When I was growing up in the 1970s, wines were frequently advertised on television and radio, especially the wines of Bolla, a giant producer in the Verona region of northeastern Italy.
The wines Valpolicella, Bardolino and Soave became well known and highly popular, especially the Soave, or, as the announcer would croon, “Soave Bolla.”
Soave Bolla Wine Commercial (April 2, 1979)CreditCreditVideo by Darian Glover
I haven’t had those wines in years, but they were more innocuous than good. These appellations developed a poor reputation among those whose relationship with wine went deeper than picking up a cheap bottle at the supermarket. This is especially true of Soave, which was pigeonholed with all Italian white wines back then as harmless, if consumed icy cold.
Italian whites have come a long way. Wonderful bottles are available from all over Italy, from Sicily in the south to Alto Adige and Valle d’Aosta in the north, and Soave is right among them.
This month we will taste Soave, or, more precisely, Soave Classico, the designation the authorities gave to the historic production zone, in an effort to distinguish it from the expanded region, where growers were more interested in quantity than quality, and generally sold directly to cooperatives.
Garganega is the primary grape of Soave and must constitute at least 70 percent of the blend. The rest can be made up of trebbiano di Soave, also known as verdicchio, and chardonnay, a modern addition to the canon.
The three wines I recommend are:
Prà Soave Classico Otto 2017 (Polaner Selections, Mount Kisco, N.Y.) $17
Pieropan Soave Classico 2017 (Pieropan U.S.A., Hayward, Calif.) $20
Suavia Soave Classico Monte Carbonare 2017 (Leonardo LoCascio Selections/Winebow, New York) $25
If you cannot find these, try Inama, Coffele, Gini, Ca ’Rugate, I Stefanini or Filippi. The three producers I recommended also make other cuvées, which are well worth trying, particularly those from Pieropan, though they will be more expensive.
Drink it with seafood, poultry, vegetable dishes or pastas — I particularly recommend a classic carbonara, though Soave is not regionally associated with the dish.
As usual with whites, drink cool but not icy, which was fine for those bad old Italian whites, but will hide the nuances of good wine.
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