La Scolca Gavi

La Scolca was founded by Giovanni Battista Parodi, the great-grandfather of the current owner, in 1919. The La Scolca estate spans 50 hectares and is located on a hillside in the Ligurian Apennines. The first vineyard was planted by Parodi's son, Alfredo, shortly before the outbreak of World War II and was initially intended for the production of ordinary homemade wines. However, it was only Vittorio Soldati, the third-generation owner, who was able to realize the great potential of these lands. Although Piedmont is a traditional red wine region, Soldati decided to focus on white wine production, for which he was rewarded with outstanding results. The true potential of the local grape variety Cortese was only revealed when serious work began on it, determining a minimum yield per vine and optimal ripeness. In 1950, the first bottle of Gavi wine was released, which essentially became the first white wine produced in Piedmont. Since then, a new high-quality Italian white wine has appeared on the wine lists of the best restaurants in the world. For a long time, the wine list of the legendary restaurant car of the Orient Express included about 20 names, featuring famous wines from Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne, but only two wines represented Italy, one of which was Gavi dei Gavi from La Scolca. Until 1978, La Scolca wines were supplied to the Shah of Iran, and Gavi wine was served in tea bowls at the palace. It is known that Tom Cruise not only loves Gavi wine but also believes it brings him luck; it was the only white wine at his last wedding. At the British Embassy in Rome, the birthdays of Queen Elizabeth II in 2007 and 2008 were celebrated exclusively with La Scolca wines. In 2007, La Scolca Millesimato sparkling wine was the official wine of the Nobel Prize ceremony.