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Garganega vines- Cantina di
Soave |
Well, all that seems to be in the past. During the
past decade this has been changing for Soave, with the
Consorzio pushing for lower yields and better quality.
The efforts have shown such dramatic improvements, that
when I find an importer in India selling his Soave at
more than twice the price of another, I know his quality
is better and the price might be well worth it.
It can be such an excellent food match, especially
for vegetarians, that it is worth making an acquaintance
with this wine. Not only because it is an important
Italian white- I was told that 5 out of 100 Italian
whites are from Soave (pronounced So-ah-way). This small
town, neighbouring Verona in Veneto, makes 70 million
bottles in 5 different appellations, 50 million of which
are DOC wines. 17 million produced in the Classico region
are more interesting and complex wines, generally.
Appellations: The appellation system
here is quite complicated. Speaking in a simplified
manner Soave DOC, Colli Scaligeri (outsie the classico
region but from the hills) can have 15Tons/ hA; Soave
Classico from specified area and made from low yielding
grapes (14 tons/hA;, Soave Superiore DOCG (10 Tons/hA)
and Recioto di Soave DOCG (sweet wine made from the
typical passito process of drying the grapes to resins,
concentrating sugars and then fermenting slowly) are
the appellations designated for the Soave wines. DOCG
wines are allowed a tolerance of ±5% but a minimum
of 12% alcohol is a must.
The simplest wine, labeled Colli Scaligeri or Soave
DOC, are good value- for -money quaffs- light fresh,
delicate, floral and fruity but simple and uncomplicated.
Soave Classico, from the better hillside vineyards,
is more complex and age-worthy, and develops creamy
undertones on ageing or vinification in oak. However,
these wines are not oaked to death like some new world
wines.
Soave Classico Superiore is made from smaller parcels
of land with lower yields and slightly higher alcohol.
Wine aged for a minimum of two years is entitled to
the Reserva label.
Consorzio de Tutela, the consorzium
responsible for marketing and setting specifications
and quality control has enforced strict laws and initiatives
that are meant to guarantee quality but often don't.
It has instituted a Quality hierarchy which is supposed
to simplify the classification;a fact debated by many.
However, it is true that the quality has taken a quantum
jump during the last few year and, of course taking
the prices flying upwards too.
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A modern wine shop-Cantina
di Soave |
Grapes of Soave: The whole of area
in Soave was under ea 60 million years ago and there
was a lot of volcanic activity. The black volcanic soils
is perfect for white grapes.The two main indigenous
grapes in Soave have evolved in this soil, over centuries,
into a perfect marriage with the region. Garganega,
(Gar- gaa-nega) the high yielding, softly perfumed,
supple and rich grape is the majority grape blended
with small quantities of livelier and more zingy Trebbiano
di Soave (which is actually Verdicchio).
The result can be like the zippy Sauvignon Blanc with
the body of a Burgundy Chardonnay and a soft touch of
perfumes of Riesling- provided it is made from the low
yielding grapes. It can also develop the deep, burnished
gold and nutty complexity of bottle-age in a relatively
short time. After three years of aging in the bottle,
it may sometimes resemble an eight or even ten year-old
white Burgundy Chardonnay.
And with some ageing, better quality Soaves get even
more exciting. They grow deeper and more complex, while
retaining its flowery freshness.
Soave in India: Soave has been in
the Indian market for years due to low prices of the
low-end DOC and even non DOC wines selling here. But
it never did progress to the next level of quality.
Considered a low end, cheap wine for pasta and pizza,
it needs an image makeover since the quality has improved
from what one usually drinks in India and from what
I tasted in Soave with over 30 producers.
Food friendly Soave: The combination
of delicacy and structure makes Soave extremely food-friendly.
Besides it can release better flavour at a lower level
of 12% alcohol than many wines do with 15% or 16%.
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Michele Tessari
of Ca'Rugate displays his proud posession-the
'three glasses' winner-Monte Fiorentine |
In fact, I really longed for it the day after we left
Soave and went to the neighbouring Valpolicella where
at an old historical farmhouse, the lady of the house
dished out some delectable home made food. The mushroom
Risotto and the sea-food and chicken based dishes just
cried for a Soave Classico and a Superiore. Those were
the moments to reflect on the age old adage that wine
paired with food can do wonders and vice versa. It was
really vice and a versa not to serve the befitting Soave,
we felt.
Recognition for Soave: Of late, Soave
has been getting rhe recognition it deserves, thanks
to the improvement in quality. Vini d'Italia 2007, the
well-known Italian Wine Guide, published by Gambero
Rosso and Slow Food, has awarded its prestigious top
Tre Bichhieri (Three glasses) to seven Soaves, which
equals the number awarded to the king of Veneto wines,
Amarone della Valpolicella, for the first time.
Soave where co-op is the king: A unique
feature of Soave is the network of small and medium
sized vineyards. There are more than 2700 small wine
growers using the denomination. Most of them supply
their grapes to 5 Cooperative wineries which produce
70% of wine produced in the region, Cantina di Soave
being the biggest.
Recioto di Soave: Besides delicious
whites, Soave specialises in Recioto di Soave, made
from drying the grapes in a constant humidity of 60%
till 100 kgm of fruit shrinks to around 40 kgm. The
slow fermentation gives a sugar level of 75gms -100
and even 150 gms. When the producer can create enough
acidity to balance the sweetness, a fabulous dessert
wine is created-yet it is not impossible to get many
producers offering more sugar than the balancing acidity.
Wineries visited: The first thing
that you notice in Soave is the castle of Soave, which
seems to be omnipresent-not counting the castel of Ilassi,
which seemed to be around us wherever we went. The castle
is near the centre of town with the winery of Rocca
Sveva owned by Cantina di Soave, adjoining the castle
being our first stop.
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| Sisto Tessari, owner of La Cappuccina,
displaying the volcanic black, rocky soil of his
vineyard |
Cantina de Soave: By the sheer bulk
and size, this winery is the biggest and most powerful
co-operative in the region. It produces 35 million bottles
of wine, a lot of it low end wines at very good price.
The winery is extemely modern.
Rocco Sveva is truly an exception. Produced primarily
for restaurants, this range is extremely popular and
offers slightly more expensive yet value for money wine.
The wines are more concentrated, fruity with bigger
body and good mouthfeel.
It was a very interesting vineyard visit thanks to
the Export Director Luca Sabatini, who has been to india.
The company markets their wine through Sultania Trading.
The wine shop is modern, opulent and pretty impressive-
a lot of financial muscle was oozing out.
www.cantinasoave.it
Family wineries: On one end are the
wines made by powerful co-ops like Cantina di Soave.
But the real news in Soave is being made by the other
42 small to medium wineries that are a member of the
consorzio. Ca'Rugate, La Capuccina and Gini are part
of the jewels; it was a pleasure to visit their vineyards
and wineries and taste some of the award winning wines.
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A view from the Gini Vineyards |
Ca' Rugate : Michele Tessari is a
proud member of the Tessari family owning the 40 hectares
of vineyards in Monteforte dÁlpone, the hilly
part of Soave. Although the current production is 40,000
cases, and the viticulture techniques are traditional,
the Tessaris are very proudly using the latest computerised
techniques forprodcution.'We can not only control various
processes for optimum utilisation, we know exactly how
much a batch of wine is costing per bottle.'
A very interesting winery producing very good quality
wines, including Recioto,50% of which are exported.
Their wines have lot of personaility. They spacialise
in passito wines. Monte Fiorentine Soave Classico are
really classics. The three bicchieri they won for their
2004 and 2005 are testimonials to their quality. Spumente
made with the Traditional method using Garganega grapes
was really a new experience.
For the technically tuned, it may be interesting to
note that they are using 1.9m high trellis using pergola
training system.
The wines are slightly on the higher side. But you
are paying for the quality and not more. It is a good
retaurant wine. www.carugate.it
La Cappuccina: is an ancient winery
well worth a visit. The visit starts with a visit through
San Givanni Batista Chapel which is a beautiful 15th
centuruy chapel with beautiful paintings and frescos
by Zenatello. It comes to life every 24th June with
a mass attended by the locals.
The volcanic, balsaltic rocky soil make the wines
of this boutique winery very interesting and with fuller
body and mineral character. The aromas change after
2-3 years since the minerals in the rocks on which garganega
grows. The winery has a 300 year old white mulberry
tree, which is supposed to keep the air fresh and is
considered lucky and good for long life by the local
people.
Good quality,delicious wines are the specialty of the
winery run by the brother-sister team of Sesto and Ellena
Tessari.
A delicious lunch prepared by Ellena sis plwnty of
juatice to the wines tasted: a Soave ín Costalunga
di Monteforte dÁlpone- a Soave Classico, Fontego
and San Brizio among others. Arzimo Recioto had 90-100
gms sugar but the balanced acidity made it one of the
better reciotos from the region. www.lacappuccina.it
Gini- This may have been the smallest
winery of all the ones visited but . Sandro Gini believes
in making small quantity of very high quality wine.
This may put him out of the league of ordinary importers
but cerainly puts him ahead of many producers in producing
high quality wines.
He and his brother Claudio own 30 hA of sun facing
hillside land in Monteforte dÁlpone. The drive
through the hilly terrain is quite pleasant. One passes
another quality producing vineyard PRA. give flavourful
fruit and interesting wine which we confirmed in tasting.
It is a small boutique winery that can have a niche
market in the hotels in India but may find it difficult
to market its award winning wines due to the price factor.
www.ginivini.com
Soave is undergoing the image makeover- realy turning
suave, using its terroir to the best advantange and
giving better quality white wines, making it one of
the important centers for delicious food wines.
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