La Cantina di Soave is the oldest cooperative entity not only in Soave, but in all of Veneto. Founded in 1898 on via Roma, by 1930 it had 115 members, which grew to 434 in the post-war period and now stands at 2,200. A history spanning more than a century that has reached its current productive structure through several milestones: in 1962 with the construction of the new winemaking facility on viale Vittoria, followed in 1994 by a new bottling system extending over 12,000 square meters; in 1996 the merger with the Cantina di Cazzano di Tramigna took place, where today the appassimento center for the production of Amarone is located; in 2003 with the inauguration of the Borgo Rocca Sveva winery on via Covergnino in Soave, operational since 2001; in 2005 with the incorporation of the Cantina di Illasi; and in 2008 with the acquisition of the Cantina di Montecchia.
The production figures are of absolute significance: 2,200 member growers managing a total of 6,000 hectares of vineyards, equal to 48% of the Doc Soave, 43% of the Doc Soave classico and 50% of the Doc Valpolicella, 5 winemaking facilities (two in Soave, one in Cazzano di Tramigna, one in Illasi and one in Montecchia), 28 pressing lines, 4 bottling lines, for a production of around 30,000,000 bottles, with an annual harvest of 1,000,000 quintals of grapes yielding approximately 660,000 hectoliters of wine.
The flagship of this true production system is the new, technologically advanced winery of Borgo Rocca Sveva, a multipurpose and autonomous production center spanning 10,000 square meters in an ancient courtyard at the foot of the Castello Scaligero. It is simultaneously a wine estate with its own winemaking, aging and bottling facilities, and a center for wine and territorial culture, with offices, meeting rooms and a wine shop set within the spaces of a mid-nineteenth-century villa. Particularly evocative is the barrel cellar carved into a cave along a 400-meter path among historic barrels and modern barrique, and an experimental vineyard in a magnificent panoramic position overlooking the castle and the village of Soave, where approximately fifty different varieties – both Italian and international, white and red – are cultivated.
Here, in addition to the "Equipe 5" classic method sparkling wines, the wines of the Rocca Sveva line are born – the company's excellence range, where the grapes of the 120 members who participate in the "Progetto Qualità" converge, established in 2000: a meticulous, capillary and certified program of supply chain traceability that is able to monitor the producer, the vineyard, the grapes and the harvest date for each bottle. "Our purpose," says winemaker Bruno Trentini, director of the winery, "is scientific investigation applied to the viticultural knowledge of the territory, which still has ample room for exploration: from training systems to clones, the goal is to have precise operational tools to fully support the work of the member grower, who is always followed and monitored by a team of viticultural technicians, and whose commitment is rewarded with remuneration above standard levels.
Among the various prestigious vineyards selected by the winery, such as Le Coste and Mondello (located behind the Castle), the crus Castelcerino and Fittà stand out.
Castelcerino is one of the most historically rich sub-zones in the classic area of Soave. The parcels managed by the winery extend over an area of thirteen hectares, with altitude ranging between 110 and 300 meters, variable slope (from 5 to 25%), south-east to south-west exposure, predominantly pergoletta training (both single and bilateral), with some guyot-trained vineyards, and soil of basaltic origin with the presence of clay and silt. The vines, arranged also on terraces, are between 20 and 40 years old. The altitude and the soil tend to give Castelcerino wines a decisive character, both in the aromas and on the palate – a character that often needs adequate aging time to better express its rich organoleptic heritage. The grapes are harvested during the first week of October, with brief cryomaceration (24 hours), soft pressing and fermentation in stainless steel.
The Fittà sub-zone develops on the eastern side of Castelcerino, in the highest hilly part of the classic area of Soave. The winery controls a planted area of approximately 15 hectares, with altitude between 220 and 280 meters, south/south-east exposure for the majority of the vineyards, variable slope from 5 to 30%, predominantly pergoletta training (both single and bilateral) with vines of 15/30 years of age on soils composed of clay and neutral soils on the slopes and basalt on the summits. Harvest takes place in October and the winemaking and aging processes occur exclusively in stainless steel.
BORGO ROCCA SVEVA
Borgo Rocca Sveva is an ambitious project, born to give the territory and its people a culture and a science that have evolved over time. Located in the heart of a particularly well-suited territory, on the slopes of the castle of Soave, Borgo Rocca Sveva is not just a restored ancient winery, but above all a center of excellence and a hub for the dissemination of wine culture.
Inaugurated in 2003, it is today used by Cantina di Soave to bear witness to its bond with the territory and to represent the quality of its wines. In a period in which so-called globalization accentuates the process of homogenization even in the product of wine, the response of Cantina di Soave, like that of other winemakers, has been to seek the identity of the product – that is, to identify the product with a territory and enhance its quality. Borgo Rocca Sveva therefore aims to be, for the wine consumer, the customer, and also for the simple visitor to Soave, a sign of how the wines of Cantina di Soave are tied to their territory and to the culture of the places.
It is no coincidence that the premium ranges of Cantina di Soave are produced here: Equipe 5, classic method sparkling wines, and Rocca Sveva, from which the location itself takes its name. The Rocca Sveva selection is in fact the latest qualitative commitment with which Cantina di Soave rewards the willingness of its members to maintain local typicity, safeguarding the characteristics linked to grape varieties and lands with the dual objective of enhancing both product and territory. In this way, Borgo Rocca Sveva presents itself as a place of wine culture, to which everyone can approach to better understand viticultural culture.
The production process
The winery of Borgo Rocca Sveva, in which the entire processing of Rocca Sveva and Equipe wines takes place, is an independent structure from the others, comprising a total covered area of over 10,000 sq.m. where the grapes destined for the Progetto Qualità productions are vinified: the premium wines Rocca Sveva and the classic method sparkling wines Equipe 5, destined for wine shops and restaurants. The grapes destined for Borgo Rocca Sveva are harvested from vineyards cultivated in compliance with the Progetto Qualità. At the time of delivery, the sugar content is compared against a reference threshold level, based on the grape variety and the climatic conditions of the vintage, in order to obtain a wine of maximum expressiveness.
The winery in which the processing takes place is structured according to a "French" model, meaning it is built on multiple floors. This allows the various production processes to be carried out using fewer pumps and machines and instead exploiting the force of gravity, following a procedure defined as "cascade" which allows the original quality of the grapes to be respected during processing. After fermentation, some wines need to be aged in barrel or in barrique, for a period of time that differs depending on the variety of wine (for Amarone della Valpolicella, for example, 5/6 years may be necessary); classic method sparkling wines require a resting period in the bottle of 36 months. For aging, the Borgo winery is equipped with a barrel cellar and a cave of 2,500 square meters, where the barrique are placed.
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