Leonildo Pieropan

Origins and the first family vineyard

Pieropan traces its history to 1880 and four generations of the family. The business was founded by Leonildo Pieropan, Soave’s town doctor, whose interest in wine led him to establish the family’s viticultural activity. In 1901 he bought the first family plot, the property now associated with the historic Calvarino vineyard.

Palazzo Pullici, a 15th-century building in central Soave, served as the family home and company headquarters. The Pieropan family has lived there for approximately 250 years, and the building became the emotional and operational centre of the business.

Gustavo and Fausto Pieropan

In the 1930s, Leonildo’s sons Gustavo and Fausto assumed responsibility for the winery. They continued their father’s work with a long-term approach that preserved the family’s involvement in Soave viticulture.

Leonildo Pieropan and the transformation of the estate

In 1966, the founder’s grandson and namesake, Leonildo Pieropan, entered the business after completing studies in oenology and viticulture at the school in Conegliano. As the sole descendant of a large family, he became the central figure of the third generation.

Leonildo acquired vineyards in selected parts of the Soave Classico hills, introduced new cellar technology, experimented with production, and compared Pieropan’s work with the wine regions he encountered during extensive travel. He and his wife, Teresita, combined this interest in innovation with a determination to preserve the family’s connection to its land and transmit it to later generations.

Leonildo’s central idea was to give individual vineyards their own identity through the relationship among grape variety, soil, climate and human work. In 1971 he released Calvarino under the name of its vineyard, working in dialogue with Luigi Veronelli at a time when Italian labels generally gave greater prominence to denominations or commercial brands than to individual sites. Calvarino became the first Italian white wine identified with a single vineyard.

The approach was extended in 1978 with the first release of La Rocca. The two vineyards expressed the contrasting geology of the Soave estate: volcanic basalt at Calvarino and marine-origin limestone at La Rocca. The wines helped establish the vineyard as the principal unit through which Pieropan interpreted Soave.

Environmental transition

In 2002, Leonildo eliminated chemical weed control in the vineyards. Conversion of the entire production to organic farming began in 2008. In the same year, Leonildo and a group of fellow growers founded FIVI, the Federazione Italiana Vignaioli Indipendenti.

A new winery among the Soave vineyards

After generations of making wine at the family residence in central Soave, the need for more suitable space and contemporary logistics prompted a major change. In 2015 the family acquired land in the heart of the Soave vineyards for a new winery.

Leonildo developed the project with architect Moreno Zurlo. The building was conceived largely beneath the hill, with only its curving Vicenza-stone façade exposed. Its internal spaces follow the successive stages of winemaking, while the grounds are surrounded by productive and experimental vineyards.

Leonildo died in 2018 before the work was completed. His sons Andrea and Dario, both graduates in agriculture and oenology, completed the winery in his memory and continued the business as its fourth generation. The new cellar, dedicated to Leonildo, was inaugurated by 2022.

Recent projects and recognition

In April 2022 the family introduced Calvarino 5, the first release in the Vini dell’Anima project. Conceived by Leonildo and shared with Andrea and Dario, it combined the 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 Calvarino vintages after more than a decade of ageing on fine lees in glass-lined concrete.

On 11 October 2025, the new Soave winery received the Special Jury Prize at the XIII Premio Internazionale Dedalo Minosse alla Committenza di Architettura. Architect Moreno Zurlo and client Teresita Molinarolo in Pieropan were honoured for a project built around cooperation between architect and patron, integration with the Soave landscape, and continuity between agricultural tradition and contemporary architecture.

The Soave estate occupies hillside vineyards around the town of Soave. The broader vineyard base used for Soave Classico lies approximately 100–300 m above sea level, principally with western exposures. Its soils include both volcanic and calcareous formations.

The estate’s site-specific approach is founded on a clear geological contrast. Calvarino is volcanic, with Eocene basalt and tuff, while La Rocca has marine-origin limestone rich in clay. Le Colombare occupies volcanic terrain at the upper end of the estate’s stated altitude range.

The hills provide a cooler microclimate than the plain below. This elevation, together with the late-budding character observed for Garganega, has protected the estate’s vineyards during some spring-frost years. Differences in elevation, exposure, soil and local microclimate determine harvest timing: Trebbiano di Soave is generally picked from mid-September, while Garganega is often left until October, with the most favoured sites harvested later.

Calvarino

Calvarino lies in the heart of Soave Classico on volcanic soils rich in Eocene basalt and tuff. The current English vineyard description places it at 95–145 m above sea level with a north-western exposure. Its steep terrain, dark basalt and winding access route underpin the name, derived from “Little Calvary.”

La Rocca

La Rocca lies on the slopes of Monte Rocchetta, behind the medieval castle overlooking Soave. The vineyard is at approximately 150 m, faces south-west and has marine-origin limestone soil rich in clay. Its particular microclimate distinguishes it from the volcanic sites.

Le Colombare

Le Colombare is a west-facing hillside vineyard at approximately 300 m. Its soils are described as volcanic, with the technical sheet also recording a calcareous component.

Pieropan’s Soave production is certified organic. The environmental transition began before formal conversion: chemical weed control was eliminated in 2002, and conversion of the entire production to organic farming started in 2008. Vineyard management is preventive and follows organic principles, with interventions adjusted to the conditions of each growing season.

Both traditional Pergola Veronese and Guyot are retained across the Soave vineyards. Calvarino preserves a strong Pergola Veronese component, while La Rocca is spur-pruned and cordon-trained. Planting densities range from approximately 3,000 to 5,000 vines/ha according to vineyard and training system. Bud loads are generally eight per vine, rising to 8–10 in the broader Soave Classico vineyard base.

Canopy and crop management respond to vintage conditions. Recorded work includes removing suckers and double shoots, topping, leaf removal and green thinning. In cool or hail-affected years, thinning may be reduced or omitted; in generous years it is used to keep production within the estate’s standards. Irrigation is applied selectively during severe water stress or when needed to complete fruit set and ripening, rather than as a fixed annual operation.

Harvesting is manual throughout the named Soave sites. Trebbiano di Soave is normally picked from mid-September and Garganega in October. Calvarino and La Rocca may be harvested in two passes to select the ripest fruit. At Le Colombare, only healthy, fully ripe Garganega clusters are selected into small boxes for natural drying. In difficult seasons, picking proceeds parcel by parcel according to the observed health and maturity of the grapes.

The new Soave winery was designed so that its internal work areas correspond to the successive stages of production. It provides the space and logistics that could no longer be accommodated at the historic family residence. Most of the structure is buried beneath the vineyard hill, leaving its Vicenza-stone façade visible.

The principal white-wine process begins with destemming and gentle pneumatic pressing in a protective, nitrogen-saturated environment. Free-run juice is selected and fermented at low temperature, generally 14–18°C. Glass-lined concrete is a defining cellar material: the estate uses both conventional tanks and tulip-shaped glass-lined concrete vessels.

For the principal Soave Classico production, fermentation takes place in glass-lined concrete. The wine remains in the same material on fine lees for a vintage-dependent period, generally about 5–9 months, with regular bâtonnage through the end of December. Bottling is followed by at least one additional month of bottle ageing.

Calvarino fruit is processed by pneumatic press under nitrogen and fermented separately at 14–18°C in glass-lined concrete tulip tanks. Ageing continues in those tanks for approximately 12–15 months on fine lees. Manual bâtonnage periodically resuspends the noble lees, after which the wine rests for several months in bottle. Earlier development of the style included ageing for more than a year on fine lees. Calvarino 5 extended this concrete-and-lees method much further: its five component vintages, 2008 through 2012, remained in glass-lined concrete on fine lees for 8–13 years before blending.

La Rocca follows a distinct cellar path. Destemmed grapes are gently pressed pneumatically under nitrogen. Fermentation begins at 14–18°C in glass-lined concrete; once the separate lots are fermenting evenly, they are transferred to French oak tonneaux and large Slavonian oak barrels. Ageing lasts about 12–15 months on fine lees, with approximately 70–80% in French tonneaux and 20–30% in large Slavonian barrels, followed by bottle ageing before release.

For Le Colombare, selected Garganega clusters are carried by hand to the drying loft and arranged on bamboo mats. Natural drying lasts approximately five months, from mid-September until the end of February or March, concentrating the berries while allowing noble rot to develop. The dried grapes are gently pressed and the free-run juice ferments in glass-lined concrete. The wine then matures for about two years in 2,500-litre acacia and French oak barrels, followed by at least six months in bottle. This production is undertaken only in the best vintages.

Pieropan’s guiding principle is that a wine’s identity should emerge from the relationship among grape variety, soil, climate and human work. Leonildo Pieropan translated this principle into a focus on individual vineyards, treating each parcel as a distinct cultural and geographical expression rather than subordinating it to a broader brand identity.

The family presents tradition as something to preserve and transmit, but not as a rejection of change. Successive generations have contributed different knowledge and methods: new vineyards and cellar technologies were introduced from 1966, while traditional training systems, concrete vessels and long lees ageing remained central where they served the identity of a site.

Andrea and Dario continue their father’s emphasis on the relationship between people, place and grape. Their approach retains the disciplined use of concrete and patient ageing at Calvarino while allowing La Rocca’s limestone site to follow a separate oak-based path. Vintage variation is addressed through observation in the vineyard, selective harvest timing and adjustments to crop, canopy and cellar work.

Environmental responsibility is embedded in this relationship with place. The elimination of chemical weed control, conversion to organic farming and integration of the new winery beneath the vineyard landscape connect agricultural practice, architecture and long-term family stewardship.

The new winery embodies the family maxim that the future has an ancient heart: renewal is pursued through contemporary design and logistics while remaining anchored in Soave, its vineyards and inherited knowledge.