A promising start of the autumn season for Valpolicella and Lake Garda local wineries with “Corvina Manifesto” event, held on the afternoon of Sunday 25th September at the La Loggia Rambaldi restaurant in Bardolino for a walk around tasting of Veronese wines based on Corvina Veronese (Bardolino, Bardolino Superiore, Chiaretto di Bardolino, Valpolicella, Amarone della Valpolicella, Corvina) selected by 23 local producers as a special happening to celebrate new wine releases and seasonal produce.
It was a wonderful occasion to taste great wine at the source and enjoy an exquisite waterfront setting. Corvina Manifesto has toasted the annual harvest and gave the opportunity to raise a glass to local wines cultivated in vineyards spanning out from the eastern shores of Lake Garda to Valpolicella. An unmissable chance to try a selection of the area’s offerings, like classic Bardolino, the Superiore (with slightly more alcoholic content), the rosé-like Chiaretto and Chiaretto Spumante.
Bardolino Corvina-based wines have been usually overlooked especially by locals who tend to prefer the more renowned Valpolicella reds, but actually Bardolino and Bardolino Superiore have been traditionally at the center of local wineries production and with excellent results , boasting lovely aromas of red cherries with spice notes, rounded and fruit-driven with juicy, red and black fruits — suitable for chilling.
Corvina is the most common grape used to make wines in Valpolicella. But it’s not the only grape. Other common winemaking grapes in Valpolicella include Corvinone, Molinara and Rondinella, a blend used to make the famous Amarone wine.
The Rosè revolution
Chiaretto di Bardolino is the true expression of Italian rosé, pale in color with dry, crisp, and delicate aromas. In 1968 Bardolino Chiaretto was amongst the first appellations in Italy to be awarded the Doc in recognition of the wine’s historic tradition and quality. Chiaretto di Bardolino is a well-priced rosé whose quality has grown exponentially in the past few years, since the “Rosé Revolution” driven by Chiaretto winemakers in 2014, giving the wine a very pale pink colour and more aromatic and floral notes. Nowadays, Chiaretto is the leader in the Italian rosé sector, with a production of 8.5million bottles per year.
“Made By Women”: The Benazzoli’s Sisters wines
The Benazzoli Sisters winery based in Pastrengo, a few kilometres from the Garda Lake, was found by Claudia and Giulia Benazzoli who have transformed the strong, kind, feminine, sensual, passionate language of women in a successful and excellent range of wines as they cultivate grapes native to the Veneto—grapes like Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and Molinara, along with grapes like Oseleta, an indigenous grape that was lost to the region. They believe that “the history of wine, which often coincides with a a male view and heritage, is actually dotted with feminine Italian terms in such as the grape (l’uva), the vineyard (la vigna), the land, (la terra)”, a peculiarity which powers the female energy of their wines.
I found an energy and integrity in our wines which we named after women (Tecla, Dafne, Agata, Giava, Minerva) that was lacking in most other Valpolicella and Amarone wines,” recalls Claudia Benazzoli, the young female entrepreneur who, with her sister Giulia, has founded the family-owned business that consistently creates outstanding, affordable wines which made a breakthrough in the male biased world of wine.
“We pride ourselves in being an inspiration for women in this work, women who carry on male traditions and crafts, women who use their femininity to change the language and the shape of a sector that is one of Italy’s gems” says Claudia Benazzoli.
Benazzoli “Tecla” 2020 Bardolino Chiaretto DOC is an intense, bright pink Bardolino Chiaretto, a blend of Corvina 80% and Rondinella 20%, Molinara and Oseleta, rose and lemony perfumed, zesty and refreshing on the palate.“Dafne” 2020 Bardolino is a vibrant ruby red wine with a rich bouquet of floral notes such as red roses, geraniums, ripe red cherries, sweet strawberries and a hint of black pepper: the result is a bright, lively, dry red wine perfect for every occasion.
“We don’t want to just make wine. We want to make wines “made by women” that embody the strength and sensuality of women, declares Giulia Benazzoli and that “convey our feelings about our land and our work.”
For more tastings of Corvina based wines, you can also make your way along the Garda Lake and into the countryside following Bardolino’s Strada del Vino.
