Alcohol: 12%
Grape(s): 100% Garganega
Localization: Veneto, Italy
Tasting Notes: Aromas of golden apples, peaches as well as ripe exotic fruit, and yellow citrus fruits. It is also lightly spiced with notes of lightly dried lavender and medicinal herbs. Ample, tasty, and fresh with a long finish of sweet almonds. Thanks to its structure, this wine has good aging potential.
Food pairing: Fish, shellfish, prawns, red tuna, fresh pasta dishes, and quiches. It also pairs with typical cured meats of Veneto, such as "soppressa veneta", San Daniele and Sauris ham. It is an ideal wine for mid-aged cheeses, such as Robiola di Roccaverano or Monte Veronese.
The Domain: The Prà winery, although only started in the early 1980’s, has come to be not only one of the top producers in the Soave appellation but also one of the most important and visionary white wine makers in all of Italy (now expanding into red wine as well)! The winery is run by Graziano Prà, whose family owned their vineyards for generations but never commercialized the wines in bottles. The vineyards are situated in the heart of the appellation, in Monteforte D’Alpone. Besides Soave, the winery also produces Valpolicella and Amarone from a vineyard that he purchased and planted in 2001, and whose truly remarkable results are only now being discovered.
The Prà holdings consist of 30 HA in Soave and 7 HA in Valpolicella. Graziano was always a big believer in natural viticulture and its positive effect on the wines and has farmed organically since the outset. he is now getting his “official” certification in Soave (in transition as of 2018), and the Valpolicella estate is already fully certified. All grapes are harvested by hand both in Soave and Valpolicella.
The terroir in Monteforte d’Alpone in Soave features classic, very black, volcanic soils which help to impart an underlying power and minerality to the wines. As Ian D’Agata of Vinous points out, “Prà is especially adept at ensuring the wines also showcase a remarkable degree of finesse.” Much of the plantings were done in the late 70’s, so the average vine age is quite high, especially for the region. Additionally, Graziano was one of the first to see the higher potential of certain sub-parcels in the appellation – for both complexity and ageability – and began producing vineyard-designated wines in Soave early on before it became popular in the region among the better producers. His single-parcel, Monte Grande, in fact was first produced in 1988, and he has since added two other special “Garganega Selection” Soaves, Staforte and Colle Sant’Antonio, each with its own unique formula both in the vineyards and the cellar.
