I first met Massimo Pra earlier this year at a tasting in Los Angeles. He was all alone at his table with a few bottles and a big smile. I soon found out he was the winemaker for Dama del Rovere, a winery near Soave in the Veneto region of Italy. And, along with his father and brother, was producing some seriously interesting Soave and a sparkling wine from a grape called durello. I also learned that the name Dama del Rovere comes from the statue Massimo’s grandfather placed in the large oak tree dominating their Soave vineyard. The second time I would meet Massimo would be at the train station in San Bonifacio, a short drive away from the hills of the Soave Classico and that big oak and a little bit longer to the heights of Brenton where the cellar sits.
photo by Marisa Quintanilla
photo by M. Quintanilla
I spent the day tasting each and every wine from the 2009 harvest directly from the tanks as well as other vintages awaiting their trip into the bottle. A wonderful way to explore 2 autochthonous grapes in depth; garganega and durello. I was most impressed with their Spinaje, a Soave Classico DOCG wine. The Pra men are doing something different with garganega (the grape used in Soave Classico). They are drying the grapes passito style for 25 days and then pressing and macerating on the skins for weeks or months before fining in a combination of oak barrels and steel. I was able to taste the 2007 vintage from the tank and from the barrel. And, well, wow.
Massimo uses his wine thief for a little barrel tasting. photo by M. Quintanilla
photo by M. Quintanilla
photo by M. Quintanilla
It is a powerhouse of a wine at 15.5% alcohol and is absolutely nothing like its watered down easy drinking Soave table wine counterparts. It is like a caramel apple whiskey explosion in the mouth with a dry finish reminiscent of a red wine due to the extended skin contact. We were so very kindly give a bottle of the 2006 Spinaje to take with us and we more than enjoyed it over dinner in Venice the next night. A toast to the Pra men and that dame in the tree enchanting their vineyards.
photo by M. Quintanilla
A special thank you to my dear friend Marisa for joining me on my trip and documenting our experiences. I will be forever grateful for the ability to hold a glass of wine and carry on a conversation without trying to juggle the camera as well. Can you come back, please?
