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Soave (pronounced So-Ah-Ve) is a dry white Italian wine from the Veneto region in northeast Italy, principally around the city of Verona. Within the Soave region are both a ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata'' (DOC) zone and a ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita'' (DOCG) designation known as ''Soave Superiore'' with both zones being further sub-divided into a general and ''classico'' designation for the wines produced in the heartland of the Soave region around the sloping vineyards of Verona. Throughout the Soave production zone Garganega is the principal grape variety though Trebbiano di Soave and Chardonnay are permitted in varying percentages. While most Soave is dry, still wine within the DOC zone a sparkling ''spumante'' style is permitted as is the passito ''Recioto'' style, that in 1998 was granted its own Recioto di Soave DOCG designation for grapes grown in the hilly region. ==History== Soave saw a peak of popularity in United States during the mid-20th century Italian wine boom that followed the end of World War II. Driven by the marketing efforts of large producers like Bolla, Soave even surpassed Chianti in the 1970s as the largest-selling Italian DOC wine in the US. By the end of the 20th century, Soave's share of US sales were eventually eclipsed by Pinot grigio and an influx of new wines from southern Italy.〔M. Ewing-Mulligan & E. McCarthy ''Italian Wines for Dummies'' pg 119-126 Hungry Minds 2001 ISBN 0-7645-5355-0〕 The Soave DOC was created in 1968 with the boundaries revised and expanded periodically over the next few decades. As a point of introduction, it should be said that Soave and Chianti were the first zones in Italy (in 1931) to be recognized by Royal Decree as having the potential for producing fine wines. This document delimited the borders of the production zones which, in the case of Soave, coincide with those fixed under the current production regulations for Soave Classico. Situated in the eastern part of the Province of Verona, in the foothills of the Lessini Mountains, the Soave zone is a not particularly large wine region which, however, produces very significant quantities of wine, in virtue of the fact that the area under vine is one of the most specialized and densely planted in Europe. In this area, there exists a traditional and indissoluble link between viticulture and terroir; the area of specialized vineyards has remained practically unchanged compared to 100 years ago and indeed there does not seem to be any valid reason why it should increase. In 2001, a separate Soave Superiore DOCG was created for the 2002 vintage〔P. Saunders ''Wine Label Language'' pp. 182 Firefly Books 2004 ISBN 1-55297-720-X〕 that included revised boundaries that covered some areas of the original ''classico'' zone and excluded others for reasons that wine expert Oz Clarke described as unclear and ''"Byzantine"''. The revised boundaries and additional DOCG requirements that dealt with vine training and other viticultural practices promoted sharp criticism from Soave growers, and beginning as early as 2003 several voluntarily withdrew themselves from the DOC/G and produced wines under IGT designations.〔O. Clarke ''Oz Clarke's Encyclopedia of Wine'' pg 347 Time Warner Books, London 2003 ISBN 0-316-72654-0〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Soave (wine)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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