Benaco Bresciano

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• Lake Garda, the largest lake in Italy with an area of approximately 370 km², acts as a hinge between Lombardy, Veneto, and Trentino-Alto Adige.
• The Garda catchment area, covering 2,290 km², can be divided into four zones: the plain of approximately 200 km², the lake surface of approximately 370 km², the western portion of approximately 500 km², and the eastern portion of approximately 1,040 km².
• To the south of Lake Garda, between Verona, Mantova, and Brescia, a large moraine amphitheatre extends, formed by the transport and depositional action of the great Garda glacier.
• The moraine deposits were laid down during the Günz, Mindel, Riss, and Würm glaciations, with the outermost rings attributed to the Riss and the innermost rings to the Würm.
• The agricultural topsoil features ferretto — a reddish, iron-rich residual clay formed largely through in-situ decalcification of the moraine — together with predominantly calcareous gravelly masses in the higher zones and hilltops, and lacustrine sediments that are generally clayey in character.

• The classical place name of the lake, Benācus lacus (Benaco), is almost certainly of Celtic origin and is thought to derive from bennacus, meaning 'horned', in reference to the many promontories or to the Sirmione peninsula.
• As early as the first century, Garda wine was known at the banquets of ancient Rome under the name Vino Retico, prized by the Emperor Augustus according to Suetonius and praised by Pliny.

• The white wines generally display a modest level of acidity, with floral and fruity aromas.
• The red wines, across all styles, show balanced characteristics, with a flavour profile that tends to be fresh, harmonious, soft, and of medium body.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Italy

Sources

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