THE HISTORY
THE HISTORY
Today we know that soil of volcanic origin has many unique characteristics that make it extremely fertile and ideal for agriculture. From a number of records dating back to the Roman Empire, it is clear that Soave’s ancestors had already devoted its most prized volcanic land to vineyards. Wine was not a commodity back then, but a nectar for emperors, kings, doges, popes and bishops.
May 2018
150
Soave, located along the ancient Postumia road, was an important centre during the Roman Empire. The Romans called Soave and Recioto wines “Retico wine”. Virgilio and Svetonius lauded this wine, which was a favourite of the emperor Augustus. [...]
300
Saint Zeno, the eighth bishop of Verona, often used the evangelical image of a grapevine. This demonstrated his wide knowledge of wine-making. [...]
503
Cassiodorus, King Theoderic’s minister, often wrote about the prestige of Verona’s wine-making system in his diaries, and described Soave as “the white wine, obtained from selected grapes, has a beautiful whiteness that seems created from a white lily.” [...]
May 2018
1305
Legend has it that the origin of the name of Soave wine derives from the writings of Dante Alighieri, during his exile in Verona. Other sources suggest it is derived from a Nordic tribe (Svevi) that once inhabited the area. [...]
1375
A Latin engraving of 1375 on the facade of the Courthouse depicts the times when people pressed the grapes with their feet in Soave. [...]
1438
Under the Serenissima (Venetian) Empire, the Doge sent Marin Sanudo, the court’s Venetian wine expert, to visit Verona’s vineyards and fortifications. Sanudo described Soave as “a “suavissima or pleasant land, rich with good wines”. [...]
1543
During the Renaissance the Italian historian and patron Torello Sarayna wrote “it’s a great place for those who live there, that smiles to visitors and produces excellent wines ...”. [...]
1786
During a visit to Verona Johann Wolfgang von Goethe describes the grape harvest and the area of Soave. “The landscape is full of vineyards and ripe grapes on dangling vines. Barrows full of grapes, pulled by oxen, represent the triumph of Bacchus.” [...]
September 2018
1816
The first official map that lists Soave vineyards and relates to the Napoleonic civil register of 1816. The vineyard area with Ronco style, in Soave and Monteforte, is still the same that we can see now. This is the first certain document of the birth of this production area. [...]
May 2018
1873
Giovanni Del Sie was the first to define the main features of Soave’s land, formed by volcanic rocks like basalt which make a fertile soil. This wine is unique for its colour, austerity and persistence. [...]
May 2018
1900
Engineer Battista Perez studies and describes the production area of Soave. On these hills the vine finds a dark soil, rich in silicon and ideal for grape growing. [...]
1910
Phylloxera and Peronospera caused the uprooting of nearly all of Soave’s vineyards. A decade later nearly all the vineyards were replanted on new rootstock. [...]
1924
On May 13 the first Soave Consortium was founded to safeguard the growing area. Then president Perazzan enlisted the help of the Institute of Viticulture and Enology of Conegliano to begin scientific research in the vineyards. [...]
1931
Soave became an official wine growing area and the first official typical Italian white wine under a unified Italy. The boundaries of the Soave Classico area have not changed since. [...]
1939
Italo Cosmo was the first to zone the wine production areas around Venice. The study documents distinctive characteristics of Soave wines, including the pergola vine-training system, and the specialisation and homogeneity of planting. [...]
1968
The organization of vineyards and wine cooperatives became modernised in the post- war period from 1950 to 1968. In 1968 the Soave DOC was given official status in accordance with the new rules and described as “characterized by freshness, integrity and by an ideal identity- value relationship”. [...]
1998
Recioto di Soave was the first wine in the Veneto region to obtain “Controlled Designation of Origin and Guaranteed” status, a step above DOC status that gives special recognition to the uniqueness of an Italian wine and its special winemaking traditions. [...]
May 2018
2002
SOAVE Superiore DOCG receives official status by the Italian government and new rules with a statute created for the production of Soave and Soave Classico. [...]
2016
The first winemaking region to obtain official recognition as a “Rural landscape of historic interest” by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. [...]
June 2019
2018
The traditional Soave vineyards were recognized by the United Nations FAO as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS), the first recognition of its kind in Italy. [...]
2019
The cru system (officially called Unità Geografiche Aggiuntive) is made a part of the official production rules of Soave. [...]