From the volcanic lands of Soave to the limestone hills of the Berici, a journey between Verona and Vicenza to discover two territories that tell different and complementary souls of Venetian wine.
East of Verona, Soave stretches across the hills that accompany the plain towards the Lessinia mountains. Further east, in the Vicenza area, emerge the Colli Berici, a hilly system with a strong geological and landscape identity. Two distinct territories, united by an ancient viticultural history and a relationship with the land that still determines the character of their wines today. Here, the vine is not simply a crop. It is part of the landscape, of family histories, and of the identity of the towns. Rows of vines, dry-stone walls, rural courtyards, villas, castles, and small villages tell of an agricultural civilization built over centuries, in which wine has become one of the most authentic ways to interpret the territory.
Soave: the land of volcanoes and Garganega
Soave is one of the historic territories of Italian wine. Its heart lies on the eastern hills of the province of Verona, around the municipalities of Soave and Monteforte d'Alpone, where vines occupy slopes and ridges shaped by an extraordinarily complex geological origin. The medieval village of Soave, dominated by its castle and still enclosed by ancient walls, is the most well-known image of this territory. But to truly understand its wines, one must climb the hills, following the roads that cross vineyards, hamlets, and small rural settlements up to Monteforte d'Alpone.
It is here that one of the most fascinating elements of Soave emerges: its volcanic origin.
Millions of years ago, this part of Veneto was affected by intense volcanic activity. Basalts, lava rocks, and tuffs still emerge today in many of the eastern hills of the appellation, alternating with areas of calcareous matrix. This geological diversity is directly reflected in the wines, giving rise to different interpretations even a short distance from each other.
On these lands, Garganega has found its natural habitat over the centuries.
An ancient vine deeply linked to the Veronese territory, Garganega possesses a natural ability to interpret the place where it grows. In the best hillside vineyards of Soave, it combines fruit maturity, freshness, tension, and a savory and mineral component that progressively becomes more evident with time.
Alongside Garganega, Trebbiano di Soave finds its place, a historical presence capable of contributing freshness and precision to the wines' profile.
Soave Classico identifies the historical core of the appellation, on the hills of Soave and Monteforte d'Alpone. It is a landscape built over time, where in many places viticulture develops on significant slopes and human labor has followed the natural morphology of the hills rather than modifying it.
Here, altitude, exposure, ventilation, and soil nature change from one hamlet to another. It is precisely this fragmentation that makes Soave a surprisingly articulated territory: not a single wine, but many interpretations of Garganega and the Veronese hills.
In younger wines, freshness, flowers, fruit, and immediacy prevail. In Soave from the most suitable vineyards, allowed to evolve, time brings to light a deeper dimension: notes of herbs, ripe citrus, yellow fruit, stone, and mineral nuances intertwine in wines capable of gaining complexity even after several years.
Perhaps time is one of the best tools to understand great Soave: wines that appear delicate when young can reveal, with evolution, surprising depth and longevity.
Colli Berici: stone, sun, and great reds
Leaving the Veronese area and moving towards Vicenza, the landscape changes.
The Colli Berici emerge from the Vicenza plain like an island of hills. The profile is softer, the climate generally warmer, and Mediterranean vegetation coexists with woods, olive trees, and vineyards. Venetian villas, small villages, and ancient rural courtyards bear witness to a history in which agriculture and culture have shaped the landscape together.
Here too, geology profoundly defines the identity of the wine.
The Colli Berici have a predominant calcareous and sedimentary matrix, derived from ancient seabeds, alongside evidence of volcanic activity in some areas. Calcareous rocks, clays, and skeletal-rich soils create particularly favorable conditions for vines, while the hills' exposure and relatively mild climate allow for complete and regular maturation.
If Soave finds its most recognizable voice in Garganega, the Colli Berici instead show a strong aptitude for red wines.
The symbolic grape variety is Tai Rosso, historically rooted especially in the area of Barbarano and the southern Berici. It is a grape capable of producing fragrant, spicy, and very drinkable wines, in which fruit often meets notes of Mediterranean herbs and a delicately savory texture.
Alongside Tai Rosso, the Colli Berici have shown over time a particular affinity for varieties such as Carmenère, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. The climate, exposures, and calcareous-clayey soils allow these grapes to achieve deep ripeness while maintaining balance, resulting in wines capable of combining structure, elegance, and longevity.
Even Carmenère, long confused in the vineyards with Cabernet Franc, has found one of its most interesting Italian expressions in the Colli Berici. Its spicy and vegetal character, when accompanied by balanced ripeness, integrates with the richness of the fruit and the structure that these hills can impart.
Two territories, two ways of telling the story of Veneto
Soave and Colli Berici are separated by a few kilometers of plain, but they tell two profoundly different souls of Venetian viticulture.
In Soave, Garganega, the ancient volcanic lands, the altitude, and the tension of great whites dominate. In the Colli Berici, the landscape becomes warmer and more Mediterranean, limestone plays a central role, and it is primarily the reds that find depth and character.
On one side, the hills of Monteforte d'Alpone and Soave, with their hamlets and vineyards rooted in ancient volcanic rocks. On the other, the Vicenza hills, where limestone, clay, woods, and vines accompany the gaze towards the plain.
What unites them is an ancient agricultural culture, made of families, inherited vineyards, observation of seasons, and knowledge of individual plots.
Today these territories are experiencing a new season. More and more producers are working to bring back to the forefront the vineyard, biodiversity, soil identity, and the recognizability of individual areas, seeking in their wines not only quality but an increasingly precise relationship with the place from which they come.
Because the deepest value of these territories lies not simply in their ability to produce great wines. It lies in the possibility of recognizing, within a glass, the hill from which that wine comes.
The basalt and Garganega of Soave. The limestone, sun, and reds of the Colli Berici.
Two landscapes, two identities, two different ways of telling the story of Veneto's extraordinary variety through wine.
