Bardolino, the main wine region on the eastern shore of Northern Italy’s Lake Garda, is only about 30 minutes northwest of Verona and another place to put on your “let’s visit” list. Winemaking in the area dates back to Roman times, and the microclimate is milder than other wine regions in the Veneto due to the Lake’s influence (for instance, lemon and olive trees abound, things one usually equates with Southern Italy).
The region is mainly known for light, dry, fruity reds, which are often compared to France’s Beaujolais wine. Some of the most common grapes grown for the Bardolino blends include Corvina Veronese, Rondinella, and Molinara. Like neighboring Lake Garda wine region Custoza to the south, the area was formed by glaciers. There are about 100 wineries in Bardolino, mainly family-owned.
These wines are not meant for aging. The different versions include:
· Bardolino
· Bardolino Classico
· Bardolino Superiore
· Chiaretto, the region’s rosé, produced both in still and sparkling formats
· Bardolino Novello, like Beaujolais Nouveau, bottled right after the harvest
A Region Full of Surprises
This wine region had some surprises in store. While it specializes in the light fruity wine it’s known for, the actual types of wine produced in Bardolino are much more varied. A number of the wineries produce non-regulation wine using non-indigenous grapes, such as Merlot. Some also produce non-Bardolino local Veneto wine, including Soave, Valpolicella, and Lugana, an even smaller wine region on Lake Garda. So if your time is limited this might be a good way to sample a wider range of the region’s wines.
I was also surprised by how pretty this wine region is. A number of the wineries boast beautiful views of Lake Garda and the surrounding area: a few are right on the Lake or within walking distance.
And I was surprised by the variety of wine experiences we had. While all three wineries we visited were family-owned operations, they were all unique and quite different from each other.
Additionally surprising was the relative lack of crowds. Although wine tourism is thriving here, only one winery was busy, and that was primarily because it was raining (see below).
Not too many tour guides offer trips to the wineries in this region. We had a wonderful time with Serena, a certified sommelier and owner of Taste Verona Wine Tours, who also took us to Soave.
Cantina Zeni
The first winery we visited was Cantina Zeni, a winery that dates back to 1870. It was a good choice since it’s one of those wineries that makes more than Bardolino. It also has a great wine museum which we toured, an olfactory gallery (the first in Italy), and one of the most opulent wine cellars I’ve ever seen.
While it offers nice 90-minute sit-down wine tasting experiences, you can also buy wines by the glass at the bar or opt to get a free self–serve tasting of six different wines of your choice from “vinomats,” which is what we did.
One caveat: don’t choose the vinomat option when the weather is inclement, as all of the beachgoers at Lake Garda who were rained out the day we were there decided to descend on the winery instead for free samples. Even Serena seemed surprised at how popular it was when we were there.
We tasted:
Lugana wine made with Trebbiano grapes 😊+
Chiaretto Bardolino, a still rosé 😊++
Chiaretto Bardolino, single vineyard, like a reserve wine 😊++
Bardolino Classico 😊+
Bardolino Classico, single vineyard 😊+
Costalago, a non-regulation blend that includes Merlot 😊++
Societa Agricola Fratelli Zanoni
Our second winery was tiny Societa Agricola Fratelli Zanoni (ZF4), whose wine cellar and tasting room are tucked into a corner of an alley in the historical part of the village of Lazise, close to the medieval walls. Its blends change every year. The four brothers that run the winery had all originally left to explore other careers and all returned to this “family labor of love.”
This was a private tasting in the rustic 19th-century cellar. The family lives above the cellar.
We sampled:
Amor, a sparkling wine brut made from the white Garganega grape 😊++
Amor Rosé, sparkling extra dry, 100% Syrah (the only local winery that uses Syrah) 😊++
Bardolino Chiaretto, a rosé from the family’s offshoot winery, Giovanna Tantini 😊😊
Bardolino, also from Giovanna Tantini 😊😊
Cosi 2016, 80% Corvina Veronese and 20% Syrah 😊😊
Cosi 2017 😊😊
Syrah 2017 😊😊
The winery’s olive oil 😊😊
Grappa di Garganega, made from the Garganega grape 😊++
Grappa di Corvina, made from the Corvina grape 😊😊
Grappa di Syrah, made from the Syrah grape 😊++
Several family members sat at the next table pulling samples from the nearby barrels to check on how they were aging. For fun, one of the brothers came over with Syrah 2022 right out of the barrel so we could try what they were testing. He told us it needed another year before it could be bottled.
We then walked through the village to the Lake for lunch in the wonderful seafood restaurant Ristorante Classique located in a restored 19th-century villa on the promenade (too bad it was raining, but they did give us limoncello).
Casetto
The third winery, Casetto, was literally on the shores of Lake Garda, with stunning views. Its tasting room was more modern. While there was a handful of other visitors there, our guided tasting was private, accompanied by charcuterie, cheese, olives, breadsticks, dried tomatoes, chips, and pickles.
We sampled:
Chiaretto di Bardolino Spumante Brut, a sparkling rosé 😊😊
Chiaretto di Bardolino, a still rosé 😊
Bardolino Classico 😊+
Bardolino Superiore 😊++
Di Canto Rosso Verona, a non-regulation blend that includes Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon 😊😊
I hope that this intel about three great wine experiences in surprising Bardolino inspires you to visit. Alla nostra! (“To us!”)
There are so many surprising wine regions! Which other ones can you think of? Let us know! We’re at info@winewithourfamily.com.
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