Perla del Garda: A Look Inside Lugana DOC Wines
White wine season is in full swing and we traveled to Lake Garda and discovered one of the hottest wines from Italy’s new IT wine region. In this episode of Wine Oh TV, Monique Soltani heads to Northern Italy’s Lake Garda and discovers how the largest lake in Italy helps the region make fresh and affordable wines.
Plus, she goes inside Lonato Castle and gets her hands on the smallest book in the world. The castle was built in the mid fifteenth century as the residence of the representative of the republic of Venice in Lonato.
At the foot of the Garda Lake, and in the town of Lonato Del Garda, you will find a family run winery that is putting their mark what it means to be “Made in Italy”.
The wines of Perla del Garda are produced with their own character and soul, and are filled with the stories of the people behind the bottle, who want uncorking and pouring each glass of wine to open you up to a unique experience.
Giovanna Prandini and her brother Ettore have the tradition of farming in their blood. It’s been passed down to them from generations and generations. The siblings built Perla Del Garda Winery in 2006 with the idea of starting to produce their own wine instead of just selling the grapes.
LONATO CASTLE
This building was erected towards in the mid fifteenth century as the residence of the representative of the republic of Venice in Lonato, a territory which was under Venetian domination for almost 350 years.
The house of the Podestà, or chief magistrate, belonged to Venice until the treaty of Campoformio in 1797,when it became Austrian propriety and was turned into a military barracks.
In the second half of the nineteenth century the building passed at the ends at the town hall of Lonato which took not interested in it, using it as poorhouse for the town poorest families.
In 1906 the liberal deputy Ugo Da Como bought it at a public auction and submitted it to a radical restoration based on the historic recovery of the original style: appointing Antonio Tagliaferri, the most important Brescia architect of the period, as supervisor of the works.
The House of Podestà is a proper “Library-House”, it keeps a collection of more than 50.000 volumes and it is one of the most important private collection of the entire north of Italy.
PERLA DEL GARDA
The logic of production is based on the fundamental principle that wine making begins in the vineyard, abandoning pre-established schedules and taking into account the climatic conditions of each year, according to the heed and wisdom of family tradition.
Harvesting of the grapes by hand between August and November and the gravity flow technique of wine making, are the two mainstays of the production method.
The decision to certify the production chain is an act of transparency and honesty towards the consumer. Since the beginning of 2013 they have been verifying the possibility of producing healthy and consistent organic grapes with the quality they seek in their wines.
White wines are made from Trebbiano di Lugana, Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Riesling and Incrocio Manzoni varietals, while the red wines are made from Rebo, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon grapes.
Harvesting is exclusively by hand, selecting the bunches and placing them in small boxes that are swiftly dispatched to the winery, which lies in the middle of the vineyards. The maximum distance between the vines and the vinification area is 1,000 meters.
FEATURED WINES
PERLA 2016
APPELLATION: Lugana Dop
GRAPE VARIETIES: Trebbiano di Lugana o Turbiana 100%
VINEYARD LOCATION: Located on the hills of Lonato del Garda
ALTITUDE: 150-250 metres (492-820 Feet) above sea level
SOIL CHARACTERISTICS: Calcareous clay soil, morainic origin
TRAINING SYSTEM: Guyot
AVERAGE AGE OF THE VINES: 20 Years
DENSITY OF PLANTING: 5,000 Vines/Hectare (2,024 Vines/Acre)
HARVEST: Manual harvest between late August and early September
VINIFICATION: Acclimatization at 10°C (50°F), careful selection of grapes
FERMENTATION: In temperature controlled stainless steel tanks
LENGTH OF FERMENTATION: 8/10 days
AGEING: In stainless steel tanks
LUGANA MILLESIMATO BRUT LUGANA DOP SPARKLING WINE
APPELLATION: Lugana Spumate DOP, Classic Method
GRAPE VARIETIES: Trebbiano di Lugana o Turbiana 100%
VINEYARD LOCATION: Located on the hills of Lonato del Garda
ALTITUDE: 150-250 metres (492-820 Feet) above sea level
SOIL CHARACTERISTICS: Calcareous clay soil, morainic origin
TRAINING SYSTEM: Guyot
AVERAGE AGE OF THE VINES: 20 Years
DENSITY OF PLANTING: 5,000 Vines/Hectare (2,024 Vines/Acre)
HARVEST: Manual harvest between late August and early September
VINIFICATION: Acclimatization at 10°C (50°F), careful selection of grapes
1ST FERMENTATION: In temperature controlled stainless steel tanks
LENGTH OF FERMENTATION: 8/10 days
AGEING: In stainless steel tanks
2ND FERMENTATION: In magnum 1,5lt bottle, at least 30 months on the lees
*This video was produced in partnership Gran Via Società e Comunicazione.
