The comeback kids
WHO knows what fashions will re-emerge in the forthcoming seventies revival planned for us by the film industry but, whatever else, this was surely the golden age of Soave and Valpolicella.
Sweeping the competition from the chequered tablecloths, they flooded in through every trattoria and bistro in the land. British sales of Valpolicella soon overtook Chianti, while Soave became the biggest-selling DOC wine in the USA. They were bright and breezy, wonderfully cheap and we drank them by the gallon. So long as Monty Python characters were there to lampoon Australian wine on TV, "seventies Soave man" was happy in his shades, long hair and wide collar.
Then one day it suddenly seemed rather naff, and the cheeky double-act from Verona in northern Italy was unceremoniously bounced out of the limelight. Of course, we've continued to consume serious quantities of both wines - shipments of Soave alone totalled 3.7 million bottles in 1995 - but they were never again exactly fashionable.
The trouble began in 1968 when the authorities extended the denominated zone for producing the wines way beyond their original stamping ground in the uplands behind Verona. Valpolicella has been produced here since the 8th century BC, in the hills between Lake Garda and the glacial mountains to the north. Its name is said to derive from the Greek word polli meaning "many" and the Latin cellae meaning "cellars".
Soave is equally old and venerable, traditionally produced in an area of hills 15 miles east of Verona on the road to Venice. Cool air from below helps temper the excesses of summer heat while, more importantly, the poor-quality soil keeps a natural check on the vigour of the vines.
Once Soave and Valpolicella's vineyards were officially allowed down on to the rich, alluvial plain, yields began to soar, fuelled by rocketing demand. The resulting wines were certainly cheap, but not overburdened with personality.
There is a distinction between the original Classico style, from the wines' homeland, and a generic version known simply as Soave or Valpolicella DOC, a detail perhaps lost in translation in the rush to conquer the world. So the first rule of thumb is - stick to Classico, or Classico Superiore for wines that are given the benefit of ageing - eight months for the Soave and 18 in the case of Valpolicella.
There are also a host of "cru" wines created to stand apart from the ocean of cheap Soave and Valpolicella, and reflect the particular terroir of a favoured site. And here, amid the producers who own their own vineyards, are the wines to try for anyone who spat out their last mouthful of Soave or Valpolicella back in the seventies. In some cases progress has been phenomenal.
The solution was simple - the producers had to return to the vineyard and abandon the idea that shortcomings in the grapes through excessive yields could be put right in the cellar. By having tighter rows of vines, each producing far less, producer Roberto Tedeschi is able to keep the yields of his top Valpolicellas down to below half the maximum permitted under the DOC.
Having grapes with a greater depth of flavour makes up for any loss in quantity. The grape that gives Valpolicella its characteristic taste of cherries is Corvina, while Rondinella provides the acidity, depth and colour. Together they make up 85% of the blend with the balance composed of various approved varieties such as Negrara and Oseleta. Today the grapes are left to ripen a little longer than before, and more care is taken to preserve what fruit there is, and improve the balance of tannin and acidity.
a dollop of chardonnay
Over in Soave the main grape is Garganega often topped up with a dollop of Chardonnay, though some producers are keen on Trebbiano di Soave, one of the traditional grapes believed to give the wine its particular bouquet.
Mercifully, the despised Trebbiano di Toscano has all but disappeared, though according to producer Roberto Anselmi, the real culprit for giving Soave its "industrial" image is the Pergola Veronese, a system of training the vines high beneath a thick canopy of leaves that allows for potentially enormous yields.
When not out with his gun looking for the man who introduced the method, Anselmi is making some of the most beguiling examples of Soave around.
Within the region there seems a renewed sense of confidence in both wines after a rather bleak time, when each suffered something of an identity crisis. Valpolicella found itself caught between the young novello style of its neighbour Bardolino, Italy's answer to Beaujolais Nouveau, and the plump, fruit-packed wines then coming into fashion.
upmarket vini da tavola
There was always the temptation to follow the Tuscan example and produce up-market vini da tavola and sell them for more than DOC wines. To some extent this happened, with the creation of Masi's Campofiorin, among others, which revived the ripasso method of fermenting Valpolicella on the skins of Amarone.
Producers have tended to stay loyal to the traditional grapes of the region, though some Soave-makers are clearly using more than just the dollop of Chardonnay which, when aged in new oak, gives something weird and Californian.
Good Valpolicella has always had a richly scented nose, full of sweet morello cherries and cinnamon, yet this can leave a sense of disappointment in the mouth, that the promise of fruit is somehow unfulfilled. But you could say that this is part of its charm - a lightness of touch that no amount of oak and ageing are going to make up for.
Valpolicella is a real lunchtime wine, ideal in the summer, perhaps lightly chilled. It goes well with lasagne or grilled meat, but nothing too rich or heavy. It's certainly not a wine for laying down, though a Classico Superiore can benefit from a year or two in the bottle.
Sales of Soave Classico have been badly dented by that rising star, Pinot Grigio, despite the fact that in a blind tasting a well-made Soave Classico with its delicate perfume of citrus fruits would trounce much of the Pinot Grigio on offer at a similar price.
For both wines last year's vintage was superb - Roberto Tedeschi's father Renzo describes it as the best he has seen in more than 60 years of making wine. Perhaps this will help sway the judges as they decide who'll be part of the great seventies comeback tour. n
