Soave is the quintessential Italian white wine. Produced in the north-eastern region of Veneto in the hills near Verona, it is bone dry, but when it’s good – made by producers who reduce yields in the vineyard and handle the grapes carefully – it can also have an intensity of flavour and a fullness of texture that makes it an excellent wine to drink with robust, herby, garlicky food. In this particular dish, the textural qualities of the wine are enhanced by the fleshy olives and the bread, which soak up all those marjoram-scented spatchcocky juices beautifully. The most important grape in Soave is garganega. This is a variety with a rich, pulpy texture and a far more nutty, honeyed, white-grapey flavour than you’ll find in the other main Soave variety, the rather bland-tasting trebbiano. Indeed, while most cheap Soave is made mostly from trebbiano, all the best examples are predominantly garganega. A couple of winemakers, notably Robin Day in the Barossa, have started experimenting with garganega in Australia.
This dry Italian white is full of texture and sets off the hearty flavours of roast spatchcock, olives, pancetta and celery.
Ingredients
Method
Main
Note Green picholine olives are a French olive available from Simon Johnson. If unavailable, substitute any green olive. Drink suggestion by Max Allen
Notes
