Madonna della Scoperta – Lugana Superiore 2024

Madonna della Scoperta – Lugana Superiore DOP

The Perla del Garda Madonna della Scoperta is a Lugana Superiore DOP 2024. For the Superiore quality level, the organic grapes are harvested late. Wines of Superiore quality must have a minimum alcohol content of 12% vol. and be aged for at least one year – in this case, partly in stainless steel tanks and partly in wooden barrels. Thus, it does not aim for youthful sprightliness, but for elegance, structure, and longevity.

Its straw-yellow color with a tendency towards gold radiates from the glass. On the nose, notes of yellow fruits like apple and peach are convincing, along with gooseberry, hazelnut, and acacia blossoms; balsamic notes are also discernible. On the palate, the Lugana Superiore displays the full splendor of the Turbiana grape and the special minerality of its chalky soils. The Madonna della Scoperta is powerful and round, possessing refinement and richness – thus, it wonderfully accompanies spicy dishes and even meat courses.

Winemaking – Giovanna Prandini

In Lonato del Garda, on the southern shore of Lake Garda, twenty-year-old vines grow in hilly vineyards (only 4 ha) on calcareous soils of morainic origin. At an altitude of 150–250 m above sea level, in the San Carlo area, this Lugana Superiore DOP from Azienda Perla del Garda is produced. In the Guyot training system, 5,000 vines per hectare are closely spaced, as the Turbiana grape variety has enormous vigor and quickly produces quantity instead of quality if not properly managed. Winemaker Giovanna Prandini keeps them in check: planted densely, they must compete for water and nutrients, and consistent yield reduction on the vine is also employed. Harvesting takes place a little later than for classic Lugana, around mid-September.

Harvested by hand in small boxes, the grapes are manually selected once again at the winery, which is located in the middle of the vineyards, before being transferred to the cold room to protect them from oxidative stress and preserve the fruit aroma. After gentle whole cluster pressing, fermentation, lasting 8–10 days, takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks at approx. 15 degrees. The Lugana Superiore DOP is aged for 8 months on the lees in stainless steel tanks and partly in wooden barrels, and for at least 4 months in the bottle before being released for sale. The result: a first-class Lugana.

Lugana Superiore DOP – White Wine from Lake Garda

Since 1967, Lugana wine has held the DOP or DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) predicate as a controlled designation of origin. On approximately 700 hectares of vineyards comprising the DOC area on the southern shore of Lake Garda, the Turbiana and Trebbiano di Lugana grapes, also known as Verdicchio Bianco, grow. From them comes the straw-yellow to greenish white wine, which owes its vibrant character to the microclimate influenced by the large lake, with mild temperatures and cool winds.

Madonna della Scoperta – a wine and its values

• 12.5% vol. alcohol
• 5.9 g/l acidity
• 1.2 g/l residual sugar