Corte Gardoni

Valeggio sul Mincio · Verona (VR)

← Veneto

Established

1980

Gianni Piccoli

Yearly production

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estate (Garda morainic hills)

Location

Valeggio sul Mincio

Verona (VR) · Veneto

Vineyard area

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low-yield vineyards on the stony morainic slopes southeast of Lake Garda, in the Bardolino and Bianco di Custoza denominations

Appellations

Bardolino DOCBardolino Superiore DOCGBianco di Custoza o Custoza DOC

History

The Piccoli family have cultivated vines on the morainic hills southeast of Lake Garda since the 1600s, making them one of the longest-established growing families of the Bardolino zone. After phylloxera devastated the old estate in the late 19th century they turned partly to orchards, then returned fully to the vine.

Corte Gardoni was established as a winery in 1980, when Gianni Piccoli — who had bought a vineyard-rich estate at Valeggio sul Mincio in 1971 — decided to stop selling his low-yield morainic-slope grapes in bulk and bottle under his own name. He led the estate for nearly fifty vintages until his death in 2020.

It is now run by his three sons — Mattia the oenologist in the cellar, Stefano in the vineyards and Andrea in the business — and under Mattia has become a benchmark for the Bardolino and Custoza appellations. Signature wines include the Bardolino 'Le Fontane', the Chiaretto 'Nichesole', the Bardolino Superiore 'Pràdicà' and the Custoza 'Greoto'.