Soave

I recently had the pleasure of visiting the Bonamini olive oil azienda just outside of Soave with some of my volunteer friends. And one of them had a visitor from the States to round out the group. I learned the official way of tasting olive oil, which is a little bit strange; saw a "baby" olive tree that was about 120 years old; toured the warehouse where olive oil is made; and saw some very old restored olive presses. If you ever get the chance to visit, I think you should! My friend Cara went the same week with a different crowd, and her blog post about it is a great summation: Cara's Bonamini Experience

After our olive oil-tasting (and buying) experience, we continued down the road to the city center of Soave for some wine-tasting! We were hoping to visit the Soave Cantina, which is known for its fantastic cellar, but they were booked. Instead, we went inside the city walls to Coffele, where they were ready and waiting for us. We walked through a gorgeous wisteria-covered courtyard to their tasting room. I have to say, I love the typical Italian wine-tasting experience; if you call ahead, 9 times out of 10 you will arrive to a beatifully set table with a spread of meat, cheese, and crackers. Coffele was no different. Our wine sherpa spoke six languages and had just returned from a conference in Germany, so she stumbled between the three languages a few times. It was pretty funny, but she did a great job telling us about their wines and the wine-making processes they use. Coffele produces 120,000 - 130,000 bottles per year, and exports to a dozen or so countries, including China, Japan, Denmark, and Canada. I left with a bottle of Amarone, and would like to go back to purchase some of their Bordeaux blend Nuj. Note for future reference: Coffele only accepts cash, so come prepared.

 

Inside the Coffele courtyard

Pronounced "New-wee"

 

Inside Coffele's cellar

Inside Coffele's tasting room

After wine-tasting, we went to a local trattoria for lunch, where I had...um, I forgot. But it was delicious, whatever it was. I usually order the duck bigoli, because I love to compare different versions of it, but I went with something different this time. Papardelle, I think. Oh well, I would go back! We were there on a market day, but didn't have time to wander around. Soave is a walled city and you can visit the castle and walk on the walls, so I'd like to go back sometime and make a day of it: taste wines, walk the walls, and eat good food.