Volcanic Garganega, four sisters and one hill: Fittà, Soave Classico

The terraced pergola vineyards of Fittà, Soave Classico

Some visits stay with you for the view alone. At Suavia, high on the hill of Fittà above the town of Soave, the terrace opens onto steep ribbons of pergola-trained Garganega rolling down towards the Veneto plain. I visited on a grey June morning that turned into a bright blue afternoon, and by the time I left I understood why so many people now talk about Soave as one of Italy’s great white wines.

Soave, a classic reborn

Soave is one of Italy’s historic white wine names. Its hills east of Verona were among the first wine zones in Italy to be officially delimited, back in 1931, and the DOC followed in 1968. For years the name suffered from oceans of easy wine from the flatlands, but up in the Classico hills, on dark volcanic soils, a handful of quality-driven families never stopped believing in Garganega. Pieropan, Inama, Gini, Pra and Suavia led the comeback, and in 2018 Soave’s traditional vineyards became the first in Italy listed by the FAO as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System. A year later the appellation made its crus official, the UGAs (Unità Geografiche Aggiuntive).

Four sisters, one hill

The Tessari family has farmed these slopes for generations: the sisters’ great-grandfather already grew grapes here and sold them to the local cooperative. In 1982 Giovanni Tessari and his wife Rosetta decided to bottle their own wine, and today their daughters Meri, Valentina, Alessandra and Arianna run the estate, with Valentina in charge of the cellar. They work only with the two native grapes of Soave, Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave, on the traditional Veronese pergola, at around 300 metres, on red, black and grey soils full of basalt. The estate has been certified organic since 2019.

From the terrace the view is pure Soave: steep terraces of pergola vines, olive trees and cypresses, little farmhouses on the ridges and, on a clear day, the whole plain stretching towards Verona. Walking between the rows you understand how much hand work these slopes demand.

Walking the volcano

The visit started on the shaded patio and moved into the cellar, a working space of stainless steel tanks, a few large casks and pallets of boxes ready to travel the world. Here the wines rest for a long time on their fine lees, which is a big part of their texture and their ability to age. Upstairs, a big terroir map of Soave showed exactly where each vineyard sits, and on the windowsill a row of volcanic rocks, red, black and porous, let you literally hold the soil of Fittà in your hand. You can taste that stone in every glass.

The volcanic rocks of Fittà, next to the wines they give

The tasting

We started with the Soave Classico 2023, the calling card of the house: white flowers, fresh pear and that typical bitter almond on a crisp, salty finish. Massifitti 2021 is a different animal, 100% Trebbiano di Soave from old local clones planted in 2006 together with Prof. Attilio Scienza and named after the basalt boulders of its slope: taut, citrusy and stony. Monte Carbonare, made since 1986 from old vines on iron-rich red and black soils and aged for a long time on the lees in steel, brought more depth, with a smoky, almost flinty edge to the ripe orchard fruit.

Then came Le Rive 2021, Garganega picked late from about one hectare of very steep slopes in Fittà and fermented in French oak. It is golden and layered, with dried apricot, honey, chamomile and toasted almond, yet the acidity keeps it lively and the finish goes on and on. The critics agree: 95 points from James Suckling, 93 from Wine Spectator and 92 from Vinous. And the grand finale: I Luoghi 2020, the sisters’ project with soil scientist Prof. Giuseppe Benciolini, three single-cru Garganega from Fittà, Castellaro and Tremenalto, made in about 2,000 numbered bottles each and sold only as a trio. Same grape, same vintage, same hands, three different voices, and James Suckling gave them 95, 95 and 94 points.

Grazie, Suavia

A huge thank you to the Tessari family and the whole Suavia team for the warm welcome, the generous pours and the patience with all my questions. Suavia shows what Soave Classico can be when a family listens to its hill: precise, mineral wines that age beautifully and tell you exactly where they come from.

Are you an importer, distributor or restaurant looking for Italian whites with a real sense of place? I would love to help you find the right wines for your list.

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Salute, Suavia!

For further info, please visit the website www.suavia.it.