Lugana DOC - The Small Northeast Wine Region near Lake Garda, Italy - One Grape, Five Wine Styles5/16/2020 It’s my understanding that you either know Lugana or you don’t; It’s that simple. And yet, this 1200 hectare region near Lake Garda, Italy is anything but simple. With this small of an area, and with over 120 producers of Lugana (five styles of one grape: Turbiana) there’s lots of information to cover although easy navigable, once we dig in. Over four-plus weeks time during #winestudio, we’ll dig deep and come out at the end of our series as Lugana experts, or at the very least, Lugana Lovers! Lying on the border between the two Provinces of Brescia and Verona, the Lugana denomination stretches along the plains of Morainic origin to the south of Lake Garda, within the communes of Sirmione, Pozzolengo, Desenzano and Lonato (in Lombardy) and Peschiera del Garda in the Veneto.
The name would appear to derive from the early-medieval word “lucus” (“a wood”). This zone was in fact covered in the past by the Selva Lucana, a dense and marshy forest. But the presence of vines in this area dates back much further – at least to the Bronze Age – and is proven by the famous Vitis Silvestris grape seeds found around the pile dwellings of Peschiera del Garda. Today it is an area that is characterized by very particular soil, made up predominantly of white clays and limestone, capable of giving the grapes cultivated here extraordinary elegance and tanginess as well as longevity. As with most grapes, the white Turbiana becomes a reflection of where it’s grown, how it’s treated, dependent on soil characteristics and of course the winemaker’s characteristics; it transforms into a Lugana wine with many iterations of itself. And although that may seem super confusing, each Lugana wine affords us views into this small region and an even smaller snapshot into each winery’s style. And we’ll be tasting and discussing a lot of wine! Andrea Bottarel, the recently appointed Consorzio Tutela Lugana DOC Director puts it this way: “It is extremely important to understand that, unlike some other regions, due to the territory being mainly flat and with subtle differences in soil composition and climate, there may be a difference in wine profiles, but not in quality. Vineyards closer to [Lake Garda] will tend to produce slightly sharper wines with a more distinctive salinity, and the ones closer to the lower and sandier hillside, will tend to produce slightly bolder whites, sometimes with bolder fruit. This of course applies to single vineyard wines, but there are also producers aiming for balance and either growing or buying grapes from different parcels.” We're joined by Susannah Gold, DWS, FWS - Vigneto Communications as she moves us through the region and introduces #winestudio to the Consorzio Tutela Lugana DOC. Twitter hashtag #winestudio Tuesday evenings 9-10pmET June 9, 16, 23, 30 Click here for the full program. Live Zoom Webinar: When: Jul 2, 2020 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Topic: Lugana Doc #WineStudio Chat Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82567971004 Or iPhone one-tap : US: +19292056099,,82567971004# or +13017158592,,82567971004# Or Telephone: Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 929 205 6099 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 Webinar ID: 825 6797 1004 International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kBJZ5fFzl
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