Pieropan

Pieropan, a venerable family-owned winery nestled in the historic town of Soave in Italy's Veneto region, traces its origins to 1880, when founder Leonildo Pieropan first planted vines and pioneered the production of Recioto di Soave, a luscious passito wine crafted from sun-dried Garganega grapes. Under the stewardship of subsequent generations, particularly Leonildo 'Nino' Pieropan in the mid-20th century, the estate revolutionised white winemaking by introducing Italy's inaugural single-vineyard Soave Classico bottlings, such as Calvarino and La Rocca, from meticulously tended hillside plots in the Soave Classico denomination. Today, brothers Andrea and Dario Pieropan, representing the fourth generation, oversee 75 hectares of certified organic vineyards—55 in Soave and 20 in Valpolicella—yielding around 750,000 bottles annually, with 65 per cent exported to over 70 countries. Their innovative, eco-conscious approach culminated in 2019 with a striking underground winery burrowed into the hillside, blending ancient terroir reverence with sustainable architecture, including rainwater harvesting and natural thermal regulation, to craft elegant, age-worthy wines that embody the timeless allure of Veneto's volcanic soils.