Perceptions aside, There are some pleasant surprises in store for those willing to look for the exception to conventional thinking. In his regularly featured article in the December 31, 2005 issue, The Wine Spectator's Matt Kramer names his four wines of the year. "What I look for are what might be called "wines that redefine."" The wines he speaks of are those that defy categorization with their peers. "Soave has long been a light weight, in every sense, in the white wine division. But this dense, Oak-free Soave Classico from the Prà family will change your view of what Soave can do." He likes the price too, describing it as just as "head turning" as the Wine.

I recently tasted the 2002 Prà Soave Classico. The floral and fresh lime scents lead to a rich tropical fruit surprise on the palate. It's a luscious wine, no lightweight by any means. The Prà family has been turning out high quality wines for generations. From their 10 Hectares of vineyards and winery at Monteforte D'Alpone (Verona) in the heart of the Soave Classico zone, Brothers Sergio and Graziano Prà continue to build on the family winemaking traditions. Years of experience and innovative new techniques in the vineyard and the winery are the guiding principles for the wines they produce today. Brother Sergio manages the vineyards to exacting standards. Denser plantings, thinning of the bunches, organic fertilization and green trimming practices reduce output and ultimately improve the quality of the fruit. Sergio's innovative "pergoletta" vine training techniques have recently been adopted as part of the Soave DOCG regulations. Quality standards in the vineyards produce exceptional fruit but Graziano's hand in the winery adds the refinement to the wine. The Prà brothers have invested heavily in modern wine making equipment allowing them to control all aspects of the fermentation process.

They produce Soave in several styles. The Soave Classico is the standard bearer and the bulk of the production, about 150,000 bottles/year. The traditional Soave formula calls for a blend of trebiano and garganega but the Prà Soave Classico is 100% garganega. garganega is a fleshy fruity variety capable of producing intensely flavored wine when handled properly. Under the hands of the Prà brothers the Garganega reaches it's full potential. There are also two single vineyard crus. The Monte Grande and the Colle Sant' Antonio. Here the yields are further reduced and only the best bunches are used. In the Monte Grande the aromatic trebiano is blended with the gaganega and fermentation is completed in large oaken butts. The wood adds complexity and spicy notes to the wine. Like the Soave Classico, the Colle Sant' Antonio is 100% garganega but here the yields are dramatically reduced to less than a third of the normal yield. The Harvest is delayed allowing for further withering and concentration on the vine. Again, fermentation is completed in oaken butts. The result is an opulent, well structured wine with higher alcohol content and showing vanilla, sweet almonds and honey notes. Pra also produces the DOCG Soave Recioto. Recioto wines are highly concentrated sweet wines made by drying the grapes on racks for three to 4 months after the harvest. Incomplete fermentation is takes place in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks allowing for residual sugars to concentrate in the wine.

The Prà wines are atypical of the Soave image for light weight mediocre wines. They are meticulously crafted high quality wines setting a new standard for the Soave region.