We are used to considering Chardonnay a grape variety for important (and expensive) wines, but in Italy there are many extremely pleasant and drinkable Chardonnays, such as Cavit’s Bottega Vinai and Castello di Roncade’s Bianco dell’Arnasa.
Chardonnay represents, in the panorama of white grape varieties, what Cabernet represents in the sphere of reds: a prized variety, with a vocation to “travel” and adapt across the five continents. Originating in Burgundy and widespread in Champagne, in the past by us in Italy it was confused with Pinot Blanc, of which it is a distant relative.
In our country it spread first in the Tre Venezie and Lombardy, but in recent years new plantings have multiplied in every corner of the Peninsula. As a sparkling wine base it is excellent, especially when raised on medium-altitude limestone soils; with higher yields per hectare it gives a light and delicately fruity wine, also marketed just pétillant (frizzantino) to enhance its freshness and drinkability. Instead, it proves to be a real standout when grown with strict criteria in the most suitable microclimates.
We chose two from different areas, one Trentino, which is the region with the largest area of Chardonnay vines in Italy, and one Veneto, in the Treviso area. The first is from Cavit, a large second-tier cooperative, which markets and in part produces wines that are the fruit of grapes from thousands of direct contributors or eleven other cooperative wineries in Trentino. Cavit is a true regional production system; three-quarters of Trentino wine passes through its state-of-the-art winery, and the agricultural income of thousands of families simply depends on its performance. The wines, especially in the sparkling wine sector, are at least correct, at most extraordinary. From about 800,000 quintals of grapes processed, it is even easy to make selections of the highest level.
The second producer is Castello di Roncade. Its headquarters is one of the historic places in the Treviso area, the building being the Giustinian Ciani Bassetti villa, a late 15th-century building that has been owned by the Ciani Bassetti family since 1881. A magical place, which now houses a hospitality facility while the winery from which good wines flow, also thanks to the collaboration of Umberto Trombelli, a valuable oenologist, was moved a few years ago to Mogliano Veneto, to a more modern and functional location, where there is also direct sales.
To read the fact sheets of the two wines we propose, click on the name.
