The Soave Renaissance: Veneto’s White Wine Revival

Learning to Trust My Own Taste

When I first began writing travel stories for the Italian press, I often fell back on a kind of provincial reflex. To pitch a destination, I would cite the authority of others: maybe the New York Times had just named it among the “25 Places to Visit This Year,” or Condé Nast Traveler had placed it on its “Hot List.” It was a shortcut that worked, until one editor pointed out that quoting another magazine’s picks was… not much of a story in itself. He was right—obviously. Why should it have taken a prestigious American newspaper to make me notice a corner of Italy? And yet, it was precisely this sort of “inferiority complex” that pushed me to start appreciating—and eventually championing— the Soave region.

It all started in 2009, when Eric Asimov published an article in the New York Times titled “A Touch of Chablis in Italy”. In it, he compared three bottles, two Chablis and one Soave from Pieropan, and wrote: “A good Soave has a lot in common with a good Chablis. It is clear they come from the same family of wines that, despite vintage variations, emphasize earth and stone rather than fruits.”

Ah, the irony! My epiphany had come with a double helping of provincialism. Not only did I need the New York Times to tell me Soave was worth noticing, I also required the comforting stamp of approval that came from comparing it to a great French white. And yet, that line put into words what I had long felt but had never quite managed to articulate: my own leaning away from easy fruitiness and toward wines that taste of stone and salt. From that moment, Soave stopped being just another anonymous Veneto white (Pinot Grigio, anyone?) and started feeling like a wine I actually wanted to know better.

To understand how Soave’s reputation evolved, it helps to look back at its history. Soave became an official wine zone in the early twentieth century—among the earliest Italian whites to receive formal delimitation—and the boundaries of the Soave Classico area have remained unchanged ever since. The DOC was created in 1968, then rode the wave of postwar expansion, pushing plantings down from the historic hills into the fertile plains (a history that would soon repeat itself with Prosecco). Volumes soared, quality fell, and the name Soave became synonymous with neutral, “watery” wine.

With wine consumption declining and Italy already oversupplied with vineyard land, Soave could no longer rely on volume. The answer was to go back to what had always set the region apart: its hills. Producers returned to these slopes, where poorer soils and lower yields naturally gave more distinctive wines. They began mapping terroirs and bottling single sites. Annual production remains around 30 million bottles, yet only about 12 million come from the Classico zone, where the most characterful wines are produced.

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Label decoder

• Soave DOC refers to wines mostly produced on the alluvial plains of the region, outside the historic hillside vineyards. These wines are generally lighter and fresher, without the greater nuances often found in hillside wines. The DOC label indicates the broader, more modern area of Soave production.
• Soave Classico represents the most historic part of the denomination, on the hills between the towns of Soave and Monteforte d’Alpone. The wines show greater complexity and structure.
• Soave Colli Scaligeri form a horseshoe shape around the Classico zone and are a relatively recent addition to the denomination. The area stretches from the eastern edge of Valpolicella, northeast toward the Lessini mountains, and southeast along the border with Vicenza. Although capable of producing wines of real quality, the Colli Scaligeri designation is rarely seen on labels, as most producers prefer to remain within the better-known Classico.
• Soave Superiore DOCG was introduced in 2002; yet many top estates have kept their flagships as Soave Classico, prioritizing historic vineyard identity and stylistic freedom over the newer DOCG framework, indicating that, in this region, place names on the label carry more weight than denominations.

UGAs & “Vigna” on the Label

• From 2019, labels may also carry the names of UGAs, or “Unità Geografiche Aggiuntive” (meaning “Additional Geographical Units”). Defined after more than fifteen years of research, the 33 UGAs cover about 38% of Soave’s 7,000 hectares. They highlight the most prized terroirs, from Carbonare to Froscà to Foscarino, and lay the foundation for identifying single-vineyard bottlings.
• The word Vigna indicates a registered vineyard.

Terroir & craft

Apart from a few true obsessive wine geeks, soil talk is not usually the most gripping part of wine. But in this region—pardon the cliché—history truly comes alive. Soave’s vineyards are situated on two distinct types of hills: the volcanic slopes, dark with basalt, yield wines that are tense and salty, with flavors that often recall smoke and stone. The limestone hills to the west tend to produce wines that are rounder and more perfumed: under the vines was once a tropical seabed, and the proof is still on display: at the museums in Roncà and Bolca, you can see shells, insects, brilliantly colored fish, even a small crocodile, all fossilized in stone.

It is the same geology that now anchors Garganega’s roots, turning ancient oceans and volcanic eruptions into flavors of salt, smoke, and stone. Together, these marine sediments and volcanic rocks give Soave a dual personality—tense and saline from basalt, round and perfumed from limestone.

In the vineyards themselves, training methods reflect both tradition and the changing climate. The old ‘pergola veronese’, with vines trained high and leaves forming a canopy, was once a way to manage big crops. Today, it also serves as a shield against the brutal summer sun, keeping grapes cool and preserving acidity in a warming climate. Newer plantings often use guyot or spur cordon, which give smaller harvests and fruit with a different balance.

In the cellars, most producers keep things restrained: stainless steel tanks or large neutral casks, little or no new oak, and time on the lees to add texture. Skin contact is rare, used only by a few estates.

Style & aging

Soave today falls broadly into two tracks. At one end are crisp, floral whites for immediate pleasure, often bottled as Soave Classico. At the other are hillside and UGA wines, denser and more savory, with a mineral core that rewards patience. Top bottlings can age five to ten years, gaining depth without losing freshness.

Buying guide

Look for Soave Classico, plus a UGA name on the label, and ‘Vigna’ if it is a true single-vineyard wine. By law, the blend must be at least 70 percent Garganega, with Trebbiano di Soave or Chardonnay sometimes included in the mix. Many flagship bottles cost €25–35, a superb price for serious terroir-driven whites.

Food pairings & service

Serve Soave cool, around 10–12°C. It pairs well with seafood crudo, shellfish, asparagus, and risotto, as well as alpine cheeses or grilled lake fish. The richer single-vineyard wines can even work with poultry or creamy sauces.

Conclusion

Back in 2009, Eric Asimov ended his piece by admitting,

“In the end I was surprised how much I liked the Soave. But I really shouldn’t have been.”

Fifteen years on, surprise is no longer the emotion Soave evokes in a wine lover. What defines Soave today is consolidation: a denomination that has moved past stereotypes, anchored itself in its hills, and shown the world another fascinating example of the great Italian indigenous grape varieties.

References

• Consorzio Tutela Vini Soave
• Strada del Vino Soave