Contrada Soarda

Contrà Soarda sits at the foot of the Asiago plateau in Breganze, one of the Veneto’s most underrated volcanic terroirs. The name means “hamlet on the slope”, and the Gottardi family, pioneers of sustainable viticulture, built their gravity-fed, bio-architecture winery inside the volcanic hillside, where it blends into the landscape and naturally regulates temperature. The vineyards are planted on ancient volcanic tuff and basalt.

The focus is Vespaiolo, a rare native white named after the wasps (vespe) drawn to its sugar-rich berries. For centuries it was mostly dried to make the sweet Torcolato, but the Gottardi family shows its potential as a dry wine: the grape’s sky-high acidity is balanced by the texture and savory backbone of the volcanic soil.

The Vespaiolo is golden, with acacia flowers, white peach and citrus zest anchored by smoky flint, electric and mineral, with a classic bitter-almond finish. It is superb with Bassano’s white asparagus or a seafood risotto, and a strong argument that Breganze belongs alongside Soave and the Colli Berici.