ARENA

Arena — from the Latin for sand — is Andi Sölva's red blend: composed of almost 100% Schiava with up to 2% Lagrein, produced from steep permeable sandy and clayey soil and requiring only the best small grapes, sometimes demanding four passes through the vineyard for the most selective possible harvest. The name Arena identifies the wine with its specific soil origin — the sandy character of the vineyard that the vine's roots must penetrate in a steep, permeable terrain that concentrates the vine's efforts into a small number of high-quality clusters.

The four-harvest-pass approach is among the most intensive in viticulture — returning to the same vineyard rows multiple times to select only the grapes that have reached the specific combination of ripeness, health, and flavour development that the winemaker requires. For a producer who makes only approximately 8,000 bottles per year from his personally managed estate, this commitment of time and labour represents a genuine investment in quality that larger operations could not economically sustain.

The Schiava-dominant blend — the same variety family that defines the Sea Kalterersee wine but here in a higher proportion with minimal Lagrein addition — produces a wine of characteristic Lake Caldaro lightness and fruit definition: the almond, cherry, and violet notes that Schiava reliably delivers, here given the specific mineral character of the sandy and clayey Arena vineyard's steep terrain. The minimal Lagrein addition (up to 2%) provides a touch of structural depth and colour intensity without transforming the wine's essential Schiava character.

Arena is the wine through which Andi Sölva demonstrates that the most careful selection — four passes through a steep sandy vineyard — can produce something of genuine distinction from even the lightest of the Lake Caldaro zone's characteristic varieties.

Available through UniqueWines.