Andi Sölva - Alto-Adige, Italy
MEET THE MASTER: ANDI SÖLVA
Andi under the influence.
E&R is happy to be the first in the USA to offer Andi Sölva's wines via our "almost direct imports" work. We first met Andi five or six years ago at his house/garage winery in Caldaro (Kaltern), south of Bolzano near Lago di Caldaro. We loved his work and his wines. The problem getting his wines here has been his tiny wine production. Andi produces about 600 cases in total a year of a few wines always swooped up by the locals. As you might imagine for a small and super high quality set of wines, Andi does pretty everything on his own with his 1.5 hectares of vines. Time and experience have helped in becoming a real Master of his three main varietals - Schiava, Pinot Bianco and Riesling. Friends, each wine is exceptional. Finally, on our last visit in October we were able to arrange to get a modest eighteen cases - the entire USA allocation. The wines are being labeled now and will be picked up by our Import partner's refrigerated truck in about two weeks time.
E&R works with handful of winemakers in Alto-Adige, one of our favorite regions. There are good reasons for this. The wines are great and provide exceptional value and Alto-Adige has an unusually high percentage of superb winemakers. Lastly the region is skinny on the map but covers many miles from north to south; and that distance is key as the wines, terroir and grapes in the north are not the same as in the south, and those that are do not offer the same expression due to the soil, elevation and exposures. We are excited to be able to offer the best expressions of Alto-Adige's various wines.
A prime example of north/south variance is the cool indigenous Schiava grape, aka Vernatsch and/or St. Magdalener. If you have had this grape from Gojer, or Gumphof or Ebner — each from the higher-altitude zone north of Bolzano — you know they show precise fruit and a pretty brilliance. To the south where Andi farms at Caldaro, the altitude, while plenty high, is lower, the soil is richer and the vineyards are in a more open arena of light and wind. This allows Andi to produce a stunning Schiava of greater depth, color and complexity. Make no mistake, it is still a red that dances with a certain finesse, but here it shows a broader stature and unique pizzazz.
Farming is all organic and is crucial to the wines. Andi spends most of the daylight hours working in his vineyards. Through these efforts, the impressive depth and complexity in his wines is demonstrated wine by wine. Andi is a genuine kind of guy, he is concerned, cheerful, and hardworking, and maybe it takes a genuine kind of winemaker to make wines like these! Having taken over from his family back in 2005, he now is making wines that express himself, his terroir and his vision.
(E)
Click on each wine for more detail.
