Roberto Anselmi is the pioneering force behind what is widely regarded as one of Italy’s leading white wine producers. After taking over management of his family’s sizeable winery in the Veneto’s Soave district over two decades ago, Anselmi felt an emotional as well as professional commitment to tapping the unrealized potential of the wine he grew up with. For Anselmi, this meant parting ways with many of the traditional viticultural and winemaking practices that have historically defined the Soave district. He transformed his once-large family winery into a limited-production boutique producer, re-examining every detail in the winemaking process. Radical changes implemented include the purchase of hilltop vineyard plots, conversion from customary pergola training to densely-planted horizontal spurred cordons (resulting in major yield reduction), scrupulous clonal selection, minimal irrigation and the judicious use of oak in the vinification process. In order to have unmitigated authority over his winemaking practices, Anselmi chooses to label his wines as Veneto IGT rather than working within the boundaries of the Soave DOC. A direct result of his uncompromising dedication to superior quality, Anselmi’s highly soughtafter wines are an established benchmark against which many Italian white wines are judged today.