Trailblazer is a term often thrown around in the wine trade. Yet, while there is certainly plenty of experimentation in the industry around the world, there are few true genuine trailblazers upending traditions to drive useful change and their regions into the future. The Anselmi family from the renowned region of Soave are without doubt trailblazers who, with a handful of other wineries, have helped the region to rise up from a home of generic wine to now be home to some of Northern Italy’s finest white wines. 

Not once but twice, Anselmi has helped to change the trajectory of this iconic region. Appellations have long protected the great wine regions of Europe, giving their wines a brand to hold onto with laws helping to ensure that a certain level of quality is maintained. The strictness of the rules and the quality of the laws themselves determine whether the appellation will be highly useful or will in fact help to entrench mediocrity, allowing some wineries to hide their substandard wine under a cloak of regional quality, as was long found in Soave.

Anselmi has operated in Veneto, Italy, since 1948. But close to its fiftieth year, Roberto Anselmi could no longer stand by and slavishly follow the appellation rules which were allowing the region’s name to be dragged through the mud thanks to the large local Soave co-operatives operating with little focus on quality. For a winery that was doing its best to make the finest wines possible, the Soave name had become a noose strangling the brand’s efforts to advance its reputation. 

Anselmi walked away which not only freed the winery to rise up in the eyes of consumers but it also allowed production to change in search of wine quality. Traditional pergola trained vines with huge fruit yields were replaced with more traditional high quality vine architecture, with much lower yields and grapes with greater levels of flavour.  While other grapes have been permissible as an addition to the local Garganega in Soave (Garganega must account for a minimum of 70% of the wine, while Pinot bianco, Chardonnay and Trebbiano di Soave are allowed to fill up to 30% of the remaining blend, and upto 5% of other Italian varieties can also be included), Anselmi wanted even more flexibility, in particular the option to add other grape varieties into the mix, particularly Sauvignon Blanc initially, as well as regularly using oak ferment and maturation.

Since Anselmi has been freed from the chains of appellation laws, this winery’s rise has been meteoric which has also had a significant effect more broadly on the entire region. Soave changed from a home of neutral bulk wine to a leading light for bright, fine and detailed white wines. But Roberto Anselmi was not finished and this has recently taken a surprising turn, toward PIWI varieties. 

Anselmi has always had an eye on sustainability, and reducing chemical inputs to the lowest possible levels. This has included a move to organic winemaking and viticultural principles although their general distrust of any strict regulation has seen the family largely avoid any formal certification. PIWI vines are crosses of various grape varieties specifically developed to be more resistant to fungal diseases, which are a significant problem in the wine industry that requires large-scale chemical treatments. The vines used to create PIWI varieties all come from the Vitis Vinifera family of grapevines, and do not include any of the inferior genetic stock which has been used for vine crossings in the past. The use of PIWI varieties therefore promotes less chemical use and better soil health, well aligned to the overriding goals at Anselmi, while retaining the quality of Vitis Vinifera. Roberto Anselmi is without doubt one the first acclaimed winemakers around the world to embrace PIWI varieties, including Souvignier Gris, Muscaris, Aromera and Riesling Resistente. Their highly popular San Vincenzo blend has a significant proportion of PIWI varieties which slip into the overall package seamlessly without altering its overall style. The addition of PIWI varieties into one of their top wines, the Capitel Foscarino single vineyard Cru planted on a steep slope at 350m, illustrates their confidence in the future of PIWI varieties in Soave. 

At the core of Anselmi is not only innovation but prized terroirs. Premium sites have been chosen in the Veneto region with a strong preference for a mixture of volcanic and limestone based soils. When blended with thoughtful vineyard management and sensitive winemaking the results are magic; beautiful energetic white wines, still respectful of their terroir and history although elevated to another level thanks to the family’s neverending search for great quality and harmony with the local environment.

2023 Anselmi San Vincenzo
The 2023 San Vincenzo is bright, fresh and finely detailed with a core of pear and floral aromas, with a faint nutty line. Vibrant acidity is at its core backed by good fruit weight before unwinding to a more savoury and understated finish
90 Points
Drink 2025-2029

2023 Anselmi Capitel Foscarino
The 2023 edition is a super vintage of Capitel Foscarino made largely of Garganega with 10% Chardonnay in the mix. It is deceptively powerful and still quite tightly wound radiating with pear, peach and creamy cashew aromas topped by a subtle lining of fine oak. Beautifully textured and firm, with impressive density and vitality which holds true through a finish of exceptional length.
93 Points
Drink 2027-2035

2022 Anselmi Capitel Croce
The 2022 Capitel Croce is 100% Garganega and showcases the warm and dry vintage with an open-knit and fleshy opening of yellow apples and ripe pear with touches of lemon rind. Creamy in texture and building more complexity in the mouth to a generous finish.
92 Points
Drink 2025-2030

2023 Anselmi Realda

Cabernet Sauvignon in Soave – say it is not so. But there is nothing to fear with this stylish and elegant Cabernet Sauvignon. As expected from the cooler climate there is a level of restraint to the layers of blackcurrant and mint aromas with a faint earthy edge. A good level of old world gravelly tannins provide structure which will help this wine to hold its shape for a decade.
91 Points
Drink 2025-2035

2022 Anselmi I Capitelli 
This wine is a special treat – a Recioto Soave made from partially dried grapes to concentrate sweetness and flavour. It oozes with honeyed goodness and tropical fruit salad aromas of excellent intensity while French oak adds a praline edge. Creamy textured and mouthfilling with lacy acidity it then builds delicious complexity over a seductive and silky finish.

92 Points
2025-2034