Lots of cool people hang out in and around Lake Garda when they’re not making records or movies. Sting, Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks, and Winston Churchill chilled there when he wasn’t tinking up London with his Cuban double coronas. I’d be willing to be that they were drinking Bardolino, grown in the quiet hills southeast of Lake Garda, where the breezes are gentle, the soils are mixed glacial rubble, and the wines have been light on their feet for centuries. Bardolino blends the local trio of Corvina, Rondinella, and a little Molinara. Corvina brings the bright cherry. Rondinella offers lift. Molinara adds that whisper of spice and salt. Together they make a red that is joyful without being simple.

The Corte Gardoni winery is all about bright cherry, herbs, and a light mineral snap. Corvina blend from Lake Garda’s breezy hills. Fresh, delicate, effortlessly drinkable. Perfect with a chill. The Piccoli family has farmed these vineyards for generations, always leaning toward understatement rather than theatrics. Their philosophy is straightforward: Grow healthy fruit. Interfere as little as possible. Let the vineyard speak. They were practicing this long before minimal intervention became a buzzword. Bardolino was once overshadowed by its much brawnier cousins Amarone and Valpolicella. Then wines like La Fontane reminded people that purity and drinkability are virtues of their own.

What you get here is vivid red fruit, soft herbs, and a clean minerality that keeps everything moving. It is refreshing. It is quietly elegant. It is the kind of wine that makes you wonder why more reds do not simply aim to be delicious.

2024 gave Bardolino ideal conditions. Plenty of sunshine. Cool nights. Balanced ripening. La Fontane shows it beautifully. Serve it with a light chill. Pour generously. It fits a long lunch on a warm day or an improvised dinner when you want something honest and uncomplicated. Call it an Italian lesson in the pleasure of restraint.