this since Mads is into surfing. Although Italy is rightly not known for its surf, Varazze can get pretty good. It’s somewhat equidistant from both Rosesse di Dolceaqua which I love both for the wines and the incredible terraced vineyards, and Tuscany. Happy to suggest some producers in both areas if you think you’ll be there.
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Since you’ll be so long in Venice, I would highly recommend heading down to Friuli. A lot of overlooked, very good wines. I haven’t followed it much for 15+ years. The last time I had Damijan, I couldn’t tolerate the high alc. Not at all.
I think a great visit would be Edi Kante. He was always tinkering in a mad scientist kind of way so I am not sure what style he is up to now. After he got away from the orange stuff, he was making some very pure, very good wines but last I had them was close to 20 years ago so not sure what’s happening now and he doesn’t get much air time here. Really cool, multli-level facility.
Also, if you haven’t been, Alto Aidge is spectacular in many ways.
and this perhaps the greatest advice of all. Many still view experiencing Italy as doing the big 3 of Rome, Venice and Florence, maybe with a half day in Pisa. That can show the worst of Italy, tourist tat, dirty, soulless, albeit safe to speak English throughout.
Rick Steves guide set out to guide people away from the mass tourist trail, yet ironically only succeeded in directing swathes of tourists to the equivalent of the ‘super seconds’ (Cinque Terre, San Gimignano etc.).
We’ve actively sought out the humdrum, the ordinary, and the everyday. We’ve been richly rewarded with the people, the food/wine, the evening passeggiata, all of it. Well apart from Forli… that was the rarity of a humdrum place that was simply dull, except us lucking in with our visit coinciding with a super ‘white night’ evening of music and late night shopping, plus a rally event.
Occasions we’ve got close to mass tourism, we’ve been shocked. It’s not the Italy we love, but rather a false and cynical place, with rubbish food at inflated prices, served by people whose passion is only the money it brings in, and there’s a sadness about them.
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Edi Kante is fantastic and probably better than he’s ever been. I’m just not sure that he’s hip enough these days since he broke with hip, like, thirty years ago and has been more and more unhip ever since.
Maybe Marko Fon instead? He’s also into surfing.
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Dorsoduro? That sounds great! I’m going soon as well. Any particular places to share?
Good to hear it’s useful for someone else than me! Yes I was surprised positively by the little Bea I’ve had. Alive, big and nuanced.
@Ken_V Thanks Ken!
@R_Frankel Thanks! For us, being short on time, a nearby airport is a must, and at least theres Brindisi, and Genoa could be reachable with a rental car. Will keep them handy for my little ‘destination presentation’ when we’re getting closer.
@TGibson Oh man 
But I’ll let my wife have a trip where I won’t say swell or dawnpatrol once. A few years ago I roadtripped through Friuli and concluded with a dinner at Hisa Franko. Would love to go again. We love the orange stuff from Damijan and Gravner, but we can’t all be the same.
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This has been my experience too, but I’ve found the Slow Food app Osterie d’Italia very reliable. They only mention places they like, and I don’t believe it includes the top Michelin-ish places, but I don’t care about that kind of restaurant anyway.
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I’ve sort of learned that lesson 
Not sure if it would appeal to either of you, but the Valtellina has some thermal baths that look really nice. I haven’t been to those as I’ve always been too busy for any pause while there. I tasted with a young, natural producer there many years ago. Unfortunately can’t remember his name. He was just starting and really small. Wines were really good. I didn’t import because prices were too high IMO, but the wines were great and he was very cool. The area is within easy striking distance from the Venice area. It is hands down one of my favorite parts of Italy. I’m slightly partial to mountainous areas. A couple times I managed to escape into the hills for some short hikes. It’s incredible.
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