Covering less than four hundred hectares of vineyard, Gambellara is a small DOC in the Veneto. It has often found itself living in the shadow of the Veneto’s more famous wines. Amarone and Valpolicella are always high on the agenda, and Soave, in particular, monopolises conversation about white wine made in this area. Yet Gambellara has plenty to offer, and these Garganega based wines can yet have their moment on stage.
One of the benefits of the Soave cru system may well be the wines of neighbouring Gambellara. In building a podium on which to place some of Soave’s best expression’s of Garganega, there will inevitably be some uplift in the variety’s reputation in general. Gambellara, as stone’s throw from the complex soils and slopes of Soave, has its own knot of terroir to unpick.
The relatively flat plains of the Chiampo Valley extend out from the foothills of the Alps that rise to the north. Everything in between provides ideal viticultural space. Garganega dominates, but Trebbiano di Soave also finds itself planted.
