Soave is a dry white wine from northern Italy from the medieval town of the same name, Suave, east of Verona. It is often considered a light, full-bodied wine that should be consumed immediately. But in reality, good Suvawe wines, often from vineyards with volcanic or calcareous soils on the slopes, are of exceptional quality, intense in flavour, and are known for their depth and amazing ageing potential.
Suwawe white wine (Image: ilsoave.com)
To highlight these two distinct styles, the Soave Consorzio Tutela has introduced 33 officially certified vineyard areas, which from 2019 are officially known as "Unita Geografiche Aggiuntive" (UGA). These UGA vineyards make up 38% of the appellation, highlighting the region's more terroir, high-quality grape growing regions, where the indigenous grape variety Garganega thrives.
Kalkaneka grapes (Image source: ilsoave.com)
In addition to establishing the division of vineyard regions, the Suvaoué appellation and the Veneto region as a whole gradually developed stricter regulations to control the production of wines from specific single vineyards.
Legal classification of Suvawe appellations
The Italian government designated the current Classic Suvave appellation in 1931 in recognition of its excellent wines. Subsequently, in the 60s of the 20th century, the Suvawe appellation expanded from the original 1,670 hectares to 7,000 hectares today, spanning 13 municipalities. Suvave wines with the Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) are divided into three subcategories: Soave DOC, Soave Classico DOC and Soave Colli Scaligeri DOC. The most common Suvaoué wines on the market are produced on the plains outside the classic Suvaoué appellation, with an annual production of around 30 million bottles.
Vineyards of the classic Suoué appellation (Image: ilsoave.com)
Classic Suvawe wines have a low production of about 12 million bottles per year. Located between the towns of Suvaoué and Monforte d'Alpone, the classic appellation is generally considered to be of excellent quality, with basalt soils and calcareous clays of volcanic origin.
Suvave wines from the Scaligeri mountains outside the classic appellations have never been popular as a category on their own. Most winemakers, even those with high-quality vineyards, simply label their wines as "Soave".
Suvave wines also have two Denominazione di origin Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) labels, Soave Superiore DOCG and Recioto di Soave DOCG.
Volcanic soil from the Suwawe region (Image: ilsoave.com)
Super Suvave White has a higher legal minimum alcohol content and is more extracted than DOC-labeled Suvaway wines, but it represents only a very small fraction of total production. Most brewers believe that the DOCG label should be used to designate a specific growing area rather than a style, so they choose not to use this label. Regiodo-Suvave White is a sweet wine made from air-dried grapes.
While many winemakers use 100% Calcañeca grapes for their winemaking, the legal varietal regulations for DOC grade Suvave wines are at least 70% Carcaneca and 30% Trebbiano di Soave or Chardonnay. Super Suvaway white wines have essentially the same rules except that Chardonnay is not allowed.
Quality single garden Suvawe and old vine Suvawe
Mainstream Suwave wines are crisp and easy to drink, with delicate flavors ranging from floral to fruity. While very high-quality Suwave wines are complex, elegant and intense, with captivating creamy flavors, as well as notes of peach, pear, spices, crushed vanilla, almond and savory minerals, they are often fermented and aged in oak barrels to add complexity. Some outstanding wines have excellent balance, and most can be stored for 10 years or more.
The different expressions and vinification styles of Suvawe wines largely depend on the location of the vineyard, with soil and elevation playing a fundamental role, as late-ripening Calcaneca grapes perform better in hillside vineyards with volcanic and calcareous soils.
Calcareous soil in the Suvawe production area (Image source: ilsoave.com)
Pieropan was the first winery in the region to produce single-vineyard Suvave wines, starting with the 1971 Pieropan Calvarino Soave Classico DOC, Veneto, Italy, followed by the 1978 Pieropan La Rocca Soave Classico DOC, Veneto, Italy）。
Cavarino Classic Suvave is made from 70% Carcanica and 30% Trebiolo-Suvave, cultivated using the traditional Pergola System. The La Rocca Classic Suvawe is made using 100% Carcanecka and cultivated using the Spur Cordon method. These two wines have different stylistic expressions.
Château Pieropán cellars (Image: pieropan.it)
Agronomist Andrea Pieropan and his mother Teresita and brother Dario are currently co-owners of the family's winery, he said. "The volcanic soil of the Cavarino vineyard adds freshness, elegance, mineral flavours and floral aromas, while the warm microclimate and calcareous clay of the La Rocca vineyard add more structure and fruity flavours to the wine."
The classic Suwave appellation has some older vines and produces wines with great depth and exceptional ageing potential. Gini has some of the oldest vines in the region, and the winery's Gini La Frosca Soave Classico DOC, Veneto, Italy, formerly labeled Single Vineyard wine, is now UGA wine, made from 100% Kalkaneca, from vines with an average age of 90 years. The winery's Contrada Salvarenza Vecchie Vigne Soave Classico DOC, Veneto, Italy is from vines that are more than 100 years old.
Old vines at the Ginie Winery (Image: ginivini.com)
Sandro Gini, a botanist who runs the family winery with his agronomist brother Claudio, said: "Our vineyard has dozens of ancient clones and the whole field is rich in genetic diversity. In addition to bringing a natural balance and richness to the wines, these ancient vines are cultivated using the traditional pergola method, with the grapes rising about 1.6 meters above the ground, making vineyards planted on dark volcanic soils cooler than vineyards from other cultivation systems. Not least, the growing season is now getting hotter and drier due to climate change. ”
Genie Winery Vineyard Pergola Method (Image: ginivini.com)
UGA and Single Park
The Suvawe appellation is divided into a total of 33 UGAs, 28 in the Classic Suoué region and 5 in other hillside areas, the result of many years of collaboration between the winery and the appellation associations, universities, and numerous scientists, agronomists and winemakers. The researchers looked at various aspects of the vineyard, but focused primarily on altitude and soil composition because of their ability to produce different flavors and aromas from the grapes.
UGA vineyards in the Suwawe appellation (Image: ilsoave.com)
When the UGA division was officially established in 2019, the names of 23 UGA vineyards were marked on the corresponding wine labels. Sandro Geni, president of the appellation association, said: "We are pleased with this result, which means that we will see a large number of UGA labels on the shelves. Winemakers coordinate communications so that consumers know that UGA wines have more specific rules for viticulture and vinification, often with longer ageing times and growing areas that are better suited to produce high-quality wines. ”
Suvave winemakers who make single-vineyard wines must now register their vineyards with appellations in advance and use the word "Vigna" on their labels.