Wine and Vineyards
Our Guide to the Local Wines and Winemaking Tradition of Lake Garda
The vineyards of Lake Garda span the Lombardy, Veneto, and Trentino regions, producing a variety of great wines. They are renowned for their diverse and high-quality offerings, benefiting from the region’s unique climate and geography. The area’s mild, breezy conditions, influenced by the lake, create an ideal environment for viticulture, producing many varieties.
Lake Garda wines range from crisp, aromatic whites to fresh reds and rosés, characterized by their balance and vibrant flavors. The vineyards, situated on morainic hills and fertile plains, reflect a rich winemaking tradition dating back to ancient times, combining modern techniques with age-old practices to produce exceptional wines worth discovering!
Denominations of Lake Garda
BARDOLINO DOCG & DOC – light red and rose wine from Veneto, characterized by fruity, floral notes and a soft, dry taste.
RIVIERA DEL GARDA CLASSICO DOC and VALTÈNESI DOC – elegant wines from western shore of Lake Garda.
LUGANA DOC – white wine from Lake Garda region, known for its fresh, floral, and slightly spicy profile.
BIANCO DI CUSTOZA DOC – white wine from Veneto, fresh and floral with a harmonious and slightly aromatic flavor profile.
TRENTINO DOC – wines from Trentino, featuring reds, whites and rose with distinct regional characteristics and quality.
GARDA COLLI MANTOVANI DOC – varied wines from Mantua hills, white, red and rose options are available
Bardolino DOC and Bardolino Superiore DOCG
The Bardolino DOC area consists of the morainic hills on the eastern shore of Lake Garda. The northern slopes are typically forested, while the southern, eastern, and western slopes, with their favorable exposure, host vineyards and olive groves.
Bardolino wine is a bright ruby-red with fruity and fragrant aromas like cherry, marasca, strawberry, raspberry, currant, blackberry, and elegant spice hints. It is dry, smooth, with balanced red fruit and spice notes, fresh, and highly drinkable.
Chiaretto, the rosé version of Bardolino, has a bright pink color from minimal skin contact and offers delicate aromas of berries and subtle spice notes. It delivers juicy red berry sensations with youthful freshness. The sparkling version is made using natural fermentation methods.
The Bardolino Superiore DOCG area includes the “Classico” subzone: Bardolino, Garda, Lazise, Affi, Costermano, and Cavaion, with a broader zone for the generic designation. The morainic hills, created by ancient glaciers, have gravelly, deep soils. Bardolino Superiore is made from particularly suitable vineyards with lower yields, enhancing sugar content and aging potential.
Click here for Bardolino Wine Route to discover the territory and wineries of Bardolino!
Wineries to visit:
Cantina Zeni | Bardolino – visit webpage
Cantina Giovanna Tantini | Mischi – visit webpage
Cantina Lenotti | Bardolino – visit webpage
Lugana DOC
The geographic area of the DOC Lugana is on the southern shore of Lake Garda between Lombardy and Veneto, encompassing the provinces of Brescia and Verona and facing Lake Garda. The terrain is mostly homogeneous and flat, formed by a massive glacier descending from the Adige valley, with a smaller branch occupying the current basin of Lake Garda. This glacier retreated and advanced multiple times, creating Lake Garda and its adjacent hills.
Lugana DOC is characterized by fertile clay soils, becoming sandier in the hilly areas. The soils contribute to the wine’s body, warmth, acidity, and minerality, with vigorous aromas ranging from almond to citrus. The microclimate, influenced by Lake Garda’s temperate breezes, results in mild conditions with minimal temperature fluctuations between day and night.
Turbiana grape variety, locally grown, is a variant of Trebbiano di Soave adapted to this habitat. It excels in both classic white and sparkling versions. The production regulations include five types of Lugana: base, Superiore, Riserva, Vendemmia Tardiva, and Spumante.
Lugana base features a pale straw yellow color with greenish hues. It has delicate floral and almond aromas and a refined, tasteful profile. Lugana Superiore requires at least one year of aging, displaying more complexity with golden reflections. The palate is structured with lively acidity and a mineral-driven sapidity, offering intriguing “salty” nuances.
Wineries to visit:
Cantina Ca’ dei Frati | Sirmione – visit webpage
Cantina Otella | Peschiera del Garda – visit webpage
Cantina Perla del Garda | Lonato del Garda – visit webpage
Riviera del Garda Classico DOC and Valtènesi DOC
The Riviera del Garda Classico is a wine-producing region on the western shore of Lake Garda in the province of Brescia, located in the area between Salò, Desenzano and the Chiese river. This territory is traditionally known as the “Riviera del Garda,” where “Riviera” signifies a specific area renowned for its products, including lemons, olive oil, laurel, and wine.
The Riviera del Garda Classico white wine exhibits delicate aromatic qualities that vary in intensity depending on the grape blend. It is harmonious, balanced, fresh, and slightly almond-flavored. The Riviera del Garda Classico Chiaretto is the most distinctive wine of the denomination. Made from red grapes, it is vinified to produce a pink wine with surprising floral and berry notes, complemented by a suitable acidity that provides freshness and good structure.
The Riviera del Garda Classico Groppello, made from the rare Groppello grape variety grown only in Valtènesi, is the most typical wine of the area. It is a delicate, ready-to-drink red wine with spicy and fruity notes, velvety and pleasant, pairing well with flavorful first courses, various meat dishes, and medium-aged cheeses. When aged for at least two years, it becomes Valtènesi Riserva, a richer wine with intense sweet spices, full-bodied, and well-structured.
Wineries to visit:
Cantina Conti Thun | Puegnago del Garda – visit webpage
Cantina San Giovanni Pasini | Raffa – visit webpage
Cantina Costaripa | Moniga del Garda – visit webpage
Bianco di Custoza DOC
The production area of Custoza DOC wine encompasses the hilly region on the southern shore of Lake Garda, between Verona and Lake Garda. The landscape is marked by a dense series of elongated hills with elevations generally between 50 and 100 meters. The climate in the Custoza DOC area is uniform, characterized by hot summers that are not oppressive and relatively cold winters, moderated by the proximity to Lake Garda. This creates a favorable microclimate for viticulture.
Viticulture in the area dates back to Roman times, with abundant documentation from the 9th century and throughout the medieval period. The name Custoza for the wine began to be explicitly used in the late 19th century, and Custoza DOC was established in February 1971. In the 1980s, the region’s viticulture underwent a transformation, emphasizing the unique characteristics of local grape varieties: Garganega, Trebbianello, and Bianca Fernanda.
Custoza DOC wine is known for its freshness, slight aromaticity, considerable drinkability, and versatility in food pairings. The Custoza DOC blend highlights not only Garganega, Trebbianello, and Bianca Fernanda but also other varieties grown in the area, creating its distinctive and complex aromatic profile. The sensory profile of Custoza DOC features notable fruity and floral notes, sometimes accompanied by hints of aromatic herbs and spices.
Wineries to visit:
Cantina Menegotti | Villafranca di Verona – visit webpage
Cantina Tamburino Sardo | Sommacampagna – visit webpage
Azienda Agricola Gorgo | Custoza – visit webpage
Trentino DOC
The production area of Trentino and Trentino Superiore DOC wine is on the north from Lake Garda, in the several wine-growing municipalities of the Trento province. This extensive vineyard area, covering about 7,500 hectares, is significant for several denominations, with Trentino and Trentino Superiore DOC being the largest.
The terrain is predominantly mountainous or hilly, with 70% of Trentino’s land above 1,000 meters. Vineyards range from 70 to 700 meters above sea level. Viticulture and winemaking have long been integral to the region’s cultural heritage, evidenced by numerous archaeological finds and historical documents dating from the Bronze Age to the present.
In the Trentino and Trentino Superiore DOC area, both indigenous varieties such as Lagrein, Marzemino, Moscato, Müller-Thurgau, Nosiola and Traminer Aromatico, as well as international varieties like Cabernet, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Nero, Riesling, and Sauvignon are cultivated. Wines are typically vinified as single-variety wines.
For Vino Santo del Trentino DOC, Nosiola grapes are dried until pressing, which can occur from March 1 following the harvest for “Trentino Superiore Vino Santo” and usually from February 1 for “Trentino Vino Santo.” For wines labeled “vendemmia tardiva,” grapes undergo extended on-vine drying.
Wineries to visit:
Azienda Agricola Comai | Riva del Garda – visit webpage
Cantina Furletti Gabriele | Riva del Garda – visit webpage
Cantina Toblino | Madruzzo – visit webpage
Garda Colli Mantovani DOC
The production area of the Garda Colli Mantovani DOC area is a hilly zone on the south from Lake Garda, with elevations reaching up to 200 meters above sea level. The climate is mild and breezy due to the presence of the lake, making it intermediate between Mediterranean and oceanic climates, with high average summer temperatures due to continental influences.
Viticulture in the Mantua province has ancient origins, dating back to the Neolithic period. The Etruscan civilization later introduced wine culture, which continued under the Roman Empire. The ampelographic base of the Garda Colli Mantovani DOC vineyards is the result of long-term human selection, with the most suitable grape varieties for the specific soil and climatic conditions traditionally cultivated in the production areas. Training systems, planting densities, and pruning methods aim to achieve the most rational vine layout and maintain production quality while preserving tradition. These methods vary depending on whether the cultivation environment is hilly or flat.
The winemaking practices for Garda Colli Mantovani DOC wines are deeply rooted in tradition, aiming to produce wines according to the types outlined in the production regulations. These practices ensure that the wines reflect the unique characteristics of their terroir while upholding time-honored techniques.
Wineries to visit:
Cantina Ricchi | Monzambano – visit webpage
Cantina Gozzi | Monzambano – visit webpage
Cantina Bertagna | Cavriana – visit webpage
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