Bardolino and Bardolino Superiore are

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

red wines produced along the chain of

morainic A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice she ...

hills in the

province of Verona The province of Verona (Italian: ''provincia di Verona'') is a province of the Veneto region in Italy. On its northwestern border, Lake Garda—Italy's largest—is divided between Verona and the provinces of Brescia (Lombardy region) and Trentin ...

to the east of

Lake Garda Lake Garda (, , or , ; ; ) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, between Brescia and Milan to the west, and Verona and Venice to the east. The lake cuts into the edge of the Eastern Alps, Italian Alp ...

. Bardolino takes its name from the town

Bardolino Bardolino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about west of Venice and about northwest of Verona. Geography Located on the eastern shore of Lake Garda, Bardolino borders the followi ...

on the shores of

and was awarded ''

Denominazione di origine controllata The following four classification of wine, classifications of wine constitute the Italy, Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; 'designation of origin'); * ''Indicazione ...

'' (DOC) status in 1968. The ''Superiore'' is a stronger aged wine, and was promoted to ''

Denominazione di origine controllata e garantita The following four classification of wine, classifications of wine constitute the Italy, Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; 'designation of origin'); * ''Indicazione ...

'' (DOCG) status in 2001. The blend of grapes used to produce the wine primarily includes

Corvina Corvina is an Italian wine grape variety that is sometimes also referred to as Corvina Veronese or Cruina. The total global wine-growing area in 2010 was , all of which is grown in the Veneto region of northeast Italy, except for planted in Ar ...

Rondinella Rondinella is an Italian wine grape variety. Almost all of the total global growing area of is in the Veneto region of northern Italy, and the grapes are used in wines from the Valpolicella and Bardolino wine regions. Rondinella always appea ...

, and Molinara. Up to 15% of the blend is allowed to include

Rossignola Rossignola is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Veneto wine region of northeast Italy. The variety was first mentioned growing in the province of Verona in the early 19th century and today is a permitted blending variety in seve ...

Barbera Barbera is a red Italian wine grape variety that, as of 2000, was the third most-planted red grape variety in Italy (after Sangiovese and Montepulciano). It produces good yields and is known for deep color, full body, low tannins and high levels ...

Sangiovese Sangiovese is a red Italian wine grape variety that derives its name from the Latin , "blood of Jove, Jupiter". Sangiovese Grosso, used for traditionally powerful and slow maturing red wines, is primarily grown in the central regions of Italy ...

, or

Garganega Garganega (, ; meaning "from Gargano") is a variety of white Italian wine grape widely grown in the Veneto region of North East Italy, particularly in the provinces of Verona and Vicenza. It is Italy's 6th most widely planted white grape. ...

, in any combination.J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 63 Oxford University Press 2006

Wine region

Located on the south eastern shores of Lake Garda, the ''classico'' zone surrounds the towns of

Affi Affi is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about west of Venice and about northwest of Verona. The municipality of Affi is divided into the ''frazioni'' of Affi, Incaffi and Caorsa. Incaff ...

, Cavaion,

Costermano Costermano sul Garda is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about west of Venice and about northwest of Verona. Costermano sul Garda borders the following municipalities: Affi, Bardolino, ...

, Garda, and

Lazise Lazise is a ''comune'' (municipality) and town in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about west of Venice and about northwest of Verona. It is situated on the eastern shore of Lake Garda. As of 31 December 2004, it h ...

. Beyond the ''classico'' zone to the south are flat, fertile plains where Bardolino wine is produced from high grape yields. About 45% of the production comes from the Bardolino Classico region, but unlike its neighboring

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

DOCs - Soave and

Valpolicella Valpolicella (, , ) is a viticultural zone of the province of Verona, Italy (wine), Italy, east of Lake Garda. The hilly agricultural and marble-quarrying region of small holdings north of the Adige is famous for wine production. Valpolicella ra ...

- any ''

terroir (; ; from ''terre'', ) is a French language, French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, th ...

'' driven quality difference seems to be minimal between the wine produced in the classico region and that from the greater DOC zone.

Grapes and wine

Although the three main grapes used to produce Bardolino are also used to produce Valpolicella, the two wines are quite different. This is partly because Bardolino generally contains less Corvina which adds

body Body may refer to: In science * Physical body, an object in physics that represents a large amount, has mass or takes up space * Body (biology), the physical material of an organism * Body plan, the physical features shared by a group of anim ...

and structure and more Rondinella which has a relatively neutral flavor profile. Yields in Bardolino also tend to be higher than the 13

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...

s per

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

officially prescribed in DOC regulations. Minor blending grapes, such as Rossignola, Barbera, Sangiovese, and the white grape variety Garganega, are also permitted up to 15% total.P. Saunders ''Wine Label Language'' pg 125 Firefly Books 2004 Other versions of Bardolino include a ''Superiore'', which has at least 1 extra percent of

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

and must be aged at least a year before being released, a ''

rosé A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the wine color, color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the Macerati ...

'', known as ''Bardolino Chiaretto'', a lightly sparkling ''frizzante'', and a ''novello''. The Bardolino ''novello'' was first produced in the late 1980s in a style that mimics the

French wine French wine is produced throughout all of France in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world. French wine traces its history to th ...

Beaujolais nouveau Beaujolais nouveau ( , ) is a red wine made from Gamay grapes produced in the Beaujolais region of France. It is a '' vin de primeur'', fermented just a few weeks before being released for sale on the third Thursday of November. Distributors co ...

References

{{reflist Italian DOC Wines of Veneto