Soave (wine) share of US sales were eventually eclipsed by Pinot grigio and an influx of new wines from southern Italy. The Soave DOC was created in 1968 with those boundaries revised and expanded periodically over the next few decades. As a point of introduction, it should be said that Soave and Chianti were the first zones in Italy (in 1931) to be recognized by Royal Decree as having the potential for producing fine wines. This document delimited the borders of the production zones which, in the case of Soave, coincide with those fixed under the current production regulations for Soave Classico.
Soave (wine) 2001, a separate Soave Superiore DOCG was created for the 2002 vintage that included revised boundaries that covered some areas of the original "classico" zone and excluded others for reasons that wine expert Oz Clarke described as unclear and ""Byzantine"". The revised boundaries and additional DOCG requirements that dealt with vine training and other viticultural practices promoted sharp criticism from Soave growers, and beginning as early as 2003 several voluntarily withdrew themselves from the DOC/G and produced wines under IGT designations. The Soave production zone is situated in the eastern part of the hills in the province of Verona (north