Soave

Classic Soave. The name means "gentle" and perfectly captures the character of this famous white wine from Veneto. Zenato vinifies 70% Garganega with 30% Chardonnay in stainless steel to preserve the freshness of the grape varieties. Light yellow in the glass, with aromas of green apple, pear and subtle floral notes. Lively, fruity and balanced on the palate – an uncomplicated white wine with moderate acidity and a pleasant flow. Ideal with antipasti, fish and light summer dishes. SUPERIORE.DE

Soave has an image problem with many – wrongly so. Anyone who believes that the name stands for pale white wine with no origin is not yet familiar with the eastern hills of Colognola ai Colli. Here, on volcanic soils with sulphurous minerality, Garganega grows with a precision that one would not expect. Monte di Colognola bears the name of its UGA – the Additional Geographical Unit, one of the largest and westernmost hills in the denomination.

Zenato describes its Colombara vineyard in two words: volcano and limestone. Both in perfect balance. The vineyards of the Colombara area, in the heart of Soave Classico, are situated on soils where basaltic volcanic rock meets limestone outcrops – a geological interplay that lends the Garganega both freshness and complexity. In 1960, Sergio Zenato founded his winery on Lake Garda. Since then, Soave Classico and Lugana have been the two pillars around which all the estate's white wines revolve. The Colombara is the purest expression of the former.

Light yellow in the glass, with greenish nuances - this Soave surprises with its clarity and elegance. The nose has aromas of green apple, lemon, white peach and a subtle hint of almond blossom. The palate is fresh, juicy and racy, with lively acidity, delicate fruit structure and a fine hint of mineral tension. The ageing in stainless steel preserves the typical muscat flavour of Garganega and its pure origin. An uncomplicated, stylish white wine with Mediterranean freshness, ideal with seafood, light dishes or simply on its own in the sunshine. SUPERIORE.DE

Roberto Anselmi is the eternal rebel in the Soave region – a man who turned his back on the Soave DOC consortium in 2000 because, among other things, he disliked mass production. For over 40 years, he has been proving in the hills of Monteforte d'Alpone that Garganega is capable of great things. His vineyards on volcanic tuff and limestone between 220 and 350 metres above sea level provide the basis for the San Vincenzo – an "irreverent" and no less exciting cuvée made from 70 per cent Garganega, supplemented by Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

Bertani and Soave – at first glance, this sounds less obvious than Bertani and Amarone. Yet the estate, founded in Grezzana in 1857, has put down deep roots in the Soave Classica zone. The Sereole vineyard, situated between the municipalities of Soave and Monteforte d'Alpone, is one of the historic Garganega sites in this area, which sets Soave Classico apart from its industrially pressed counterparts from the plains like night and day. 100% Garganega. Aged for four to five months in French oak "tini" – large vessels that lend the wine texture and structure without overpowering it with oaky aromas. Three months in bottle. "The Soave you'd expect." By this, Bertanis means: no experiment, no outlier, but a precise statement of what Garganega is capable of achieving in the Classico region.

"I'm particularly fond of this wine, which is named after the Border Collie who lived with us for fifteen years. Otto is the youngest wine we have – fresh and ready to drink. It's a wine you should always have in your cellar." Graziano Prà

Soave once had an image problem. For decades, the name was synonymous with mass-produced white wine from the plain – pleasant, neutral, forgettable. The hills of the Classico zone, volcanic and interspersed with basalt rock, tell a completely different story. Giuseppe Inama recognised this in the 1960s; his son Stefano carried the story forward, and today his sons Matteo and Alessio are fully committed to it: old vines rather than high yields, Garganega as a simple expression of the terroir rather than a means of increasing volume. And their Vin Soave is at the heart of this philosophy – accounting for half of total production, from 30-year-old vines on basalt-volcanic soil in Soave and Monteforte d’Alpone. Hand-harvested, short maceration, stainless steel.

A single-vineyard Soave as it should be: pure Garganega from vines over thirty years old on volcanic soils in Colognola ai Colli. The Castagnedi brothers press the whole grapes under nitrogen and use dry ice to preserve the aromas even before fermentation – a technique that demands precision and rewards character. Six months on the fine lees give the wine depth without taking away its freshness.

Behind the Castello di Soave, invisible to the tourists enjoying the view of the plain, lies a vineyard that epitomises the opposite of what Soave has been for decades. No mass product, no compromise. Ferra is single-varietal Garganega from volcanic gravel – of a hilltop that has belonged to the Rizzardi family since 1977 and has been bottled as a single vineyard since 2014. What makes this Soave stand out from the standard, pleasing wines: Garganega gets the full stage here. Fermentation in glazed cement tanks preserves the mineral precision, while six months in large foudres give the wine texture, depth and richness that go far beyond what is expected from the appellation.

On 12 May 1937, King George VI of England was crowned. At the coronation banquet that followed the historic ceremony, there was one wine on the table: Bertani Soave. Not champagne, not Bordeaux. Soave. From a house that, ever since 1857 – when Gaetano Bertani trained under Jules Guyot in Burgundy – had been committed to the belief that the wines of Verona need not shy away from comparison with the best in the world. The Original Vintage Edition pays homage to this heritage. Made according to the estate's traditional recipe, from vines on the western slope of the Soave hill north of the Castello, the historic heart of the Classico zone, where Garganega grows on volcanic-limestone soil and the air smells of old vineyards. 100% Garganega. Nine months in concrete tanks. Six months in bottle. The concrete preserves freshness and allows the terroir to express itself without overpowering it.

We are talking about the summit of the extinct volcano Monte Foscarino, 350 metres above sea level. Up here, where volcanic tuff forms the base and oak forests provide cool night breezes, one of Roberto's most precious treasures has been thriving since 1982. The Capitel Foscarino was already a legend when Roberto was still part of the Soave consortium – today it stands for pure typicality of the vineyard without regulatory DOC compromises. 90 per cent Garganega and ten per cent Chardonnay from horizontally trained vines that are rigorously thinned out in June so that only the most vigorous berries survive.

The three sisters from Fittà – Meri, Valentina and Alessandra Tessari – have turned the estate founded in 1982 by their parents, Giovanni and Rosetta, into one of the most respected names in Soave Classico. "Suavia" is the Germanic origin of "Soave" – the name says it all. Whilst their neighbours in the lowlands have long since succumbed to industrial pressures, the sisters cultivate exclusively the indigenous grape varieties Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave across twelve hectares at an altitude of 300 metres. Their vineyards lie on the volcanic hills of Fittà, on copper-red, black and grey soils rich in basalt and other volcanic rock. Here, where 50-year-old vines thrive on mineral-rich subsoil, wines of unmistakable expressiveness are produced.

Only 1.5 kilometres separate the vineyards of Capitel Croce and Foscarino – but geologically they are worlds apart. While Foscarino is rooted in volcanic rock, Croce is enthroned on the pure limestone of the Zoppega hill. "Croce like Calcareo", Roberto likes to say as a mnemonic. Here, in the highest areas of his estate, perhaps his most uncompromising wine has been growing since 1982: 100 per cent Garganega, matured for eight months in old Allier barriques. What makes this wine so exceptional is not just its origin, but Roberto's radical approach: only 45 hectolitres per hectare, late selective harvest with up to twelve passes until only the most perfect berries remain. Fermentation takes place directly in barriques, allowing fruit and wood to merge right from the start.

"This wine was born as a challenge. In 2004, when we started making it, ageing it in steel was against the general trend of ageing complex Soave wines in barrique. Today, we are glad that we took this risk." Graziano Prà

While the whole world was talking about the extinction of Trebbiano di Soave, the three Tessari sisters set out on a mission: to save an almost forgotten grape variety. In collaboration with Professor Attilio Scienza from the University of Milan, they selected the best clones of old Trebbiano vines and planted the Massifitti vineyard in 2006 – named after the "dense rocks", the large, compact basalt boulders that characterise the south-facing slope. Only two hectares at an altitude of 300 metres, where the volcanic minerality shows itself in its purest form. What is produced here is unique: probably the only single-varietal Trebbiano di Soave in the world. It matures for 15 months in stainless steel on the fine lees, then a further 12 months in the bottle before the sisters release it.

Soave Classico Wild from the Ponsara UGA is sunny and straw yellow in colour. The complex nose ranges from a strong floral note of broom and hawthorn to fresh, fragrant fruit reminiscent of Granny Smith apples. On the palate, there is a vibrant freshness that is very balanced and perfectly balanced by a lingering, intense finish. SUPERIORE.DE

Monte Carbonare is grown on red volcanic iron-rich soils with an abundance of black basalt at their centre. Six hectares of 60–70-year-old vines in cooler locations, which, as the climate warms, are set to rise further to become the crème de la crème of the top vineyards. A richer wine than the younger Classico, but without the same cheeky vitality. Whilst the Classico is an unbeatable everyday wine, the Monte Carbonare is a complex wine that calls for food and a little more contemplation. Mirabelle plum, apricot kernel, a hint of dried mango and plenty of smoky, sharp minerality, with a dutiful freshness that brings wonderful length. SUPERIORE.DE

The Carbonare vineyard lies halfway up the slope, facing east, and feels different from Monte Foscarino. It’s not just my imagination – it has a different microclimate. Cool air flows down from the Val d’Alpone and its Piccole Dolomiti. Nearby streams reveal the underground water that flows deep beneath the vineyard. A precious resource for a great white wine. The basalt here is rich in colour: shifting from black to green, red and orange, depending on the degree of iron oxidation. When Inama first tasted the grapes, the character was immediately clear: lively citrus notes, vibrant acidity, mineral freshness. The Carbonare wine was born. 100% Garganega. Short maceration, fermentation and 12 months’ ageing in steel on the fine lees, followed by a further 6 months’ bottle ageing. No oak, no bâtonnage, no distraction from the terroir.

Before there was Soave, there was this wine. In the fifth century, the Roman senator Cassiodorus praised a sweet wine made from dried grapes at the court of the Ostrogoth king Theodoric – acinaticum, the original form of what is now called Recioto di Soave. Fifteen hundred years later, in 1998, it became the first Venetian wine with DOCG status. And yet very few people know it. The story has been reversed: Amarone, which originated in the 1930s as a "runaway" Recioto – a barrel that accidentally fermented through –became a world star. Recioto, its ancestor, remained in the shadows. Guerrieri Rizzardi's version comes from old pergola vines in Costeggiola, planted between 1960 and 1998 on volcanic gravel. Only a third of the harvest is deemed worthy of drying in fruttaio for three to five months – a selection within the selection.

In Roman-medieval times, they called this sweet wine monument Acinatium – from the Latin "acinus", the grape berry. A name that encapsulates the essence of this extraordinary wine: made only from the very best and ripest individual Garganega berries, a selection of such precision that it borders on obsession. For the Tessari sisters, this rare Recioto is more than just a wine. It is the centrepiece of their family history, the wine of holidays and family gatherings, the first drop you would give a child to taste, if it were allowed and appropriate ...