2018 Tenuta di Corte Giacobbe Soave DOC 750 ml

The Ideal First Course Wine

Imagine the suave density and white blossom, smoke, and sappy tropical aromatics of a top Friuli Pinot Grigio—but going for less than $20 a bottle. Or call to mind the crushed oyster shell and white grapefruit finesse of a premier cru Chablis, yet one that rings up on your screen at a fire-sale, case-buy price. That’s what the 2018 Tenuta di Corte Giacobbe Soave delivers today: the piercing freshness, textural richness, and orchard fruit purity of a top European white at an unbeatable value.

Tenuta di Corte Giacobbe is at the spear tip of Soave’s renaissance and we’re first to market with this 2018 release in the U.S., giving you the first shot at a stunning, citrus-infused expression from one of the region’s best producers. It’s no wonder that Italians used to call this wine “Petite Chablis” before Soave became an official designation in 1931—it’s got the clean, bright acidity that hot-weather drinking demands, but with a sophistication and complexity that has made it a darling in wine pairings at Michelin-starred restaurants.

Family-run estates like Tenuta di Corte Giacobbe have been quietly and diligently perfecting the cultivation of Garganega. Thanks to their efforts—and our connections in Veneto—today it’s possible to secure top-flight bottles that retail at a fraction of the price of comparable whites in Italy and France.

From vineyards on the slopes of two extinct volcanoes, soils rich in pumice, lava, and ash lend this wine its smoky, silky delicacy and vein of minerality. Sharp diurnal variation, and cold air currents whooshing down from the Alps, preserve the wine’s mouth-watering lemon peel acidity. Long hours of sunlight each day and south-facing orientation pack grapes with rich exotic fruit concentration. The 2018 vintage was flawless, leading to a crop of wines of almost effortless balance, characterized by high acids. Stainless steel fermentation on the lees preserves the fruit purity while lending this wine its expansive, rich mouthfeel.

Think about pairing this wine with a dish of spaghetti alle vongole, flecked with parsley. Or a bowl of melon, topped with prosciutto and crumbled goat cheese.