Garda Classico Wine Production Focuses on Quality and Awards

After the 1999 Novello, the other qualities of wine produced with the grapes from the latest harvest of the 1900s are awaiting entry into consumers’ homes in 2000. We are talking about those produced on the Brescia side of Lake Garda, which are part of the “Consorzio Garda Classico Doc,” extending from Limone to Desenzano (Lugana is part of a different consortium). The president of the Garda Classico Doc Consortium, Sandro Redaelli De Zinis, pointed out that the first wine of 2000 to enter the consumption cycle is the Chiaretto, which is practically ready from February. At Easter, however, it will be the turn of the white wines, then around May-June the red wine; followed by the Superiore Red, which by statute of the consortium must have at least two years of aging, while for the Groppello, wait until September. The Red wines of Garda Classico Doc are produced with Sangiovese, Groppello, Barbera, and Marzemino grapes: the white ones with Riesling and Chardonnay. There are also other grape varieties produced in the area, but not in quantities significant enough for the DOC. The amount of grapes produced in the consortium’s area is around 37,000 quintals.

“Anyway, almost everyone is focusing on product quality,” affirms the president, “so much so that there are at least twenty producing companies that in July thin out their grapes by pruning, removing a significant quantity of bunches from the vines.

This means sacrificing a larger quantity of grapes in favor of higher quality, which ultimately pays off. Indeed, for some time now, there has been increasing attention towards Garda wines. It is a fact that medals—gold medals—have been won in Bordeaux, Asti, Torgiano, and Stramaggiore, confirming their high quality. And this with dozens of wineries: it suggests that the success depends not only on the skill of the winemaker in the cellar but, crucially, on the intrinsic characteristics of the territory.

The work of the Consorzio Garda Classico Doc does not only aim to protect all grape production and transformation into wine, but also to enhance the product and the territory. Regarding the latest vintage of the 1900s concerning grapes, the harvest was good and positive, despite some hailstorms here and there—particularly during harvest time—that affected some vineyards in Valtenesi.

Excellent wines are therefore being produced for 2000; even though, after the great vintages of ’97 and ’98, one certainly did not expect a third good harvest, which rarely happens.