Soave, about 30 minutes Northeast of Verona, Italy in the Veneto wine region, is one of the best white wines in the country. It’s mainly made from the Garganega grape, but sometimes blended with Trebbiano and/or Chardonnay. Its taste varies since the area is comprised of three different types of soils: volcanic, clay, and limestone. For instance, Soave wine from volcanic soil is more mineral, and from clay more floral; wine from limestone has more structure and body.
As in Valpolicella, which borders Soave to the west, the Soave wines use mainly the same grape but in different styles, including Soave Superiore, Recioto, Soave aged in oak, and sparkling Soave. It has its own distinctive taste; some say it’s in between a Pinot Grigio and a Chardonnay. Maybe that’s why I like it so much!
The wine region, which dates to Roman times, has had its share of ups and downs. Years ago it was the most well-known and exported white wine of Italy. The region then expanded too much and began overproducing, which adversely affected the quality of the wine and the region’s reputation.
Luckily, Soave is having a well-deserved resurgence and is worth a visit. Wine tourism is relatively recent here, and as with Valpolicella it was not crowded, so we had ample time to relax, savor the wines, and learn a lot about the region.
Soave is smaller than Valpolicella, with only about 75 private wineries. We enjoyed a great day to savor the charm and wine of Soave with Serena, a certified sommelier and owner of Taste Verona Wine Tours. Taste Verona is a small tour operator, specializing in private, fully customized tours and collaborating with mainly boutique and family-run wineries.
Corte Mainente
The first winery we visited was Corte Mainente, located almost in the shadow of medieval Soave Castle, which gives the region and the wine its name. The winery has been in same family for four generations. As with many wineries in Valpolicella, the production facility is in the family’s home. Unlike many wineries, this one has all three soils of Soave in its vineyards. It’s also very pretty.
After a tour through the vineyards and the production facilities with Sarah, the daughter-in-law of the winery’s owner, we enjoyed a private wine tasting outside in the courtyard (the children flew kites around us; it was really cute).
We sampled, accompanied by breadsticks, sopressa (the local salami of Verona), and local ham from Soave:
Spumante brut, a prosecco style Soave 😊+
Vigna Cengelle, a Soave blend, clay soil, from the vineyard we toured 😊++
Pigno, Soave Classico, volcanic soil, a typical Soave wine 😊++
Tenda, Soave Classico, limestone soil, a competition winner 😊😊
Nettroir, less typical since this vineyard has all three soils, and the grapes are dried in the Recioto method for two months 😊😊
Luna Nova, Recioto di Soave, a dessert wine 😊😊+
Pieropan
Our second winery was the family-owned but larger Pieropan, established in 1880. It is one of the best-known Soave producers and exports to the United States via Gallo. The family expanded into Valpolicella about 20 years ago. The owners live nearby; they opened a modern tasting room in Soave in 2022.
We enjoyed a private guided tasting in the tasting room. We sampled:
Soave Classico 😊+
Calvarino, Soave with Trebbiano 😊😊
La Rocca, Soave Classico, 100% Garganega 😊😊
Le Colombare, Recioto di Soave Classico 😊😊+
We then headed to the Medieval village of Soave for an al fresco lunch of pasta with rabbit at L’Osteria Di Via Roma. Yum!
Ca’ Rugate
Our third winery, Ca’ Rugate, was in the next valley over. Established 150 years ago, it’s also family-owned, now in its fourth generation.
The winery is a little different in that it produces some wines not typical of Soave. For example, it uses the little-used local Durella grape for sparkling wine, makes a 100% Trebbiano wine, and produces an orange wine. The winery has also branched out to neighboring Valpolicella.
The winery donates a percentage to the local church each year because 100 years ago the winery owner’s wife died and the church took care of the children.
We first toured the production facilities and the winery’s museum of the family’s original farmhouse and wine equipment dating to World War I.
We then moved to the tasting room to sample the wines, accompanied by breadsticks and chips. Again, this was fully private.
We tried:
Fulvio Beo, a sparkling wine using the traditional champagne method 😊😊
Amedeo, another sparkling wine 😊😊
Monte Fiorentine, which dates back to the winery’s roots 😊😊+
Bucciato, the orange wine, made in ceramic eggs 😊++
Studio, the 100% Trebbiano wine (they make only 400 bottles of it a year) 😊😊
Campo Lavei, a Valpolicella Superiore 😊++
Punta 470 Amarone Della Valpolicella 😊😊
Vermouth di Amarone, 80% wine, 20% herbs 😊😊
I hope our info about how to savor the charm and wine of Soave in a day inspires you to do the same. Go before everyone else finds out about it. Cin cin!
What other wine regions have you explored? Where should we go next? Let us know! We’re at info@winewithourfamily.com.
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