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Wine itineraries

Sirmione is within an extremely rich and diversified food and wine area in which wines, flavors and traditions follow one another a short distance away. A vast diversity that is concentrated in a contained area suitable for a “day trip” to be discovered.

Starting with the Lugana wine of Sirmione, many itineraries open up which in less than an hour lead you to discover the most important wines of the area which can be tasted directly in the production areas. Single stages to discover a territory rich in wines that are linked to a landscape that changes and together with it the nuances of flavor change. An area of food and wine possibilities that extends from Valpolicella to Franciacorta, from Trentino to Mantua. The Sirmione peninsula is one of the stages of the Garda Wine and Flavors Route and since 2005 it has been recognized among the Cities of Wine, a national association that recognizes places of wine tourism interest.

Lugana DOC

Lugana DOC is our specialty. It is a white wine from Turbiana grapes, whose peculiarity is determined by the microclimate of Lake Garda and the clayey soils typical of the area.

The Cantine del Lugana di Sirmione are eight, but the production area also includes the municipalities of Desenzano del Garda, Lonato del Garda, Pozzolengo and Peschiera del Garda, thus making it an interregional denomination, between Lombardy and Veneto.

The other wines of Lake Garda

Lake Garda offers some other varieties of wine, both on the Lombard and Veronese shores.

On the Brescia side is the wine-growing area of the Riviera del Garda Classico DOC, which since 2017 has united the Valtenesi DOC, the Riviera del Garda Bresciano DOC and the Garda Classico DOC, thus including the entire Garda area from Desenzano to Salò and consequently a wide variety of wines. Valtenesi is the hilly area between Lake Garda and Valsabbia, whose landscape is often compared to the Tuscan one: this area is known for Groppello, a typical grape variety of the area, with blue-violet berries and compact-shaped bunches . In the area Groppello wine is produced, a variety of red, but in the same area Chiaretto, a rosé wine, is also well known. The Riviera del Garda Classico DOC also includes white wines and rosé sparkling wines.

The Garda DOC, interregional designation, is a consortium that includes different varieties of wines, produced from the Brescia side to the Veronese side, from the banks of the Mincio to the Adige valley and up to the Veneto capital.
San Martino della Battaglia DOC, also an interregional denomination, produced south of Lake Garda between Lombardy and Veneto, is a dry white wine, obtained from the white-fruited Tuchì vine.
Garda Colli Mantovani DOC is produced in the southern area of Lake Garda, a denomination that includes white, red and rosé wines, obtained from various vines and produced in the morainic amphitheater of Garda, in the upper Mantua area.
The Veneto side of the lake is instead known for the Bardolino DOC, which in the variety of Bardolino Superiore is one of the 77 Italian wines to have obtained the DOCG, the most prestigious denomination and which guarantees its roots in the history of viticulture. Bardolino is a red wine obtained from Corvina and Rondinella vines, native grapes of the Verona area.

Brescia and around Brescia

Returning to Lombardy, the Brescia area is known in the west for Franciacorta DOCG, a classic method sparkling wine, produced in the homonymous area, obtained exclusively with refermentation in the bottle, mainly from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes.

East of Brescia, in a small area on the slopes of the Pre-Alps between Botticino and Rezzato, known as Valverde, Botticino DOC is produced, one of the few red wines in the area, obtained from Barbera and Marzemino grape varieties.

The city of Brescia also has a record-breaking peculiarity: the historic Pusterla vineyard, at the foot of the Cidneo hill on which the Castle stands, is the largest urban vineyard in Europe and is the production area of the Bastione Pusterla wine, made from grapes indigenous white Invernenga, traditionally cultivated “in pergola”.

Between Veneto and Trentino

Entering the Veronese hinterland, there are further renowned wine-growing areas. In most of the southern sector of the morainic hills that develop between Lake Garda and the city of Verona, the Custoza DOC is produced, which takes its name from the hamlet of Sommacampagna. Custoza is a white wine that comes from a blend mainly of Garganega, Trebbianello and Trebbiano.

Even better known is the Valpolicella DOC, which stands out in the varieties of Classico, Ripasso and two other DOCGs, such as Amarone and Recioto. All red wines produced east of Lake Garda, in the homonymous valley north-west of Verona with grapes from the Corvina and Rondinella vines. Although the main grapes are the same as Bardolino, the wines are distinguished by the soils, the exposure and climate.

Valdadige Terradeiforti DOC is instead an interregional denomination of Veneto-Trentina, whose production area is precisely that of the Valle dell’Adige, the river that flows between Trento and Verona, a few tens of kilometers from Lake Garda.