Benaco Bresciano

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• A moraine amphitheater south of the lake, formed by concentric hill ridges deposited by the Garda glacier during the Günz, Mindel, Riss, and Würm glaciations.
• Lake Garda is Italy's largest lake (approximately 370 km²) and acts as a hinge between Lombardia, Veneto, and Trentino-Alto Adige.
• The northern portion of the lake cuts into the Alps (a narrow, elongated valley stretch); the southern portion opens onto the upper Po Plain (a broad, semicircular piedmont stretch).
• The Garda watershed is unusually small relative to the lake's surface area: a 2,290 km² catchment for a 370 km² lake (lake length 52 km, catchment length 95 km).

• The toponym 'Garda' is already attested in eighth-century documents, deriving from the Germanic *warda* ('place of watch'), a trace of Lombard presence on the lake.
• The moraine amphitheater south of Lake Garda was formed during four glaciations (Günz, Mindel, Riss, and Würm), with the outermost ridges attributed to the Riss and the innermost to the Würm.

• The moraine amphitheater south of Lake Garda, shaped by the Günz, Mindel, Riss, and Würm glaciations, determines the gently rolling hill morphology that characterizes the winegrowing zone.

Facts drawn from the cahier's terroir-link section (Lien au terroir) by automatic interpretation — see the source.

Sources

• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PGI-IT-A1205
• Official trade body site — Consorzio Valtenesi