CONSORZIO TUTELA VINO DOC GARDA

“Libiamo ne’ lieti calici, che la belleza infiora..” “Let us drink from the goblets of joy adorned with beauty…” (from “La Traviata”)
Think of a Verona Arena, an unequalled summer opera house full of all types of seats, where the scene changes magically. The beautiful world of “La Traviata” substitutes the elephants of the Aida and, instead of a matchstick, each spectator has a glass in his/her hand ready for the greatest toast ever made in the world. A toast of this kind would not be out of place in Verona and in its province that has always been the cradle of great wines. There are many denominations of origin here but only one of them connects and accompanies them all: Garda DOC. This denomination is, in fact, attributed to the wines produced in the territories of denomination of controlled origin of the entire province of Verona. Different soils for different wines: in fact, in the province of Verona there are soils of morainic origin with a large clay content, or calcareous and sandy soils. This differentiation is an advantage for the many grape varieties present on the territory that can find the right “place” where they can best express themselves to the full. The Garda DOC denomination is usually boasted by wines made using Garganega, Pinot Bianco and Pinot Grigio, Friulano, Chardonnay and Sauvignon grapes for white wines and Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Pinot Nero, Corvina and Barbera for red wines. Garda DOC is not just about still wines (which is why we have all heard “Viva il vino spumeggiante, nel bicchiere scintillante” (See the wine, as foaming whitely in the glass it sparkles lightly) sung at the opera in Zanetto and the Cavalleria Rusticana); wines made using Chardonnay, Riesling and Garganega grapes, refermented following the old classic method and the Charmat method, can also be adorned with the denomination of controlled origin. Different soils and different grape varieties could result in, if taken to the extreme of complex blends coming from grapes of different soils, the impossibility of deciphering aromas and flavours. This is exactly why the denomination is concerned mainly with wines made from single vine species, to try to obtain the immediately and pleasantly recognisable features that are inherent in every vine species under the denomination. In other words: we try to get the best out of every area, of every soil. Besides, if Verdi makes Falstaff say, in the opera bearing the same name “Il buon vino sperde le tetre fole dello sconforto, accende l’occhio e il pensier..”(Good wine disperses the gloomy fables of discouragement and lights up the eyes and mind...) in the homeland of opera that is open to all, enjoyable without too much pomp, it is impossible to imagine a DOC that gives less satisfaction to those who choose its wine.