Volcanic Veneto: three territories of basalt and bubbles

Between Vicenza and Verona, 2022 to 2026

When people think of Italian volcanic wine, they think of Etna. But between Vicenza and Verona there is a Veneto born from ancient lava flows: hills of basalt and tuff, taut and saline whites, a sparkling wine few people know. Over four years we crossed it many times, through tastings, wineries, charcuterie makers and olive mills. This is the map, in three territories.

Why you can taste the basalt

Volcanic soil drains well, warms the ground and forces the vine to dig. In the glass this often becomes tension, savouriness and depth. "Mineral" is a word often used loosely; here, at least, it has a recognisable origin. But beware of generalising: as Suavia's research in Soave showed, "volcanic soil" changes face from one vineyard to the next.

Two grapes tell the story of this Veneto. Garganega, which on basalt loses some floral softness and gains verticality and salt. And Durella, thick-skinned and sharply acidic, made for bubbles.

1. Gambellara and Montebello Vicentino: basalt as identity

Identità Basaltiche

Ten wineries between Gambellara and Montebello Vicentino, united not by a style but by the same soil: Casa Cecchin, Cavazza, Corte Capitelli, Cortenera, Dal Maso, Menti, Sordato, Tenuta Maule, Cantina Tonello and Volcanalia. They chose to tell their story together, putting the land before the brand. In Italian wine, used to fragmentation, that is rare.

Selvaticamente

The project's wine route is named after Selva, the place of origin between Gambellara and Montebello. "Wild" here does not mean nature out of control, but a vine living in a natural balance before a productive one. You walk the hills and taste along the way.

Corte Capitelli

In the Conca d'Oro of Montebello Vicentino, a young winery that already has a complete voice. In May 2026 we tasted six vintages of its volcanic Garganega, 2015 to 2020, with Roberto Cipresso. The full story is in a dedicated piece: Corte Capitelli, six vintages of volcanic Garganega.

2. The Lessini mountains: the land of Durella

The grape

Durella is mentioned as early as the Statutes of Costozza in 1290, and its name comes from its thick skin: durus acinus. Its acidity was so high that the wine was once diluted with water. Growers learned to tame it, and today its energy is ideal for the traditional method.

The appellation

The Monti Lessini DOC was created in 1987. Lessini Durello must contain at least 85% Durella; the rest may be Garganega, Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay and Pinot Nero. It comes still, Charmat, passito and above all traditional method, with long ageing on the lees. When we visited in 2022 the area had just over 400 hectares of Durella, across the Veronese valleys (Illasi, Tramigna, Alpone) and the Vicentine ones (Chiampo, Agno, Leogra).

Durello & Friends

In November 2022, at Villa Cordellina Lombardi in Montecchio Maggiore, the twentieth Durello & Friends gathered 20 Lessini Durello producers and other traditional-method wines from volcanic soils across Italy. Two masterclasses, one on volcanic soils and one on Durello's ageing on the lees. And a service idea I still remember: a personal sommelier for first-time tasters.

What to see

The columnar basalts of Parco San Marco, rock prisms formed by lava cooling fast, are among the rarest geological formations in the area. In Montecchio Maggiore, the Castles of Romeo and Juliet: two medieval fortresses rebuilt by the Scaligeri in the mid-1300s, tied to the novella by Luigi da Porto that inspired Shakespeare. From up there the view takes in the whole plain, towards Verona and towards Vicenza.

3. Soave: the volcano that ages

Longevity

Soave is known as an easy, fresh wine to drink young. Soave Seven, in September 2023 at Eataly Verona, proved the opposite: twelve wines from 2011 to 2016, led by sommelier Michael Adami. The most surprising was Tenuta Sant'Antonio's Soave Vecchie Vigne 2011, from vines about sixty years old: ripe peach, quince, flint, still full of tension. Alongside it, Inama's Vigneti di Foscarino 2016, Gini's La Froscà 2016 and Villa Canestrari's Riserva 2012, from lightly dried grapes.

Suavia and "I Luoghi"

In the heart of Soave Classico, the Tessari sisters vinified three small vineyards separately to show how much Garganega can change from one vineyard to the next. The full story is in a dedicated piece: Suavia, three vineyards and three sisters.

The Soave Wine Road

Founded in 1999, it brings together about 130 members, from wineries and farm stays to restaurants and producers, from Verona to the Alpone valley. Its routes include the Vecia Via della Lana past Soave Castle, the Sulla via dei Fossili fossil trail and the 10 Capitelli walk. And besides Soave, there is Recioto to taste.

Stops at the table

• Ca' Rugate, in Montecchia di Crosara: the Soave Classico Monte Fiorentine, rich and savoury, and the Enomuseo, with more than 150 tools from a century of farm life.
• La Casara Roncolato, in Roncà: the Sopressa di Brenton, with a municipal designation, aged in the village's natural cellars without technology. The same family made the cheeses served at the Corte Capitelli vertical.
• Prosciuttificio Soave: 3,000 square metres and around 30,000 hams, aged 18 to 24 months and checked one by one with a horse-bone needle.
• Frantoio Fornaro, in Montecchia di Crosara: one family, 350 olive trees of eight varieties, two oils of opposite character.

The Soave hills have been recognised by the FAO as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System.

Why it stays with you

• A soil you can see. Basalt is a strong image: you can touch it, photograph it, remember it.
• Cohesion as the message. Ten wineries speaking with one voice are more credible than ten speaking alone.
• Wine inside a whole landscape. Charcuterie, cheese, oil, castles and trails: here you travel, you do not just taste.
• Time as proof. Volcanic Garganega ages, and anyone who tastes it at ten years old stops seeing it as a simple wine.