Riviera del Garda Classico

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The territory lies within the Benacense glacial amphitheatre, between the shore of Lake Garda from Salò to Desenzano and the course of the river Chiese to the west.
• The agricultural soil originates from successive glacial advances interspersed with major alluvial events, with bedrock ranging from gneiss to limestone, and from granite to porphyry and sandstone.
• On the higher elevations and hilltops, predominantly calcareous gravelly masses remain largely bare, the result of moraine deposition and subsequent erosion.
• Lacustrine sediments of generally clayey character are present, formed alongside the surrounding soils from vanished lakes or from the retreat of Lake Garda, as well as stratified deposits of gravel and sand associated with pre-glacial and interglacial alluvial activity.
• The overall landform is a morainic conglomerate divided by a ridge of hills that slopes on one side toward the lake and on the other toward the river Chiese, with rounded hillocks, small valleys, and shallow basins.
• Lake Garda is considered the northernmost point in Europe where the influence of a Mediterranean climate is clearly evident, with an atmosphere that accumulates approximately 150 thousand billion calories compared with the 28–58 thousand billion of the other Lombard lakes.

• In 1896 the Venetian senator Pompeo Molmenti, a former mayor of Moniga del Garda, devised the rosé winemaking technique for the indigenous variety Groppello.
• The process, known as vinification with cap-rise racking (svinatura per alzata di cappello), consisted of crushing the grapes and leaving them in contact with the skins for only a few hours, giving rise to the popular name vino di una notte, meaning 'one-night wine'.
• In the twentieth century the qualifiers Classico and Bresciano were added to identify agricultural products of the oldest origin and longest commercial history in the area around Lake Garda.

• Riviera del Garda Classico Rosso displays a bright, sometimes deep ruby-red colour, with vinous, fruity, and floral aromas in which notes of red fruits predominate, alongside spice and dried-fruit nuances, developing an almond-tinged finish with age.
• Riviera del Garda Classico Chiaretto has a delicate rosé colour described as 'rose petal', with floral and wild-berry aromatics, well-balanced acidity, and a palate sensation described as 'juicy'.
• Riviera del Garda Classico Bianco presents a straw-yellow colour, sometimes deep with greenish highlights, an intense nose with pronounced floral and aromatic-spice notes, and a flavour that can be somewhat angular owing to its marked acidity.
• Riviera del Garda Classico Groppello is a delicate, early-drinking red wine, spiced with fruity notes, velvety and pleasurable.

• The Groppello variety imparts to the wine a gustatory and olfactory sensation of black pepper, derived from the glutathione molecule with which it is particularly well endowed.
• The mild Mediterranean climate, consistent across all seasons, allows the vine a long vegetative cycle, creating an ideal environment for the steady ripening of Groppello and the other black-skinned varieties.

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

Sottozone

• Riviera del Garda Classico Valtènesi DOC (PDO)

All appellations in Italy

Sources

• Specification (EUR-Lex, single document)
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-IT-A1137
• Official trade body site — Consorzio Valtenesi