North-East - White
(Veneto, including Soave)
Slowly but surely, the Veneto is developing a good reputation for its whites in SWA, particularly with its elegant, super-food-friendly Soaves, where we saw some really attractive wines this year.
But there was affection, too, for the other white styles – Veronese blends, Luganas and so on. Our tasters knew what they were looking for from the latter: wines with texture and a bit of fleshy richness; the kind of bottles that would work well with big fish dishes. Those that had it did well. Wineries who were trying to bolt on missing complexity with oak were usually found out and sent packing.
The Pinot Grigios from here were generally less popular than those from further north, but once the less-good wines had been weeded out we were left with some really decent examples for the price. And well done to Alpha Zeta – its Terrapieno made the Gold List for the second consecutive year.
From The Tasting Teams
‘At their best Soave can have really elegant fruit and nice weight, but also this ginger, mineral complexity coming through. They’re really nice wines for food matching, offering a fair amount of wine for the price.’ Laura Rhys MS, team leader
‘The Pinot Grigios were awful. I can’t even say they were cheap and cheerful. Picpoul is a far more interesting wine at a similar price.’ Victoria Sharples, St John Restaurant Group
‘There were some really surprising gastronomic wines here. I was anticipating something more neutral and generic, but there were roasted fruits, nutty wines and some real standouts. These would be good with food.’ Joshua Castle, Noble Rot
‘The sweet spot for Soave was around £15. It’s a bit pricey for a restaurant, but at least they deliver: good food wines with lovely minerality.’ Guillaume Mahaut, ETM Group
‘The market has never been as strong for whites from this region as it is for reds, but they are developing more quality and complexity – more creamy and gastronomic compared to what they used to be.’ Marco Marcuzzo, Zuma Rome
‘Pinot Grigio is always fashionable and can fit any wine list, from classic pubs to gastropubs – the ones here would work for all of them.’ Chiara Sieni, MM Grocery
‘I really enjoyed the Soaves. They were high-quality, food-friendly wines at decent price points.’ Nelio Pinto, Candlesticks
‘The texture is what caught my eye in these wines. They were quite fresh, with depth and weight and had lingering personality and a good flavour profile.’ Filippo Pastorini, consultant