07 May Please The Palate Pick of the Week: Lago di Garda, Chiaretto di Bardolino, Michelin Star Dining and More

This past week has been a whirlwind of fun as I spent the week in Italy for L’Anteprima del Chiaretto di Bardolino. Chiaretto, which means “pale” in Italian, is the name used for rosé wines produced near the shores of Lake Garda, on the Veneto side. While the focus of the trip was to taste the newest vintage of Chiaretto di Bardolino, we visited wineries, attended seminars, took a boat trip, and ate great meals. It was a fantastic week in a gorgeous setting and that is why every part of my past week, Lago di Garda, Chiaretto di Bardolino, Michelin Star Dining and More is the Please The Palate pick of the week. My visit was based in Lago di Garda. The largest lake in Italy, it sits between Veneto and Lombardy. And, from my hotel room at the Poiano Resort, I woke up every morning to this view! Our visited started with a boat ride on Lake Garda, as we sipped Chiaretto di Bardolino wines. After our boat ride, it was off to dinner for more Chiaretto di Bardolino! On Day 2, we toured around Lago di Garda. And then we sat down for three seminars. The first seminar was about the new vintage (2021) of Chiaretto di Bardolino. The second session was about older vintages of Chiaretto di Bardolino, showing us that you can age rosé wines. The third seminar was about Bardolino, the red wine of the region. Both Chiaretto di Bardolino and Bardolino are made from the grapes Corvina and Rondinella. We finished the day with a delicious dinner at Taverna Kus. On Day 3, we visited wineries. Bardolino has three subregions – Montebaldo, La Rocca, and Sommacampagna. We visited a winery in each zone. First stop was at Casaretti in La Rocca. Second stop was at Monte Zovo in Montebaldo. Our third stop was at Monte del Fra in Custoza, a sub-zone in Sommacampagna. Here we also tasted the gorgeous Custoza white wines, as well as the Chiaretto di Bardolino and Bardolino. And we enjoyed dinner at the winery paired with more wines. The final day was the official event of L’Anteprima del Chiaretto di Bardolino. The event is a two-day event and the first day was for press (both American and Italian) and the second day for consumers. For our day, we sat in a room and had the opportunity to taste as many as 50 still rosé wines and 22 sparkling rosé wines. I tasted 33 wines! And after that, I tasted more wines in two seminars, including one about Tavel wines from France. And then we ended the day with a gala dinner with wine producers and Italian journalists and of course lots of Chiaretto di Bardolino wines! I stayed a few more days and ended my time in Lago di Garda with a delicious meal at Ristorante Oseleta, a Michelin Restaurant located in the luxury hotel Villa Cordevigo which is also the name of the winery. It was a fantastic week and I have a few stories to come so stay tuned! For more photos of Lago di Garda, the wines, the winery visits, and the meals, click here!