Foam from the shore of Lake Garda

Lake Garda is the largest inland lake in Italy. While it is surrounded to the north, west and east by the foothills of the Alps, which reach up to 2000 metres, the southern shore already lies in the lowlands of the Po. Three wine-growing regions border the lake, and sparkling wine production has a long tradition in all three. We present four sparkling wines for everyday domestic use. Three rosés and one single-varietal Chardonnay. Extra dry to extra brut.

Alessio Bigagnoli worked as a car mechanic and initially began his winemaking career as a garage winemaker. In 2012, he won an important competition with his Bardolino Chiaretto. Confirmed by the success, he founded his own “real” winery in the same year. “001” is a rosé-coloured Spumante from the Bardolino Classico DOC. With a share of 80 percent, the grape variety Corvina Veronese dominates, in addition to ten percent each of Rondinella and Molinara. After twelve hours of maceration, the must for the Spumante is obtained by extracting the juice. After temperature-controlled fermentation and weekly batonnage, the sparkling wine is finally fermented in stainless steel tanks. In the glass, the “001” presents itself finely fruity, accessible with pronounced raspberry and strawberry aromas and uncomplicated. It is therefore more suitable for enjoying on a hot summer evening on the balcony or terrace than as an accompaniment to sophisticated cuisine.

Guerrieri Rizzardi goes back to the Guerrieri and Rizzardi branches of the family. As early as the 17^th century, the Guerrieris were engaged in agriculture and forestry in the region, while the Rizzardis came from a merchant family from Lombardy which expanded into large parts of northern Italy by purchasing various agricultural estates. The wine business increasingly developed through the acquisition of vineyards and, with the beginning of the 20^th century, increasingly supplanted the mixed agricultural business. In addition to the headquarters in Bardolino, the family also owns vineyards in Valpolicella, Soave and in the Adige Valley.

The “Fior di Rosa” is, like the “001”, a rosé sparkling wine that contains some Sangiovese in addition to the grape varieties mentioned above. The grapes come from pergola (1500 vines per hectare) and Guyot (5000 vines per hectare) vineyards, all of which are located in the Bardolino Classico area which was once formed from glacial moraines. The soils consist of sandy and calcareous silt and have a high magnesium content. For the “Fior di Rosa”, the early ripened yield of young vines was deliberately used “to preserve the freshness”. The wine was also fermented in stainless steel tanks. Due to the higher residual sugar, the “Fior” is quite charming, but does not quite reach the depth of the “001”. But if you like it uncomplicated, you would not go wrong here.

“We enter our vineyards on tiptoe.” The statement seems exaggerated, but it sums up the basic attitude of the Olivini family. It is about purity of nature and the least possible interference with natural processes. From Groppello, Barbera, Sangiovese and Marzemino, the Olivinis make their Rosé from the Garda DOC, for which the classic method of bottle fermentation is used. The sparkling wine remains on the yeast for 36 months until it is disgorged.

Giovanna Prandini is the face behind Perla del Garda. The winery only came into being at the turn of the millennium. Since its beginnings, a total of 25 hectares of former dry farmland have been replanted with vines, taking into account the microclimate and soil conditions. Extremely remarkable is the pure Chardonnay sparkling wine from the Garda DOC with less than one gram of sugar per litre and five years of yeast storage. It stands for a serious spumante that still clearly shows the character of its base wine.