The wine Bardolino DOC takes its name from a village on the eastern shore of Lake Garda, 30 kilometres west from the city of Verona. The Bardolino is an historic wine. In fact, it was known by the same name already in the 19th century.
The Bardolino DOC covers most of Lake Garda hills. To the west, the DOC area is delimited by Lake Garda, to the south-west by river Mincio and to the south-east by the Veronese Plain. To the north the Bardolino DOC area is delimited by Monte Baldo,the highest mountain in the Verona area (2.218 metres).
The fame of Bardolino as a typical Garda wine was strengthen throughout the first half of the 20th century.
The Bardolino DOC area includes the municipalities of Affi, Bardolino, Cavaion Veronese, Castelnuovo del Garda, Lazise, Pastrengo and part of the municipalities of Bussolengo, Caprino Veronese, Costermano, Peschiera del Garda, Rivoli Veronese, Sona, Sommacampagna and Valeggio sul Mincio. 

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF BARDOLINO WINE

Bardolino is produced in 5 different varieties:

• Bardolino


• Bardolino Novello


• Bardolino Superiore


• Bardolino Chiaretto


• Bardolino Chiaretto Superiore

The first three are red wines. The Superiore varies from the Bardolino by being a DOCG and for different methods of production. The Novello is the result of a different procedure of processing the grapes,carbonic maceration, which involves accelerating the fermentation process. Novello can be sold few months after harvest. The Chiaretto and the Chiaretto Spumante are wines produced with the same grapes of theother but the vinification is “in pink”.
The Bardolino produced with grapes coming from the municipalities of Affi, Bardolino, Cavaion, Costermano, Garda and Lazise can be also called “Classico” because it is produced in the most historic and classic area of the DOC.

The Bardolino wine is made from a blend of autochthonous grapes:

• Corvina Veronese 35-80%
  • Rondinella 10-40%
  • Corvinone max 20%
  • Molinara max 15%

ORGANOLEPTIC CHARACTERISTICS
The mild climate of the Lake Garda area creates a good temparature range between day and night. This combination of cool temperatures and bright sunshine is responsible for emphasizing the bright, fruity qualities of Bardolino wines. Badolino wines aromas particularly recall red fruits such as strawberry and raspberry. Moreover, the morainic soil, rich in minerals, gives a slightly salty and refreshing note to the wine that is widely appreciated by the critics. 

PAIRING
The Bardolino goes perfectly with the classic Italian cuisine. It is excellent with first dishes of pasta of all types (with meat sauces, fish, vegetables, mushrooms), with risotto, with the ravioli, the mess of lasagne. Another interesting combination is the one with vegetable soups, and in particular with the Venetian pasta and beans. It is combined with the grilled meats, meat baked, stewed meats. On Lake Garda, Bardolino is drunk always with fish from the lake. It’s excellent for example with the risotto with tench or grilled eel. Also traditionally accompanies a typical Venetian dish of fish: polenta and salt cod (stockfish).