I joined expert palates to attend a Bardolino tasting masterclass session

BARDOLINO — Wine experts and reporters had come from far and wide. There was an Italo-Canadian journalist who had travelled from Prague, a South Korean woman who came from Liguria, and Gelasio Gaetani d’Aragona, an Italian count whose family used to produce Brunello di Montalcino and who had promoted the Italian wine trade in London and New York.

 

 Expert palates were prepared for the tasting session, at the Riviera Restaurant at Punta San Vigilio, with delicious finger food and an exquisite plate of gnocchi with tomato sauce.

 

 Costantino Gabardi, the Consorzio’s wine adviser, talked us through Bardolino’s climatic stratifications and sub zones and the hints of herbs, fruits and vegetables detectable in the rosés and reds that succeeded one another in our glasses.

 

 Water and bread sticks were on the table for cleaning the palate between the different tastes. It’s unwise to eat the bread too close to rinsing your mouth if you want to avoid spitting bread crumbs inelegantly into the large professional spittoons laid out for every participant.

 

 Bees hummed in the neighbouring wildflowers and in San Vigilio’s impressive lakeside herb gardens, reminding visitors of the pristine nature from which the vines derive their flavours.

 

 Fabio Dei Micheli, the Consorzio president, described how his organisation was laying plans for the next 30 years and wanted to demystify Bardolino, stressing that it was an easy-going drink not reserved for experts. They will be linking their marketing efforts to the theme of pop art — available to all.

 

 ppw