Discovering the 33 new Soave “Crus”

The Consortium of Soave wines announced last year the creation of 33 new “crus” covering 38% of the total area of the denomination.

Soave is a well-known white wine made in Veneto, province of Venice, and made from at least 70% Garganega grapes and the rest from Chardonnay and Trebbiano di Soave.

It should be remembered that a cru designates a particular wine-growing unit within the appellation, whose grapes can be vinified separately and whose name can appear on the label, thus indicating that the wines were produced in a very specific area. After 15 years of meticulous research which made it possible to identify these new “Unità Geografica Aggiuntiva” (UGA), i.e. the Italian equivalent of a “cru”, taking into account their terroir, their history and the quality of wines, these UGAs can now be vinified separately by the Soave winemakers with their names appearing on the label from the 2019 vintage.

Until 2018, there were Soave wines and Soave Classico wines. Soave Classico wines are made with grapes grown in the “classic” area, obtained from vineyards located within the borders of the town of Soave and Monteforte d’Alpone. Most of the newly classified crus, 28 of them, are in the Soave Classico area.

About Pier-Alexis Soulière

Pier-Alexis has spent the last fifteen years of his career communicating his love for wine. The adventure first began in Montreal, then continued in prestigious establishments spread over three different continents; from London to New York via Sydney, he experienced the joys and intensity of working for several Michelin-starred establishments, such as Dinner by Heston Blumenthal (2 stars), The Modern (2 stars) as well as Manresa Restaurant ( 3 stars).

In 2014, he won first place at the International Young Sommeliers Competition held in Copenhagen.

In 2016, he became one of the few people to obtain the title of Master Sommelier before the age of 30. A title held by 249 people around the world, including 5 individuals in Canada and only 2 in Quebec.

In 2017, Pier-Alexis was named Best Sommelier of Quebec by the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers, in addition to having been crowned Best Sommelier of the Americas by the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale in May 2018. In 2019, he was represented the Americas in the Best Sommelier of the World competition held in Belgium, managing to climb into the top 10 worldwide, among representatives from more than 60 countries. In 2021, Pier-Alexis was named Canada’s Best Sommelier by the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers and will represent Canada in the World’s Best Sommelier competition to be held in Paris in 2023.

Pier-Alexis is the president of P-A Soulière Sélection Ltée and he offers consulting services in restaurants and hotels, event organization and tasting, wine cellar management as well as training and education.