Lake Garda Vineyards - The Moraine Hills of the Lake Garda Growing Region

The Gozzi family vineyard is one of the famous lake Garda vineyards and is situated near the medieval village of Monzambano, a picturesque fortified town nestled between the rolling moraine hills of the Garda Lake. The unique geological characteristics of this region render it an exceptional terrain for wine making, which has been practiced here since the fifth millennium before Christ.

The high quality wines produced by this region are linked to its glacial prehistory: around 12 000 years ago, the retreat of a glacier from the Benacus basin, in the southern part of what is now the Garda lake, sculpted the soft hills and shallow valleys that now characterise the terrain. The alluvial soil that makes up these geological formations contains a huge variety of unique physical and chemical environments. For example, while hills in the region are composed of rocky ground, the lowlands are dominated by sand, shale and silt.

This variability in the terrains means that both red and white grapes can be cultivated with high quality. In August and September, those with a passion for viticulture may notice that red grapes are seen ripening on south facing slopes, while white grapes are found on north facing ones.

The unique microclimate of the Garda lake region is another factor in the production of its high quality wines. The massive Garda lake, which is the largest lake on the Italian peninsula, has a mitigating effect on the local climate, alleviating cold snaps in winter and heat waves in summer. The cool breeze that blows off the lake and over the nearby low hills on warm summer evenings also leads to a daily temperature variation that assists in the maturation of the grapes. The moraine hills of the Garda Lake currently host seven different recognised and protected wine growing regions, dispersed between Mantua, Brescia and Verona. Of these, Cantina Gozzi lake Garda vineyards boasts the production of Garda Colli Mantovani DOC and Garda DOC wines.

(Monzambano)

(Monzambano - the castle)

The geological history of Garda’s moraine hills is ancient and complex. Since the Alpine Orogenesis, which began around 60 million years ago, tremendous tectonic upheavals and extreme climatic changes have engraved the Italian subalpine range, sculpting the landscape into the characteristic shape that can be seen today. (Continue...).

Garda’s Moraine Hills are characterised by an arrangement of concentric moraine ridges along the north to south axis, with older ridges found further away from the lake. This arrangement results in the picturesque mountain ‘amphitheatre’ that stretches from the little city of Garda to Salò, on the south side of the Garda Lake. (Continue...).

The intricate harmony of the favourable geological, geomorphological, pedological and weather conditions of the moraine hills of the Garda lake region results in an environment that is particularly well suited to wine production. (Continue...).

(Monzambano - Mincio's valley)