Our first port of call was Pieropan, a small family run operation based right in the middle of the medieval town of Soave. We arrived in the middle of the afternoon with a heat haze engulfing the valley and distant hills. After meeting the genial Andrea and taking on some water we walked away from the winery through the walled town of Soave and wound our way up the hill on what is best described as a goat track.

At the top sits the families prized LA ROCCA vineyard. This is the highest vineyard in the commune and enjoys cooler temperatures than most vineyards in the areas. The pride and passion in Andrea’s voice when talking about the vineyards is evident from the outset. This is hardly surprising vineyard management side is looked after by Andrea while his brother Dario and father Leonildo take the majority of winemaking duties. Andrea talks energetically about organics, soil composition and climatic conditions that are pertinent to the local wine industry before we descend back down to the winery for a tour of the cellar.

Once we arrive back at the winery we are whisked out of the mid-summer sun and into the wonderfully cool cellar. Andrea talks about the use of gravity instead of pumps to transfer the freshly pressed grape juice to the cement fermentation vessels. Every step in the process is aimed at retaining as much of the natural elegance as possible. After weaving through barrel’s, bottling equipment and fermentation tanks we head up stairs to the room that is used for drying out grapes for sweet wine production. Maybe it was the link with drying or maybe it was our vinous habits but suddenly the group looked visibly in need of refreshment. Andrea as switched on as ever noticed this and whisked us off to the tasting room.

The family only makes white wines 95% of which being bottled under the Soave Classico denominazione. The wines all showed particularly well and managed to make me forget about leaving my home in at that morning in order to get all the necessary connecting flights. The wines all reflected the care and respect shown to the grapes in every part of production with the resulting wines reflecting the reserved yet complex personalities of our hosts. It was now 7pm and we were all getting a bit hungry so Andrea and Dario take us to a local restaurant to enjoy the wines with some food.

We currently stock the following wines from Pieropan:

Soave Classico ‘La Rocca’ 2003

Read more about the rest of Marks trip

day 1 - Pieropan

day 2 - Cantina Sociale di Monteforte, Cantina Valpantena & Allegrini

day 3 - Franz Haas, Cesconi & Pilzer

day 4 - Ca dei Frati

Marks Italian menu with wine suggestions ...