• Pioneer of Soave Classico, the winery that put the appellation on the map after decades of over-cropping and mass production. • Maverick winemaker Roberto Anselmi revolutionized viticulture in Soave Classico when he abandoned traditional pergola training in the 1990s and converted his vineyards to Guyot and permanent cordon (cordone speronato). • He also was one of the first to introduce the idea of cru- designate (single-vineyard) wines in the appellation. • The estate covers roughly 70 hectares planted to vine, including Garganega (gahr-GAHN-eh-GAH), Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay. • Organic and biodynamic farming practices are employed in the vineyards (although Roberto Anselmi refuses to obtain certification, he could if he wanted). • Organic and biodynamic expert and leading wine writer Jamie Goode has called Anselmi one his favorite Italian wineries and has published extensive tasting notes on Anselmi wines. • Soave’s volcanic and calcareous limestone subsoils are ideal for creating white wines with extreme freshness and minerality. • In 2000, Anselmi wrote a famous open letter to the Soave consortium explaining that excessive bureaucracy and backward thinking had moved him to leave the consortium.
Roberto Anselmi single-handedly reshaped the Soave Classico appellation when he introduced Guyot and permanent cordon training and significantly decreased yields. His peers thought he was crazy when he decided to leave the Soave consortium so as not to be constrained by restrictive bureaucracy. History proved him right.
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