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Contrà Soarda Winery Guide

Winery Overview

The Gottardi family bought the land where Contrà Soarda now stands at the foot of the beautiful Saint Michael hills in 1904 but only initiated wine production in 1999. A relative newcomer, then, but in little over ten years, Gloria and Mirco Gottardi, assisted by top winemaker Marco Bernabei, have consistently impressive results with both International varieties and the native grapes, most strikingly Vespaiolo. They started with an acute understanding of the most essential ingredient in quality winemaking – an unbeatable terroir. Situated at the foot of the Asiago plateau in the Veneto region, the mineral-rich volcanic slopes produce wines of real style and complexity. Appropriately, Soarda literally means “hamlet on the slope.”

Contrà Soarda is a new face in the Breganze appellation of North-East Italy, having only entered wine production in 1999. However, the Gottardi family has shown a devotion to the land that dates back to the early 20th century. Their journey began in 1904 when Gloria and Mirco’s ancestors bought a then-barren piece of land near the picturesque town of Bassano del Grappa. They put their life and soul into creating and maintaining their farm, an enterprise that developed into a restaurant in the 1960s Da Pulierin.

Then, their children decided it was time for a change of direction. Beppa and Marcello Gottardi ran the restaurant for over 25 years until their son and wife, Mirco and Gloria, took it over in 1986. Their passion for the finer things in life, food, wine, and sharing anecdotes in the Italian sun culminated in a lifelong dream to produce wine, so Contrà Soarda was born.

Breganze was once an appellation that owed its reputation for quality to just one producer, Maculan. In just over ten years, Contrà Soarda has risen to become one of the region’s foremost producers. North of the historic town of Vicenza, the Vento region in Italy has many treasures. These include the city of Venice and the idyllic landscape that seems stuck in a charming time warp, not to mention the jaw-dropping Soarda winery, built on bio-architecture principles, merging effortlessly into the landscape. This is a fitting introduction for your visit to this extraordinary estate.

No matter how busy, the owners are always keen to share their passion and journey with visitors and invite you to sample their wines. Perhaps the magic of the volcanic soil or the winemaker’s skill creates such delicious, sought-after wines.

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Further Reading

Author

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James lawrence

With a passion for food & drink that verges on the obsessive, wine writer James Lawrence has traveled the world in search of the perfect tipple. To date, nothing has surpassed the 1952 R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Rioja Reserva, tasted in the cobweb-filled cellars with owner María José. Meanwhile, James has been writing for a wide variety of publications for over 12 years, including Telegraph, Decanter, Harpers, The Drinks Business, and Wine Business International. He lives in South Wales and returns to his former university city, Bilbao, as much as possible.

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