Soave is a wine I would really like you to get to know. It is very food friendly and just gets better and better with every vintage. It is made in the the Veneto region of Northern Italy, in and around the municipalities of Soave with a wonderful grape, called Garganega and some times Trebbiano di Soave. It is one of our favorite wines.
We have written about Soave here before. Today we are sharing a tasting of two wines of 2009 vintage, Rocca Sveva Soave Classico DOC 2009 and Cantina del Castello Classico DOC 2009. We are very happy with both.
DOC of course means Denominazione di Origine Controllata, "Classico" with "Soave" the designation means the grapes are harvested and vinified only in Soave and Monteforte d'Alpone producing the best of this wine.
Soave has a wonderful straw yellow color with a slight green hue, it looks beautiful glistening in the sun, it has lovely white flower, honey and white peach flavors with some times a touch of almond. It is meant to be drunk young.
There is still time to visit Eataly where it is Soave Month through May.
We enjoyed the Rocca Sveva with a dinner at home of grilled chicken marinated in lemon, olive oil, honey, garlic and parsley, the recipe and more comments about Soave are here in Tom Ciocco's blog. Red beets are at the farmers market so we also had a perfect beet salad with arugala and goat cheese, recipe by a favorite food author Giada De Laurentiis.
The wine has a beautiful luminous straw yellow color. on the nose you get a rush of spring flower fragrances of blossoms and ripe apple. It is a very well made wine with graceful and stylish balance from smooth and enticing. The acidity is mellow and the fruit is lush and round with a pleasing slight almond finish.
"Delicious fresh fruit... Rocca Sveva Soave Classico is the perfect match for a variety of dishes including seafood and sushi, salads, chicken and pork." Filippo Pedron, Winemaker Rocca Sveva Estate
Awards:
• Bronze Medal 2009 International Wine Challenge (vintage 2008)
• Gran Menzione 2009 Vinitaly (vintage 2008)
• Gran Menzione 2008 Vinitaly (vintage 2007)
• Approved 2007 Mundus Vini (vintage 2006).
The Cantina Castello we enjoyed at a dinner out at Uptown 596 in Upper Montclair.
It went perfectly with the "Uptown" salad of Arugula, Avocado, Hearts of Palm, Corn and Shaved Parmesan with our House Mustard Vinaigrette and my Mahi Mahi burger with with arugula & herbed mayo.
This wine has all the great Soave characteristic but tasted a little more rustic. There was a nice woody earthy flavor that is I think a result of the terroir or the fact that it is made with 10% Trebbiano di Soave These wines are made to reflect their place in the world giving each one a distinct personality.
In the words of Jo Diaz "How could you not like this region of Italy"
A soave you can find at nearby Magnolias is Gini Soave Classico also a favorite of ours. If you go there tell them you saw this wine on Mano a Vino
There is still time to visit Eataly where it is Soave Month through May.
Things to do, places to see, with food and booze
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