Chiara Soldati is a great deal like the wine she produces, beautifully elegant with sophistication and finesse. Her La Scolca wines of Italy’s Piedmont are celebrated in the citadels of culinary artistry around the world: the legendary Le Cirque and Cipriani in New York, Villa Restaurant in Malta, La Liguria in Amsterdam, Cucina Hirata in Tokyo, Novikov in Moscow and Casa Tua in Miami Beach.
“Our story in the United States began 45 years ago with Le Cirque,” Soldati recounted before an intimate gathering of food, wine and travel writers on the patio at South Beach’s Prime Italian. “Our story goes much further back than that. My family began making wine 95 years ago. I am the fourth generation, and my son, who is now 19, will be the fifth.”
Soldati’s wines are unique in the way they magically combine climate, the landscape and old vines to create wines of distinction.
“Wine is terroir combined with human history,” she theorized. “The experience of drinking wine transports you to a faraway place with its aromas and flavors,” Soldati expounded. “At La Scolca, our winemaking system pays homage to the origins of the grapes, vineyard by vineyard, to produce healthy, clean wine. We don’t use any chemicals. Every bottle of wine is pure and made with passion. “
Chiara Soldati and La Scolca’s presence at the recent Food Network and Cooking Channel South Beach Wine and Food Festival presented by Capital One in Miami Beach is proof that Italian wine is definitely back in the U.S., and has never been stronger.
“I’m really happy to be back in the market that loves our wines the most,” she reflected. “This is a wonderful opportunity to communicate our culture and our wine.”
A large part of Soldati’s message revolves around La Scolca’s dual roles role as both a driving force behind innovation and guardian of the traditions of Gavi winemaking. The highest standards of quality and sustainability are paramount.
“Nothing is random or left to chance,” she explained. “The wine’s balance comes from the attention paid to every detail, from the vineyard to the bottle. Winemaking is like listening to a concert where each instrument is tuned and in synergy to create a perfect and harmonious symphony.”
La Scolca wines are among the most prized in the cellars of some of the great restaurants and resorts around the globe.
Her signature wines; Gavi La Scolca White Label and a Gavi Dei Gavi Black Label, or Etichetta Nera (‘black label’ in Italian), are rhapsodized by Sommeliers everywhere. “I cannot live without La Scolca Black Label,” writes the wine steward at Ristorante La Liguria in The Hague, in the pages of Soldati’s book, Le Parole Del Vino (The Words of Wine).
In one of the entries in the book, Hong Kong Sommelier John Dng. “Since I started my career as a sommelier, I have found that La Scolca has always produced one of the best Gavi wines I have ever tasted. Today, La Scolca’s Gavi Black Label is one of the best selling white wines. Since it is quite complex with an interesting structure, it pairs exceptionally well with our pasta and seafood.”
I had an opportunity to echo that observation in the pairings offered by South Beach Miami Beach’s Prime Italian. The appetizers of Crispy Calamari with lemon and the restaurant’s signature spicy marina followed by Hearts of Romaine Caesar’s Salad, brought out the bright citrus flavors of the wine that included a medley of cascading flavors; white peach and candied Meyer lemons with hints of tarragon against the backdrop of a field of white blossoms.
Soldati presented her celebrated La Scolca Gavi Dei Gavi Black Label with the great aplomb it deserved. “Our wines are made from old vines, from 20 years for our White Label to 60 years for Black Label. Its layers of flavor unfold like the images you see after looking for an extended period of time at a painting by one of the great impressionists.
“Our wine is very clean and healthy because we don’t use any chemicals in its production. The flavor, the sugar and the alcohol are all the natural flavor and sugar of the wine. When we finish the harvest in August through mid-September, we don’t need to adjust the quality of the wine in the cellar.
Everything in the field is done by hand. After that, the approach changes dramatically. La Scolca employs a computerized system that is attuned to every nuance of the wine. Innovation is seamlessly interwoven with traditional vinification methods. The wine is bottled after a long maturation in the yeast cells, a process known as ‘sur lie’ (lying on the dead yeast), which gives the wine complexity and strength or what we sommeliers call ‘backbone.’
Once the wine reaches the cellar, it undergoes a rigorous process of vinification. “We have strict rules for the production of each of the wines.” A source of pride is the recent certification of the winery as ‘sustainable.’
“We obtained the official certification in September. It’s very important to take care of everything from the soil to the cellar. We’re very passionate about our wine.”
Gavi Dei Gavi Black Label really shined against the Chilean Sea Bass with Ginger Spinach and Carrot Butter with Crispy Shitake Mushrooms. This is where the layers of flavor come in. The first to emerge were the distinct aromas of white flowers, wet stones and straw, which is also the color of the wine, interrupted by flecks of gold. Lemon, apricots and Granny Green apples and grapefruit emerge on the palate. A long finish of honey and almonds makes it the perfect foil for seafood and a savory poultry dish such as Chicken Marsala with Roasted Garlic Mash, a heavenly combination.
There was barely room for a dessert combo of Vanilla Bread Pudding, Red Velvet Cheesecake (superb!) and Chocolate ‘Ho Ho’ with soft vanilla ice cream; three Southern favorites that made me think I was at Mardi Gras!
The name La Scolca comes from the name ‘Sfurca’ which mean viewpoint. An ancient farm on the land at La Scolca once served as a lookout.
La Scolca is the oldest winery in the region and is still run by the same family. Internationally acclaimed, it is the ‘house wine’ at Buckingham Palace. For more on La Scolca White Label and Gavi dei Gavi ‘Black Label’ visit lascolca.net.