The Giambenini family has deep roots in farming and agriculture in Italy’s Veneto region. When Pietro and Aldo Giambenini helped their father plant vines on the family farm in the early 2000’s, they couldn’t have known that more than a decade later, they would be harvesting those grapes for their own wines. Until 2018, when the brothers returned home to Bardolino — a small appellation on the southwestern edge of Lake Garda — the family primarily sold their fruit. Recognizing the potential of Bardolino’s terroir, Pietro and Aldo decided to change that. Formed over millions of years, Bardolino is defined by an amphitheater of morainic hills surrounding Italy’s largest lake, with sandy, limestone-rich soils and a cool, Mediterranean-influenced microclimate.

Since the beginning, the brothers have worked not only to preserve the expression of their terroir in each wine, but to put the morainic landscape of Lake Garda — and more specifically Bardolino — back on the map. Their vineyards, located in Calmasino di Bardolino, less than a kilometer from the lake, fall within the appellation’s “Classico” zone — the most historic area, known for its pure Mediterranean character. In keeping with this tradition, Pietro and Aldo aim to keep their cuvées in line with the Bardolino legacy, crafting wines of balance, freshness, and drinkability. Working with both local varieties like Corvina, Rondinella, and Corvinone, as well as the more globally recognized Cabernet Franc and Pinot Blanc, their focus is on quality farming first to allow for a minimal-intervention approach in the cellar.

Grapes are harvested at peak ripeness exclusively by hand in small crates. Each varietal and vintage is handled differently, but all the white wines are made by pressing whole bunches, without the use of sulfur. The rose is an assemblage of whole cluster pressed grapes, and destemmed grapes with longer skin contact; adding multiple layers to this cuvée. The reds are mixed layers of whole clusters and de-stemmed grapes in foudres. Fermentation is carried out with only native yeast and there is no fining or filtration before bottling, just very careful racking. Producing eight cuvées, they see their work as the result of experimentation, perseverance, and a steadfast belief in their mission to make great wines. Using this frozen “gold” in their extended lees contact is just one of many things Pietro and Aldo are doing to push the Moranic boundaries.