Soave approves 33 new ‘crus’

The Italian region Soave has announced the creation of 33 new single vineyard units, covering 38% of the total surface area of the DO.

It has taken more than 15 years of painstaking research to pinpoint the new ‘Unità Geografica Aggiuntiva’ or ‘Additional Geographical Units’ (UGA), taking into account their terroir, history and wine quality.

These new UGAs (the Italian equivalent of a ‘cru’ and denoting a particular vineyard within an appellation) can now be vinified separately by growers in Soave with their names appearing on the label from the 2019 vintage.

As with all single vineyard sites, wine bearing the name of a UGA must be made uniquely from grapes grown in that specified location.

In total they cover 38% or about 2,660 hectares of the total 7,000ha planted in Soave

The new crus cover all four of the major soil types in the region from the limestone in Mezzane to the volcanic rock in the Alpone Valley however all the new sites are on hillsides.

The bulk of the newly classified vineyards, 28 of them, are in the Soave Classico zone, with another three (Broia, Paradiso and Monte di Colognola) in the west of the appellation and final two (Duello and Roncà Monte Calvarina) in the eastern part.

Growers have claimed 23 of the new sites for when they bottle their 2019 wines, so the new sites will be mentioned on an estimated 3.5 million bottles from that vintage.

The new sites are: Castelcerino, Colombara, Froscà, Fittà, Foscarino, Volpare, Tremenalto, Carbonare, Tenda, Corte Durlo, Rugate, Croce, Costalunga, Coste, Zoppega, Menini, Monte Grande, Ca’ del Vento, Castellaro, Pressoni, Broia, Brognoligo, Costalta, Paradiso, Costeggiola, Casarsa, Monte di Colognola, Campagnola, Pigno, Duello, Sengialta, Ponsarà, Roncà- Monte Calvarina.

A full breakdown of each site can be found here.

Meanwhile, in France this month it was announced that 22 new premier cru sites had been approved in Pouilly-Fuissé.