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Aperitivo Bliss in Northern Italy

Aperitivo Bliss in Northern Italy

by Tom Wolf by Tom Wolf

2024 Bardolino Chiaretto Rosé “Nichesole”

2024 Bardolino Chiaretto Rosé “Nichesole”

Corte Gardoni   

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Corte Gardoni    Italy   |  Veneto   |  Bardolino Chiaretto

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It’s aperitivo hour and you’re sitting under the shade of a tree on the eastern bank of Lake Garda, looking out onto dozens of sailboats gliding along, seemingly in no hurry to be anywhere. Someone offers you a spritz, but no, grazie—you’re more in the mood for a glass of exquisite rosé. They come back with a frosty carafe of a pale pink nectar. You pour yourself a glass, take a sip, and ask, “Where’s this from?” You’re surprised to hear the reply: “Just down the road.” This region may not bear the renown of Tuscany, Piedmont, and Sicily, but if it is famous for anything—other than the vistas—it is for the dry rosé called Chiaretto.
     This one comes from the Piccolis, who have owned vineyards in these parts for more than four centuries. The family’s experience and the underrated excellence of this terroir of glacial moraine—south of the lake and at the western limit of the Veneto region—explain why this bottle offers such outstanding character and class. With notes of white peach, melon, and grapefruit, this Chiaretto is the quintessential Italian rosato for a spring evening al fresco with a heaping plate of fresh, sauce-laden pasta.

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More from this Producer or Region

About The Region

Veneto

map of Veneto

Italy’s most prolific wine region by volume, the Veneto is the source of some of the country’s most notorious plonk: you’ll find oceans of insipid Pinot Grigo, thin Bardolino, and, of course, the ubiquitous Prosecco. And yet, the Veneto produces the highest proportion of DOC wine of any Italian region: home to prestigious appellations like Valpolicella, Amarone, and Soave, it is capable of excelling in all three colors, with equally great potential in the bubbly and dessert departments.

With almost 200,000 acres planted, the Veneto has a wealth of terroirs split between the Po Valley and the foothills of the Alps. While the rich soils of the flatlands are conducive to mechanization, high yields, and mass production of bulk wine, the areas to the north offer a fresher climate and a diversity of poor soil types, ideal for food-friendly wines that show a sense of place. Whether it’s a charming Prosecco Superiore from the Glera grape, a stony Soave or Gambellara from Garganega, or a Corvina-based red in any style, the Veneto’s indigenous grape varieties show real character when worked via traditional production methods.

Since his first visit in 1979, Kermit has regularly returned to the Veneto to enjoy its richness of fine wines and local cuisine. Our collaboration with Corte Gardoni, our longest-running Italian import, is a testament to this. The proximity of beautiful cities like Verona and Venice, with their deep culinary heritage, certainly doesn’t hurt, either.

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Terroirs

Great winemakers, great terroirs, there is never any hurry. And I no longer buy into this idea of “peak” maturity. Great winemakers, great terroirs, their wines offer different pleasures at different ages.

Inspiring Thirst, page 312

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