Bardolino Chiaretto DOC

Zenato has farmed the eastern shore of Lake Garda since 1960, and the family's Bardolino holdings sit on glacially deposited moraine — a mix of gravel, sand, and clay left by retreating ice-age glaciers that drains rapidly and forces vine roots deep. The lake itself acts as a thermal buffer, moderating both summer heat and winter frost to produce grapes with sustained natural acidity rather than flabby ripeness.

Chiaretto is made primarily from Corvina, the same grape that builds Amarone, but here harvested earlier and subjected to only brief skin maceration — typically a matter of hours rather than days — before pressing. Fermentation proceeds at cool temperatures to preserve aromatic lift, and the wine is bottled young to lock in its characteristic copper-salmon hue and taut fruit character.

What separates Bardolino Chiaretto from Provence rosé is structural: the Corvina grape's naturally high acidity and firm cherry-skin phenolics give the wine a dry, almost saline spine that most pale rosés lack. Drink within 1–2 years of vintage to capture that freshness at its peak.