Serious Soave, seriously

Soave, as Walter’s Oxford Companion to Wine entry well documents, has suffered from the same fate as many of Italy’s regions, not least its neighbour Valpolicella: expansion at the expense of quality. The white wine served at the 1937 coronation of King George VI fell from grace. 

As prime hillside plots were filled during 1970s expansion, vines moved onto the fertile, volume-enhancing plains, yields skyrocketed, and the bland, high-volume variety, Trebbiano Toscano (aka Ugni Blanc) was planted at the expense of key variety Garganega and its local blending partner...