Cavazza Vineyards
Italy is a great source of volcanic wines. While Sicily and Campania might immediately spring to mind, there are areas of volcanic soil many miles away from Etna and Vesuvius.
In the north, the Veneto region is also home to ancient soils formed by volcanic activity millions of years ago. These include the Soave Classico hills, where a geographical fault separates volcanic basalt formed by the sudden cooling of magma from limestone deposits. The resultant mineral-rich soils benefit vineyards and provide distinctive wine styles. You can read more about Soave's volcanic wines here on The Write Taste.
Another part of the Veneto that is not as well known to wine lovers in the UK is the Colli Berici.
The Colli Berici are a series of hills, a few kilometres south-east of the Soave hills, in the southern part of the Vicenza province. It's a warm, sunny, small wine region of around 65 square miles, containing just under 600 hectares of vineyards on a mix of limestone, red clay and volcanic basalt soils.
Many grape varieties grow in the DOC there, including Chardonnay, Garganega, Sauvignon Blanc and Tai (aka Friulano) among the whites and Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère and Tai Rosso (a biotype of Grenache) among the reds.
An even smaller wine region, just to the south of the Colli Berici DOC, is the Gambellara DOC, with just under 250 hectares of vineyards watched over by the extinct volcano of Mount Crocetta in the western Lessini Mountains. There is a separate DOCG for the sweet Recioto di Gambellara and Vin Santo di Gambellara wines.
Garganega is also the main grape here, benefitting from a mild climate, limestone, tuff and black basalt-rich volcanic soils with traditional pergola vine training. Another white grape, historically used for still wines but now often made into traditional method sparkling wines too is Durella. Derived from 'duro', meaning hard, it's known for its vibrant acidity and minerality with floral, citrus and almond characteristics plus an almost tannic structure. Tai Rosso is the main red grape making light styles of red wine.
Gambellara Classico wines must contain a minimum of 80% Garganega.
Another small DOC is Lessini Durello, with 315 hectares of vineyards, lying just north of Soave on volcanic soils. Wines here are sparkling, made in the Martinotti/Charmat method only (from 2024/2025 vintage). Traditional method sparklers and still wines are labelled Monti Lessini DOC instead.
These wines must contain a minimum of 85% Durella and a maximum 15% of Chardonnay, Garganega, Pinot Bianco and/or Pinot Nero.
One winery with vineyards in these three DOCs is Cavazza, founded in 1928 in Montebello Vicentino, a town located between the commune of Soave and the city of Vicenza.
Since its beginnings, Cavazza has enjoyed a reputation as one of the top producers of Gambellara Classico. However, in the 1980s, the family decided to focus on the Colli Berici DOC, expanding their range of wines, particularly reds from Tai Rosso, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Today, run by the fourth generation of the Cavazza family, they have 130 hectares of vineyards in these appellations, producing 600,000 bottles per year. The company is SQNPI-certified and is highly focused on preserving biodiversity and using renewable energy resources.
Cavazza produces three lines of wines - Cicogna, Identità and Classici.
I recently enjoyed two of their volcanic wines - BOCARA Gambellara DOC Classico and Lessini Durello DOC Brut Millesimato. Both wines spent three months on their lees and have an alcohol content of 12% ABV.
🍇 Grapes: Garganega 100%.
🍬 Residual Sugar: 3.5g/L.
🔍 Appearance: Bright straw.
👃 Nose: Touches of elderflower, flint and tropical fruit with hints of freshly baked bread, lemon and green apple skin.
😋 Palate: Some tropical fruit notes with a refreshing grapefruit and green almond bitter edge, wet stone minerality and a saline tingle on the dry finish. The fresh citrus-like acidity is kept in check by a leesy, creamy undertone and a hint of baked apple that add to the drinkability of this wine.
🍽️ Food Pairings: Good with seafood and vegetable-based risottos or fish.
🍇 Grapes: Durella 100%.
🍬 Residual Sugar: 6g/L.
🔍 Appearance: Bright light gold.
👃 Nose: Notes of almond, white blossom, russet apple and citrus.
😋 Palate: Dry with notes of apple, biscuit crumbs, lemon cream and almond croissant with a slightly savoury and flinty tang.
🍽️ Food Pairings: Good as an aperitif, this would also work with cheese or charcuterie.
