Cavazza: singular wines from unknown Veneto
Known especially for sparkling Prosecco and red Valpolicella, Veneto region in the North-East of Italy includes also small, but unique, Gambellara DOC of volcanic origin, and Colli Berici, with iron-rich soils. These areas are able to produce age worthy white and red wines, which are the specialty of Cavazza winery, and a characteristic, highlighted in its wine collections
VertdeVin: Could you present the winery, its history, its wines ?
Nicola Soldà: The winery was founded by the Cavazza family almost 100 years ago, in 1928. Now the fourth generation is running the company. We produce white wines in Gambellara DOC, mainly from Garganega grape, and red wines in Colli Berici DOC, from international grapes like Syrah, Cabernet, Merlot, furthermore the indigenous grape variety Tai Rosso (Grenache family). It’s a very important area known for red wines.
VdV: What particularities have the terroirs of Gambellara and Colli Berici ?
N.S: The Gambellara area is a 100% volcanic area made of basalt rocks. Italy has many regions with soils of volcanic origin. But only 8-9% of this area is purely volcanic and Gambellara is one of them. Its wines are very mineral, very savoury, even salty. The soils of Colli Berici are made of red clay, limestone, with a significant iron content, which allows producing high-quality red wines.
VdV: Which varieties are the most planted in your vineyards ?
N.S: Probably Garganega, in the Gambellara area. It is a historic grape and area for us, where our wine production started. In 1982 we bought Cicogna estate in Colli Berici, in order to understand its great potential for red wines and extend the offer. The family continued to invest in vineyards and now the estate has 143ha of which 130 planted with vines. We also have vineyards of local Durella grape, producing sparkling wines using Charmat method, in Durello Lessini DOC. It can be considered as a local alternative to Prosecco, made by the same method, but specific for our region. We produce Prosecco too, but we care about Durello a lot, because we would like to let people discover our region with this wine.
VdV: Could you present wine collections of Cavazza ?
N.S: We have “Identity collection” of wines produced from local grapes, which identify the winery: two whites, Bocara and Creari, from Gambellara, two reds : Corallo from Tai Rosso and Fornetto (a blend of Merlot, Syrah and Tai Rosso), as well as sweet Capitel, a Recioto di Gambellara. “Cicogna” is a collection of wines of Colli Berici DOC. These are our historic, high quality awarded wines, which made our estate famous in Italy. We also produce four sparkling wines: a local Durello, two Proseccos: Brut and Rosé, and a sweet sparkling Reciotto di Gambellara. The last one is “Classic collection” with five monovarietal wines.
VdV: Which are the most emblematic wines of Cavazza ?
N.S: Bocara is a fundamental and very important wine, because the history of Cavazza family started with it in 1928. Its vineyards of Garganega are situated on hills, next to the cellar. Bocara in our dialect means “fresh wind flowing towards the valley, towards the hill”. It helps to keep the vineyard dry, and the grapes – healthy. Bocara wine comes from a volcanic area, it is very mineral, savoury, with various aromas, like hydrocarbons, honey, acacia, white flowers. It is a versatile wine, because it can be appreciated on its own, with a starter, aperitivo, a light main course, vegetables, eggs. The second wine is Creari in Gambellara DOC. It is produced from 1.5 hectares plot of old vines, which we harvest 2-3 weeks later, than regular Gambellara. Then, it stays two days on skin and lees. It is a gastronomic wine with a great complexity and aging potential. Special features of your white wines are their mineral character, sapidity and freshness, given by salt rocks and volcanic soil. The third one, is Corallo, a varietal Tai Rosso, with typical for the grape intense fruity aromas of strawberry and raspberry, elegant tannins, completed by sweet spices and white pepper, because Corallo is aged for 6 months in the French barriques. Then, 100% Merlot of Cicogne Estate. We take a special care of grapes from this 3ha old vineyard with manual harvest and selection of best grapes. There is a lot of care in vinification too: about two weeks of maceration to extract color, tannins and structure, about a year in French barriques and six months in concrete tanks. These wines can easily age for 20-25 years, thanks to the terroir and to the care we put into these wines. For example, this wine of 2019 vintage still has a lot of fruit, a great acidity and persistence. Its 2015 vintage, which is already 10 years old, is still young and can age 10 years more, maintaining their character. The same is true for the Cabernet and the Syrah of Cicogne.
VdV: Do you have projects for the winery ?
N.S: We have thus decided to list old vintages of reds to show their ageing potential.
The new project that we are working on, is highlighting old vintages. (Vecchie Annate) with the aim to demonstrate, that our terroir can produce remarkably age worthy wines. During the presentation of this project, we served our Cabernets of ancient vintages, up to 1992. Also, I would like to communicate about regions of Gambellara and Colli Berici. Consumers directly connect Veneto to Prosecco and Valpolicella. But Gambellara has a unique, almost only volcanic soil, and wines of Colli Berici can be compared with the Libournais of Bordeaux region. These areas are very special, but most people do not know them.