🍇 Garganega
A white grape from the Veneto, the main variety of Soave; 11,637 ha in Italy (2000); in Sicily known as Grecanico Dorato.
Garganega is a white grape variety from Italy. The VIVC catalogue classes it as both a wine and a table grape and lists 38 synonyms. One of them is unexpected: Grecanico dorato, the name used in Sicily.
Garganega covers a sizeable area in Italy: VIVC records 14,805 ha in 1982 and 11,637 ha in 2000. Its main wine is Soave in the Veneto. The appellation's technical file names Garganega as the main grape, with Trebbiano di Soave and Chardonnay also allowed. Soave Superiore and Recioto di Soave are protected separately in the EU, likewise based on Garganega.
The Soave file explains where the wine's character comes from. Mineral soils give it savoury depth, and the traditional pergola veronese trellis helps the grapes ripen well and stay healthy. Almond and white flowers come through in the wine, and light mineral notes in the Classico. The Soave zone was recognised in 1931 and has been a DOC since 1968.
Garganega is a parent of several Italian varieties; on this site it is linked, among others, to Catarratto, Albana and Malvasia Bianca di Candia.
Why it matters to you. "Garganega" from the Veneto and "Grecanico dorato" from Sicily are the same grape. If the label says Soave, the wine is based on Garganega. If the grape is named on a bottle of EU wine, it makes up at least 85 % of it. Whites are served at 4–10 °C.
Facts
| Country | Italy |
|---|---|
| Region | Veneto (Soave) |
| Main use | wine and table grape |
How it connects to Wine
🍇 Garganega → kind of → 🍇 Grape varieties → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
- Traditions
- 🧑🤝🧑 Italians
- Part of
- 🍇 Grape varieties
- Origin
- 🗺️ Italian wine
- Where it grows
- 📍 Veneto, 📍 Sicily, 📍 Soave
- Main grape in
- 📍 Soave, 📜 Arcole, 📜 Gambellara, 📜 Recioto di Gambellara, 📜 Soave Superiore, 📜 Custoza, 📜 Recioto di Soave
- Related to
- 🍷 Recioto
- Offspring
- 🍇 Catarratto, 🍇 Marzemina Bianca, 🍇 Somarello Nero, 🍇 Malvasia Bianca di Candia, 🍇 Alionza, 🍇 Dorona di Venezia
- Similar and different
- 🍇 Albana
Frequently asked questions
Where does Garganega grow?
Above all in the Veneto; its main wine is Soave.
Is it true that Grecanico Dorato is a separate grape?
No. Grecanico dorato is the Sicilian name for Garganega (VIVC).
How much Garganega is there in Italy?
11,637 ha in 2000 (VIVC).
What is a pergola veronese?
The traditional Soave trellis, which helps the grapes ripen healthy.
Since when has Soave existed as an appellation?
The zone was recognised in 1931, the DOC dates from 1968.
What to read next
- 🗺️ Italian wine — The country's wine and winemaking: regions, grape varieties, appellations.
- 🍇 Catarratto — A white grape of Sicily, by DNA markers an offspring of Garganega and Mantonico Bianco; 21,000 ha in Italy (OIV, 2015).
- 📜 Arcole — Wines from the plain around Arcole between Verona and Vicenza.
- 🧑🤝🧑 Italians — The people of Italy; their cuisine rests on wine, olive oil and cheese, and in 2025 the country made 44.4 million hectolitres of wine, the most in the world.
- 🍷 Recioto — A sweet Italian wine from semi-dried grapes, from Valpolicella or Soave.
Similar
🍇 Nero d'Avola · 🍇 Ribolla Gialla · 🍇 Dolcetto · 🍇 Uva di Troia · 🍇 Sauvignon Vert · 🍇 Croatina
Sources
- eAmbrosia — technical file: PDO «Soave» (Ares(2014)2066793)
- VIVC (Vitis International Variety Catalogue): passport Garganega
- VIVC: area statistics GARGANEGA
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33 (grape varieties on labels)
- Simons C.T. Left out in the cold: Serving wines chilled. Temperature, 2019