From: Veneto, Italy
Varietal: 40% Garganega, 25% Trebbiano, 10% Trebbianello, 10% Cortese, 15% Other
Taste: Our longest-running Italian import is not a Barolo, Chianti Classico, or Brunello di Montalcino but this humble and off-the-beaten-path bianco from the Lake Garda region. And while we love it partly because of the Piccoli family’s infectious devotion to their region’s local grape varieties—Garganega, Trebbiano, Trebbianello, Cortese, and Manzoni Bianco—you can also just love it at face value. With notes of ripe apple and citrus zest, it’s an effortless and delicious sipper at aperitivo or alongside simple pastas.
—Tom Wolf
Pairing: This wine pairs perfectly with grilled sea bass, pan-fried sole fillet, light salads with goat cheese and honey, scallop carpaccio, asparagus risotto with Parmesan cheese, and young Brie or mild goat cheese. Some light pasta ideas include serving this with garlicky crab and brown butter pasta, one-pot pasta with ricotta and lemon, skillet tortellini with corn and crispy rosemary, spaghetti with burrata and garlic-chile oil, skillet gnocchi with miso butter and asparagus, and crab pasta with snap peas and mint.
About. Many thanks to our friends at KLWM for the following information. Documents show that the Piccoli family has owned vineyards in the Veneto since the year 1600. Many generations tended the vines, but after phylloxera hit, the ravaged family estate couldn’t support all five brothers, and one of them left to become a fruit grower. Two generations later Gianni Piccoli grew up surrounded by orchards, but he had wine in his blood so when an estate with extensive vineyards came up for sale in 1971 he jumped at the opportunity. For several years the grapes of Corte Gardoni were sold to local cooperatives, but Gianni felt that their wines lacked the soul and individual attention necessary to produce an honest, natural product. In 1980 he definitively broke those ties and for the first time crafted his own wine, focusing on the inherent character of the grapes and the terroir.
Over the course of his long career, Gianni became a highly respected figure in the region as well as a fierce leader in the fight against the homogenization of the local wine scene. While local cooperatives pushed for laws that would encourage producers to plant French grapes like Chardonnay and Merlot, the place of honor at Corte Gardoni has always been reserved for local varieties such as Garganega, Corvina, Rondinella, and others. The Piccolis’ vineyards occupy 23 hectares, while the rest of the property encompasses orchards, forests, olive trees, and arable land, from which the family also produces fruit, olive oil, and the first balsamic-style vinegar to be made from apples.
