Italy: North-East - White, including Soave
2019 GOLD: 3 SILVER: 5 BRONZE: 5 COMMENDED: 5
2018 GOLD: 1 SILVER: 4 BRONZE: 5 COMMENDED: 4
No question what the big hitters are in this part of the competition: Pinot Grigio and Soave. It’s safe to say that our tasters probably enjoy tasting the former more than the latter, but actually we found some really good examples of PG here this year. And Alpha Zeta’s Terrapieno deservedly picked up a Trophy as a Perfect (if pricey) Pub Partner.
Soave did what it always did – two Golds: one cheap and one more expensive. And as happens nine years out of 10, the ‘expensive’ one went to Pieropan. Frankly they might just as well change the wine’s name to La Rocca Gold.
Outside of these two big beasts the rest of the Veneto slightly underperformed this year, although it was good to see a decent entry come in as the wineries recovered from 2017’s Frost-ocalypse, and overall the tasters liked the fresh, lifted style of the wines.
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘The offering was split in two. One style was more traditional, clean winemaking, where intensity came from low yields and lees contact – these were the best examples. The other style was more “New World”, more modern with toasty oak and a bit more extraction. They were worse value and had more technical faults.’ Mattia Mazzi, The River Cafe
‘The Pinot Grigios are improving. I’m happy with what we tasted here. There were some interesting wines, and the prices were good.’ Roberto Sanchez, Sexy Fish
‘At the higher price points, we found quite an elegant style. They had an edge over the cheaper examples. You could definitely upsell some of these to guests with a deeper pocket.’ Raphael Thierry, Street XO
‘Pinot Grigio became famous because it was tasteless, and you didn’t need to think too much, while Pinot Gris made in the Alsatian style is a much heftier wine to contemplate. These straddled both camps nicely. You get good typicity, and they’re making them to a formula that people like.’ Angela Reddin, team leader
‘Even the oaky Soaves were balanced and quite elegant. They have nice acidity, the balance is quite good, and they’re drinkable right now.’ Markus Dilger, Dilger Sommelier Selection
‘This is one of the most consistent flights we had. We weren’t tasting any cheap Soaves. We were tasting wines from people that aspired to making serious wine. There was a uniformity, a pithiness, but each producer was making a slightly different style, which is what you want.’ Hamish Anderson, team leader