Pieropan: Soave Family Winery Founded in 1880
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An inscription on the wall of the reception room at Cantina Leonildo Pieropan reads Il futuro ha un cuore antico, "The future has an ancient heart." Andrea Pieropan reads it aloud. "Without a history, your actions won't be genuine," he says. "Pieropan represents where tradition meets innovation. We learn from tradition but always look to the future."
Brothers Dario and Andrea inherited the winery from their father, Leonildo Pieropan, known as Nino, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 71. The winery and visitor center, named in his honor, opened officially in April 2022. It is a modern building near the medieval town of Soave, with views over the vineyards and the town's medieval walls.
The building was designed with sustainability in mind, an unusual step for the region when the project took shape in 2015. For Pieropan, sustainability has always been a core principle: it was the first winery in Soave to commit to organic farming, in 2008.
Veronese architect Moreno Zurlo of A.c.M.e. studio designed the 10,000-square-meter winery. It is nestled into the slopes of a large hill and largely hidden beneath the landscape, with a green roof. Soil removed during excavation was reused in the surrounding vineyards. The façade uses local brass, Vicenza stone and Euganean trachyte, chosen to weather over time like the wines inside. A rainwater collection system nourishes the vineyard, and the underground environment conserves energy through its natural stability.
The new winery could not be a copy of the former one, a 14th-century château in the center of Soave. "It had to have a different soul," Andrea says. "And, like wine, the building will evolve with time."
The winery was founded in 1880 by Dr. Leonildo Pieropan, the town's surgeon. "Our great-grandfather left medicine because he couldn't stand the sight of blood," Andrea explains. Leonildo had always been passionate about viticulture, buying small plots and experimenting with Soave's soils and its indigenous grapes. His sons Gustavo and Fausto carried on the business, later passed to Gustavo's only son, Leonildo (Nino).
Nino, a trained viticulturist, took control in 1970. He adopted stainless steel and other new technologies and refocused the vineyards on the best plots. He achieved a series of industry firsts:
"Before Calvarino, no one had connected the vineyard to the label," Andrea says. At the time, Soave wines were exported in volume and their reputation was not great. Nino had to build the region's reputation from the ground up. Pieropan became one of the most prominent winemakers in the region, and in the 1990s Italian wine critics took notice, praising both Calvarino and La Rocca with high scores.
Calvarino comes from the first vineyard parcel to belong to the Pieropan family. Its terraced rows face south-southwest within a natural amphitheater, an ideal microclimate. The wine is made mainly from Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave, grown in volcanic soils that give it minerality and finesse. Dario vinifies it in large cement tanks lined with fiberglass to preserve its fresh, mineral character.
La Rocca comes from the southern slopes of Monte Rocchetta, close to the winery and near the medieval castle of Soave. It is made only from Garganega from older vines, in limestone-rich soil that gives a richer, more nuanced minerality. La Rocca ferments and ages in oak barrels of 500 to 2,000 liters, for a fuller-bodied Soave with a creamy texture and a layered profile. "Nobody in this region was using oak," Andrea says. "It was really revolutionary."
Dario, the head winemaker, follows a traditional yet meticulous approach, focused on perfecting the technique to express the terroir. "La Rocca is a very different child," he says. "It has a stronger personality."
Andrea, the head viticulturist, is experimenting with PIWI fungus-resistant vines planted on a small plot on the winery's roof, introduced in 2021. Grass extends to the roof's edges and hides a system that captures and filters rainwater for the vineyard and for the winery gardens.
At the La Rocca vineyard, flanked by olive groves that produce a small batch of olive oil, he uses massal selection: cuttings chosen from several exceptional old vines for disease resistance, fruit quality and climate adaptability. The method preserves genetic diversity and makes the vineyard more resilient. He also works with experts such as Dr. Attilio Scienza on a rootstock that adapts to climate change. "You have to embrace innovation," Andrea says. "It's all about securing the winery's future."
Their mother, Teresita Pieropan, is deeply involved in running the visitor center. Dario studied viticulture before winemaking, while Andrea did the opposite. At the old winery in the heart of medieval Soave, Pieropan still dries grapes on bamboo crates in the open air to make the estate's Amarone.
"The most important thing for Pieropan wines is to be Pieropan wines," says Andrea. "They keep their own soul and character." Dario hopes his and Andrea's children will one day join the winery: "If you enjoy the work as we do, it's a different kind of work. It's love-work."
Dario and Andrea often take charge of the wine list when dining out. They see Pieropan Soave Classico as an aperitif, a palate-cleansing wine to enjoy before a meal. Calvarino and La Rocca are more complex and shine with food.
"It's not about where you are but who you're with," Andrea says. "Any moment can be special." Find Pieropan wines at your local Eataly or have them shipped to your door when you shop online.
Article by Nargess Banks, courtesy of Pieropan.
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