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, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

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 to the east of

Lake Garda Lake Garda ( it, Lago di Garda or ; lmo, label= Eastern Lombard, Lach de Garda; vec, Ƚago de Garda; la, Benacus; grc, Βήνακος) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, about halfway between ...

. Bardolino takes its name from the town Bardolino on the shores of

and was awarded ''

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

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

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

'' (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 appear ...

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

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 level ...

Sangiovese Sangiovese (, also , , ) is a red Italian wine grape variety that derives its name from the Latin ''sanguis Jovis'', "the blood of Jupiter". Though it is the grape of most of central Italy from Romagna down to Lazio (the most widespread grape ...

, 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. It for ...

, 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 Bardolino, Affi, Cavaion, Costermano, Garda, and Lazise. 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 it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

DOCs - Soave and

Valpolicella Valpolicella (, , ) is a viticultural zone of the province of Verona, 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 ranks just af ...

- any ''

terroir (, ; from ''terre'', "land") is a 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, these contex ...

'' 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 anima ...

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 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...

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), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...

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 and must be aged at least a year before being released, a '' rosé'', 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 all throughout 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, along with Italian, Spanish, and Amer ...

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 for just a few weeks before being released for sale on the third Thursday of November. Distributo ...

References

{{reflist Italian DOC Wines of Veneto