Garda DOC wines: Part 2 of Garda Wine Stories 2025

The well-named Garda Wine Stories 2025 event is part of an engaging communication programme devised by Consorzio Garda DOC. To keep things manageable, the article is in two parts. Part 1 dives into Lake Garda itself. It then explains what Garda DOC is, and offers some examples of how the Consorzio is responding to commercial trends. Here in Part 2 is a personal selection of six Garda DOC wines available in the UK, tasted at the Garda Wine Stories events. This pick is from various locations, so the interactive map below shows them. I’ve tried to reflect the diversity, quality and value available in these snapshots. There are three whites and three reds. No room for Rosé or Sparkling this time around, unfortunately.

Interactive Map

The Wines – all are Garda DOC

Santa Sofia Croara

Santa Sofia, Croara del Lago Bianco, 2021. 12%

Santa Sofia is located in the heart of Valpolicella, at Pedemonte in the Veneto, where they have been making wine at their Palladian estate for over 200 years. Alongside their Amarone and Soave, there is this Bianco blend of Garganega and Turbiana, grown on the southern shores of Lake Garda at Pozzolengo in Lombardy. No herbicides or pesticides are used in their winegrowing. The fermentation is in stainless steel, followed by three months of maturation on the lees. Made for immediate drinking, but this older vintage sings with a little development in the bottle.

Yellowish with green flecks, aromas of herbs, lemons and elderflower. On the palate, crisp and refreshing acidity, moderate alcohol, with citrus and apple fruits. Balanced and lively, with a satisfying dry and saline finish.

One to match fried food such as whitebait.

London Wine Deliveries £14.72

Prendina Pinot Bianco

La Prendina, Pinot Bianco, 2024. 13%

La Prendina are part of the Tenute de Famiglia Group. Their Lombardy vineyards at Mozambano are certified SQNPI. Fermentation is in stainless steel, then three months on the lees. The result is this Pinot Bianco with excellent varietal character.

Pale and greenish, it has aromas of apples and lemons. Crisp and dry, made for immediate drinking, you’ll find Granny Smith apples, a good balance of alcohol and acidity, and a fresh finish.

Perfect with Risotto, with peas or asparagus.

Wine Society £10.50

S. Cristina Chardonnay

Santa Cristina, Chardonnay, 2022. 13.5%

Santa Cristina is part of the Zenato group, with a winery and vineyards at San Benedetto, between the towns of Sirmione and Peschiera. They are certified by Equalitas. This wine is 100% Chardonnay from 30-year-old vines grown on the Veneto side of Lake Garda at Peschiera. Fermentation is in stainless steel, and then maturation is for 4-5 months in stainless steel, without any malolactic. After this, it spends a year in the bottle before release.

Yellow-hued, there are aromas of hawthorn and white blossom. The palate shows green apple and apricot with an almond finish, with there’s a typical rounded soft texture.

A wine best suited to match the freshwater fish from Lake Garda – maybe Carpione, for example.

goodwineonline £18.49

Pratello Mille1

Pratello, Mille1 Rosso, 2020. 14.5%

Pratello is a 135-year-old family farm at Padenghe sul Garda in Lombardy. Alongside spirits, olives, meat, fruit and vegetables, they offer a wide range of wines from their 70 hectares of organic vineyards in the Valtènesi, Lugana, San Martino and of course, Garda DOC. Their underground winery is close by in Pratello village. Mille1 Rosso is a joyous wine that I have enjoyed for many years, with a highly distinctive and instantly recognisable label.

It’s an unusual red blend of Merlot and an excellent modern crossing known as Rebo (a crossing of Merlot and Teroldego made by agronomist Rebo Rigotti in Trentino). After a cold maceration, fermentation is in stainless steel. Maturation is for 18 months in a mix of 500-litre tonneaux and 2,000-litre barrels. After blending and bottling (with bottles flushed with inert nitrogen to allow minimal sulphur), the wine spends a further 10 months resting until release.

This wine has an intense crimson colour, leggy with glycerine. A delightful floral nose follows, predominantly of violets and blueberries, laced with a little cinnamon. This heralds a silken plum and blackberry palate and a long, spicy finish. The alcohol level is moderated by acidity and carries the fruit harmoniously. There are no obvious wood intrusions.

A terrific wine, for red meats for sure, but also mushrooms and aubergine-based dishes.

The Green Room £22.61

Tantini MA.GI.CO

Giovanna Tantini, MA.GI.CO Corvina. 2023. 12.5%

Giovanna Tantini was a Lawyer who turned to wine in 1997. The winery is at Castelnuovo del Garda, built in 2002. The estate of 19 hectares includes 11.5 hectares of vineyards with red and white varieties, and their wines include high-quality Bardolino and Chiaretto. Their philosophy is about minimal intervention and ecological responsibility, certified SQNPI. MA.GI.CO is 100% Corvina Veronese, sourced from their vineyards at Castelnuovo and Lazise.

It’s made from young vines and has a typically pale red colour, almost rosé-like, which is shown off in a clear glass bottle fitted with a screw cap. The hand-picked grapes get a short carbonic maceration ( a la Beaujolais) before pressing, and the subsequent fermentation is in stainless steel. The new wine undergoes malolactic fermentation and matures for four months in stainless steel, with a further month to settle in the bottle. 6,000 bottles of MA.GI.CO are made each year from a total production of 50,000.

This is red wine that’s best lightly chilled and drunk as if it were a white. It’s a pale ruby, with aromas of cherries and wild strawberries. The palate is “unconventional”, offering the vivacity and freshness of a white wine, yet with red berry fruits and the light tannins, persistence and length of a young red wine. Unusual, super-versatile and delicious. For me, this is pasta heaven, and not just with ragù. Try Pasta al Limone or just with olive oil and pesto. Or an unusual yet excellent match for Burrata!

Vinissimus £13.40

Sansonina, La Sansonina

La Sansonina, 2021. 14%

La Sansonina is a small 13-hectare high-quality estate that is also part of the Zenato group (see S. Cristina above), near Sirmione. Sansonina Rosso is a premium expression of Merlot that comes in a bespoke and distinctive bottle. It’s 100% Merlot, from a tiny plot of 1,500 old-vine French clones, growing on the clay soils that this variety loves. Indeed, comparisons have been made to the soil of Petrus in Bordeaux. Slow, steady ripening in the benign Garda microclimate means excellent phenolic maturation (colour and tannins). After several days of cold maceration, a long, slow fermentation takes place in wooden vats, with pumping over for extraction.

Maturation is then for 18 months in new French Oak, but with different sizes of barrels and levels of toast. There’s then a further maturation in the bottle before release. Production is small, with 3,600 litres of 1997, the first release, so less than 5,000 numbered bottles pa.

A deep ruby wine, the nose shows ripe red berry fruit, with additional plum, cherry and blueberry notes. The wood adds complexity and support, with cocoa and balsamic notes. The palate is soft, viscous and caressing, yet with an element of power. Elegance and sophistication are the watchwords here. Fruit and flavours reprise the aromas, with the addition of tobacco and a mineral earthiness on a dry finish. This is exquisite now, but I sense that it’s still very young and not yet at peak. best held for another two or three years, and I imagine it offering excellent drinking into the 2040s.

As for food, then meat and game lovers should apply. Easily the most expensive wine in this line-up, but have you seen the price of Bordeaux recently?

goodwineonline £59.99

And Finally

Garda DOC offers excellent wines, and in so many styles. Consequently, it’s a DOC that deserves to succeed, especially when it has a clear brand identity based on the Lake itself.

I hope that more Garda DOC producers will obtain representation in the UK, particularly those that I encountered at Garda Wine Stories, including Maia Wine (Sparkling), Perla di Garda (Sparkling), Averoldi (Marzemino), Tenuta del Garda (Riesling), Scolari/Bottenago (Sparkling) and Cadis (Pinot Grigio).

Let these wines bring back memories if you have been to Lake Garda, or inspire you to visit and create your own Garda Wine Stories!

Location

Consorzio Garda DOC
Via Bassa 14
37066 Sommacampagna
Verona
Italy