Alpha Zeta S Soave 2025
£9.45
The wine
Soave is Garganega, a late-ripening grape with high acidity and a faintly bitter almond finish, grown on the volcanic hills east of Verona.
The variety has been shown by DNA testing to be the same as Sicily Grecanico Dorato, which is a long way for a grape to travel. Alpha Zeta is a collaboration between an Australian winemaker and Veneto growers, set up to make the region native varieties in a cleaner, fruit-driven style than the co-operatives once managed.
The producer
Alpha Zeta
View all Alpha Zeta winesAlpha Zeta is a clever idea, beautifully executed. Founded in 1999 by the Master of Wine David Gleave and the acclaimed New Zealand winemaker Matt Thomson, the project set out to prove that the Veneto could deliver modern, characterful wines at genuinely everyday prices.
The approach is refreshingly direct. Rather than buying in finished wine, Alpha Zeta works hand in hand with growers in the hills around Verona, in the Valpantena and Alpone valleys, lowering yields and picking later for riper, cleaner fruit. Cool air spilling down from the foothills of the Dolomites keeps the grapes fresh and aromatic.
The name says it all. From A to Z, each wine is labelled by a single letter and made to show its grape and its place as clearly as possible: the crisp S Soave, the melon-scented C Chardonnay, the juicy V Valpolicella and the rich A Amarone at the summit. Most are sealed under screwcap to keep them bright and free of fault.
The result is a range that punches far above its price, fresh, honest and true to the Veneto. Proof that great everyday drinking and real quality need not be at odds.
