Soave Vintage, Bertani 2023 75cl

Bertani have been making wine in the Veneto since 1857, and their Soave Vintage is the quiet overachiever of the range — a single-vintage Garganega that costs less than a round of coffees yet drinks with real intent.

This comes from the hills above Verona, where Garganega has grown for centuries and where Bertani built their reputation long before Amarone made them famous. It is 100% Garganega, that gently perfumed grape too often flattened into anonymous supermarket Soave. Bertani do the opposite: they let the fruit and the volcanic soils speak, keeping the wine fresh and honest rather than dressing it up.

Expect a pale, bright glass. The nose leans mineral, with white peach and a lift of acacia and wildflower. On the palate it is lively and clean — orchard fruit, a squeeze of lemon, that faint almond bitterness on the close that marks proper Garganega. Not a big wine, but a savoury, well-balanced one with genuine drive through the finish.

This is your midweek white — the bottle to open without ceremony when supper is on and you want something that refreshes rather than dominates. At under £20 it comfortably outperforms its price, which is exactly what you want from an everyday Italian white made by people who know what they are doing.

How to Serve

Chill it well, 7–10°C, and pour into a standard white-wine glass. No decanting needed; drink it young, within a year or two of the vintage, while that freshness is at its peak.

Where to Drink It

Bibendum in South Kensington, where an Italian white slips easily alongside the shellfish. The River Cafe for a Verona wine among proper Italian cooking. The Wolseley for an unfussy glass before dinner.

Food Pairings

Made for lighter plates — grilled sardines, a plate of vitello tonnato, or a simple risotto primavera. The almond note and fresh acidity also do lovely things with a wedge of young pecorino.