With its medieval castles and quaint lakeside villages, there is something magical about Lake Garda. Its charm continues into the vineyards, which are grown on the morainic hills left by glaciers millions of years ago. The resulting wines are quaffable, aromatic and delicious.
Located between the provinces of Mantua and Brescia in Lombardy and Verona in Veneto, the lakeside region stretches over 31 municipalities, including Bardolino, Cavaion, Costermano, Garda, Lazise, and Rivoli. The winemakers here produce a wide range of both red and rose (or chiaretto) wines from a blend based on Corvina Veronese, with small percentages of Rondinella, Molinara, Rossignola, and Garganega. The wines are labeled as normale, classico, or classico novello for the reds and chiaretto for the roses.
Wines produced here are a perfect fit for the area, which is also known as the “Garda Fun Park” because it contains numerous amusement parks, including Gardaland Park and Gardaland Sea-Life. Gardaland Resort also includes hotels and restaurants, making it a popular place to visit for families with kids.
The Stefanoni family runs the energy self-sufficient Ricchi winery and Relais La Casina at Desenzano, where rooms, a restaurant and yoga are offered. They are one of several producers in the area that use partially-dried grapes, echoing the Amarone tradition of nearby Valpolicella, to bring extra depth and complexity to their Garda DOC wines. The grapes are dried in their cellars to preserve their aromas, which helps create luscious, fragrant dry and sparkling roses that pair well with the region’s seafood dishes. wine lake garda