From Gorgo's Vineyards: Uncovering the Veneto's Overlooked White Wine Appellation

While many winelovers and visitors to the Veneto are attracted to the wines of Valpolicella, Amarone, Bardolino and even Soave, when visiting that part of the region there is another DOC of this area that doesn’t share the same spotlight that deserves the attention, the Custoza DOC.  Nestled between Verona and Lake Garda, this white wine dominated appellation shows the uniqueness of it’s mineral driven soils and Azienda Agricola Gorgo’s Custoza DOC that I’m sharing today is a great bottle to experience what this area is all about.  

map of Custoza DOC territory - copyright of Consorzio Custoza

The Gorgo Winery

This family owned estates was Founded in 1973 by Roberto and Alberta Bricolo, the Gorgo winery is located in Sommacampagna, nearby to the village of Custoza in the southeastern part of Lake Garda within the Veneto region.  Today Roberto and Alberta’s daughter, Roberta, leads the operations of the winery to carry on her parents dream.  What started as about a 54 acres winery has grown to around 130 acres producing all certified organic wines.

Roberta and Roberto Bricolo - copyright of Az. Agr. Gorgo

The Custoza wine appellation

Gorgo was established two years after the Custoza DOC was established in 1971, which is the appellation that the wine I’m sharing today is from.  This is a white wine dedicated DOC.  The wine must contain a minimum of at least 70% of Bianca Fernanda, the local name for Cortese, Friulano, Garganega and/or Trebbiano Toscano without one of those grapes making up more than 45% of the blend.  

The Custoza DOC territory forms an amphitheater made of morainic soils formed from glacial deposits from the glaciers during the Quarternary Period.  This DOC covers 9 towns across 4,360 acres.  Due to the soils and the Mediterranean climate that is moderated by Lake Garda, these wines are fresh and tend to have floral aromatics with a fruit profile of pears, apples, citrus and tropical fruits that are fresh with a touch of minerality and salinity.

The Wine Selection - Gorgo Custoza

The 2021 Gorgo Custoza DOC is part of Gorgo’s Classic line.  It is made certified organic from the Garganega, Trebbiano Toscano and Bianca Fernanda grapes (which is a native clone of the Cortese grape). The grapes are cryomacerated and softly pressed and fermented in stainless steel with the wine on the lees in stainless for 3-4 months until bottled.  The wine was a brilliant straw color with golden highlights.  Fragrant with heavier armor as of petrol and tropical notes. Medium-bodied on the palate with a slight unctuous texture with tropical (pineapple) notes. 12.5% ABV $16 SRP (newer vintages on Wine.com)

Best ways to visit Sommacampagna and the Custoza area

The area of Lake Garda is such a marvelous place to explore and Sommacampagna is an easy jaunt outside of Verona.  It’s even closer than Verona to the closest airport, Valerio Catullo Airport. It’s just an easy 3 miles!  If you’re visiting Verona and looking to venture out from the city you can reach Sommacampagna by car, which is about a 10 miles drive.  If you will not have a vehicle it is also easily accessible from Verona Porta Nuova station via bus, which should take about 30 minutes.  With this close proximity to so many great sights there is no reason not to visit!

Map copyright of Consorzio Custoza

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The Custoza Grape from the Glacial Hills Near Lake Garda

This month I’ll be focusing on the Veneto wine region all month.  Our Italian Food, Wine & Travel group will also be featuring wine and food pairings from this region with a number of writers to share their explorations hosted by Deanna at Wineivore.   I’ll be featuring the white grape, Custoza, this week, as well as the winery, Monte del Fra.  Let’s learn some more about this grape.  

The Custoza Grape 

The Custoza grape is a native white grape from the Veneto region in northeastern Italy.  Per the Consorzio Tutela Vino Custoza’s site, the Custoza grape is “delicate, floral and fruity aromas with slightly aromatic herbs….recognizable for its freshness”.    As the wines made from this grape ages they take on riper fruit notes, with savory characteristics and spice.   

Custoza grapes from Monte del Fra

You can find Custoza wines under the Bianco di Custoza DOC.  Much of the territory where these grapes are grown cover 9 municipalities and overlap also with the Bardolino DOC territory.  You can find many styles of Custoza including Custoza, Custoza Superiore, Custoza Riserva, Custoza Spumante and Custoza Passito.  One of the requirements to be qualified to be labeled as a Bianco di Custoza DOC is to include a minimum of 70% of 3 of the following grapes: Garganega, Trebbiano, Bianca Fernanda (a native clone of Cortese), and Trebbianello (a local biotype of Tocai.  It can also include up to 30% of Malvasia, Riesling, Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay and Incrocio Manzoni.   

I had read that there is such a variety of grapes in this area as the territory was originally used for livestock breeding.  Merchants would stop there and used cuttings from where they originated from to barter bringing a diverse range of grapes. 

What I always find unique about blends like this and the Collio Bianco DOC wines that I tried is that it shows the personality of the winemakers and producers.  It allows the producers the opportunity to balance out the wines for particular grapes that struggled in difficult years by having the flexibility to include other grapes.  You’ll also find a lot of complexity in wines with such blends as you’ll get many different characteristics from each of the grapes included in the blend.   

The Winery – Monte del Fra 

Monte del Fra is located in Sommacampagna situated about 10 miles outside Verona on glacial hills that overlook Lake Garda. It is a family owned winery established in 1958 by Massimo Bonomo, the grandfather to the 3rd generation that runs the winery today. Massimo relocated to the area due to his passion for wine and started producing wine with less than 10 acres. Today the winery has close to 500 acres across a number of appellations with focus on the Bardolino and Custoza DOC’s.  

The name Monte del Fra translates to the “land of the monks”. In the 15th century Friar monks formed a monastery on the land. Some time after they leased over 60 acres to be utilized for fruit trees and vineyards. Fast forward centuries later the Bonomo took ownership of the land and continues to manage it to this day. 

The Bonomo family has a strong focus on sustainable agriculture not utilizing pesticides or herbicides in their vineyards. They are SQNPI certified as well as 3R certified (which is a waste reduction and diversion certification).  

The Wine 

I tasted the 2020 Monte del Fra Ca’Del Magro Custoza Superiore DOC, which is their single vineyard from 50 year old vines at 492 feet above sea level. This wine is a blend of Garganega, Trebbiano Toscano, Cortese and Incrocio Manzoni. It is fermented in stainless steel on the lees. It then spends a few months in cement vats before bottling and at least 6 additional months in the bottle before release. 

Thie 2020 Monte del Fra Ca’ Del Magro Custoza Superiore DOC was brilliant lightly straw colored. Floral, fruity aromas of stone fruit mostly with some citrus. This wine has a beautiful elegance the minute it touches the palate. Light-bodied and delicate, but full of flavor leaning more towards tropical fruit with bright acidity consistent throughout. A beautiful wine!  

Join the rest of our Italian food and wine lovers as they share their selections on the Veneto wine region. Check them out!

• "Crumbs: Scaia, Pearà, and Mussels alla Buzara" from Camilla at Culinary Cam
• "La Gioiosa Brut Rosé & Raspberry Soup" from Andrea at The Quirky Cork
• "The Hills Near Verona and the Organic, Biodynamic, and Regenerative wines of Fasoli Gino and Tasi/Crushed Grape Chronicles" from Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles
• "7 Veneto Wines and a Meal with Memories from My Visit: Venice, Verona, Valdobbiadne, Valpolicella, Soave" from Gwendolyn at Wine Predator
• "Gambellara, Veneto: A Bubbly Wine & A Revelation!" from Payal at Keep the Peas
• "Beyond Prosecco: Carménère is Cultivated in Veneto, Too" from Cindy at Grape Experiences
• "A Taste of Verona, Italy" from Deanna at Wineivore

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*This wine was provided as a sample, but opinions are always my own.