FOOD & WINE

There are three elements that recur in all the food and wine itineraries:
Extra virgin olive oil delicate and light
Wine
Lake Fish cooked as second appetizing, or to create tasty first
Other local products (The lemon of Gargnano, Saffron DOP Pozzolengo, Salame Dop pozzolengo of the black truffle of valtenesi.)

The olive oil

Brescia has been producing olive oil for a long time. It is interesting to note that Brescia is among the most northerly places in Europe to cultivate olives. It is said that there is no such thing as basic olive oil - only extra virgin olive oil has been produced since the Middle Ages on the hills around Lake Garda and Lake Iseo. Brescian olive oil is distinctive for its mineral content, low acidity and light, velvety flavour. The Gargnà and Casaliva varieties are considered among italy's best. In 1997, another local olive oil, produced near Lake Iseo, was given the prestigious DOP label.

The wine

On the hills of Lake Garda, you can taste some of the most renowned wines of the country that, over the years, have won many of the most coveted awards.
The wines of the area can be traced back to these families: Garda Classico DOC in various types: Groppello (homonymous vine), Red, White and claret; San Martino della Battaglia DOC: dry white and liqueur; Lugana DOC in the various type

Lugana DOC
The wine Lugana: the prince of the lake tasting Lugana means making the history of its land, it means drinking the first DOC registered in Lombardy and between the first few in Italy. What is, then, the name and the history of the wine? The disciplinary refers to the Trebbiano di Soave, locally called Trebbiano di Lugano. The wine selcted in the centuries by local wine-growes, becomes a fundamental element for the identity low Garda area. The Lugana is produced in three types: Lugana Doc, Lugana Superiore and Lugana Spumante. Perfect as an aperitif, the Lugana DOC is very good on italian antipasti and intended to marriage in love with the lake fish, as the "Luccio" and the "Coregone".

Garda Classico Bianco DOC
Garda classic white DOC is composed for the 70% from grapes of Riesling Italico and Riesling Renano; it is a dry wine with a energetically noble character which expresses aromatic notes. The color is brilliant, straw with light green reflections; has a fragance, delicate and great finesse; the taste is harmonious, velvety, with a light note Salina and possible aftertaste slighty almond. The minimun total alcoholic strenght and of 11° Vol. is well matched with refined, foods as lake fish, crustaceans, seafood, vegetables pies, dishes of rice and the delicate food in general.

Garda Classico Rosso e Rosso Superiore DOC
Garda classic red and red Superior DOC, obtained by joining Groppello, Marzemino, Barbera and Sangiovese, unite local varieties and national grasp in a summary of special typicality. The Garda classic red is a wine with good structure, red ruby, brilliant; the flavour is sharp, distinctive: young, may be fruity, if aged, also spicy.

Garda Classico Chiaretto DOC
Comes from the same grapes of Garda classic red, but is subjected to so-called "vinification in white", that consists in to maintaining only briefly the contact of skins with grape during fermentation not to load both the strenght of the color and thus obtain a wine from pink colour with greenish Rubies. Chiaretto differs from the other Rosé for its surprising aromaticity of flowers and of berries, accompanied by a discreet acidity.

Garda classico Groppello and Groppello Riserva DOC
Obtained from varieties typical of the area, Groppello, these wines can express their organoleptic complexity for the centuries-old tradition of winemaking Valtenesi. They have a brilliant ruby red color, a fresh, vinous, fruity, slightly spicy and the taste is velvety, full-bodied, with gentle bottom of almonds. The alcohol content is 11 vol. ° and 12 for the reserve, which must be aged for two years and not more than four. The combination is perfect with pasta, red meats, roasts, skewers, game meats, fresh and aged cheeses. Outside meal quality reserve becomes a noble wine tasting.

San Martino della Battaglia DOC
It is a dry white wine is produced from grapes of Tocai Friulano, has a yellow citrine with warm undertones, and golden shimmer pale green, the flavor is inviting, intense and typical and unmistakable fresh taste with a pleasantly bitter aftertaste. The minimum alcohol level of 11.5 vol. The slight acidity makes this wine suitable for appetizers, entrees, with prosciutto, risottos not spicy, eggs with asparagus, a kitchen light and delicate taste with which it enhances the fine and harmonious aroma of Tocai.
 

The fish

On the lake shores of Lake Garda, yuo will find grilled coregone and pike alla barcarola (boiled and served with olive oil, anchovies and capers) and perch fillets. One of the rarest fish is carpione, a member of the salmon family, which is difficult to catch because it lives in the deepest waters of the lake to the north, at a depth of up to 360 metres.
 

Lemon

On the hills of Lake Garda in fact you can find lemon that allow you to produce a typical product of Lake Garda: Limoncello.
 

ZAFFERANO/SAFFRON DI POZZOLENGO

Saffron is obtained by roasting the stigmas of Crocus sativus, a beautiful flower, that  has been known since the third millennium BC, for its medicinal qualities, aroma and color. Despite its numerous properties, saffron has today mainly culinary use.
Italy boasts the best saffron in the world, and in particular the area of the morenic hills of Lake Garda, thanks to the Mediterranean climate due to the proximity of the Lake, is particularly suitable for cultivation
 

IL SALAME DI POZZOLENGO

About twenty years ago we initiated the production of Salame Morenico Pozzolengo that it  has won the recognition De.CO (Protected Designation of Origin Municipal).
Il Salame Morenico di Pozzolengo is therefore a unique salame (it is distinguished from that of Brescia, Verona and Mantua), since it is particularly linked to the territory of origin, and in which are reproduced the gestures and rituals of old procedures.
"Delicate, but tasty and digestible" is the judgment of his admirers. In fact it is garlic free and it is also gluten and lactose free..
 

VALTENESI TRUFFLE

Another typical product of Lake Garda is the truffle. This high quality product is usually typical of Mount Baldo area of the Hills of Lake Garda in the north.