Why it matters
The producer
Cantina Cornelia Tessari sits in Monteforte d'Alpone, a village in the eastern reach of the Soave Classico zone in Veneto. The estate grows one grape: Garganega. From that single decision flows a range of five wines covering every style the grape can produce, from a still lees-aged white to a bottle-fermented sparkling made con fondo to a sweet Recioto with six months of drying behind it.
Antonio Tessari founded the estate in 1933 with a single hectare of land. His granddaughter Cornelia now runs the cantina that carries her name. Three generations have farmed the same village, the same grape, and the same parcel of Soave Classico without broadening the variety base or moving to neighbouring appellations.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Soave Classico is the historic core of the Soave DOC, centred on the hills west of Verona between the towns of Soave and Monteforte d'Alpone. Monteforte d'Alpone marks the eastern boundary of that zone, where the slopes carry volcanic basalt alongside limestone, giving Garganega wines a mineral edge and a firm acid line that distinguishes them from flatter plain-grown Soave.
Garganega is the defining grape of Soave, permitted in blends with Trebbiano di Soave and a handful of other varieties, but here used alone. In this corner of Veneto the grape produces white wines that run from dry and relatively lean to richly sweet, depending entirely on how the grapes are handled after harvest. That spectrum is exactly what Tessari maps across its range.
Wines to know
The range in view
Grisela Soave Classico is the still, dry entry point. Garganega grown in Monteforte d'Alpone, hand-harvested, tank-aged on the lees with battonage. The nose carries candied fruit and flowers; the palate is clean and direct, with the acid line you expect from hillside Soave Classico rather than the softness of valley fruit.
Avus Garganega Frizzante is the con fondo sparkling. Natural yeasts in the bottle produce a gentle mousse alongside a yeasty, slightly oxidative quality on the nose. The Recioto must addition brings richness; cider-adjacent freshness keeps the wine from feeling heavy. The sediment sits in the bottle; the wine is poured cloudy.