Summer won’t last – Neither will this charming Chiaretto in your glass (#ItalianFWT)

Hey everyone, I’d like you to meet my new BFF: Bardolino Chiaretto DOC, an Italian rosato (rosé) from the idyllic Lake Garda area of the Veneto, Italy.

In this home of Romeo and Juliet, Chiaretto (Key-are-et-toh) and rosé are synonymous. The name “Chiaretto” derives from the Italian term “chiaro,” meaning “light” or “pale.” Chiaretto is made from red grapes using white winemaking practices, but don’t let its pale color fool you. This is hardly a soft-spoken rosé!

Charming and compatible, this Chiaretto is ready to pull up a lounge chair and chat about life, philosophy, art, what-have-you. With a wink and a smile, it dares you to find a food it won’t like. Go ahead, pair it with appetizers or grill it a meaty kabob. Yum! Or, simply enjoy its company – whatever you decide, I promise you this Chiaretto will be gone before you can say “Shakespeare in love.”

The Italian Food, Wine and Travel group of intrepid bloggers is on the hunt for rosato this month. Lauren at The Swirling Dervish describes the various kinds of rosato in her excellent invitation post. If you’re reading this in time, please join us for the Twitter chat Saturday 8/1 beginning at 8 am PT/11 am ET. Simply follow the #ItalianFWT hashtag.

The Veneto – A place to fall in love

Romeo and Juliet fell in love and met their ill-fated ends in the Veneto. Shakespeare set “The Taming of the Shrew” and “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” in this warm and inviting northeastern corner of Italy, too.

The Veneto is bordered to the north by Austria and Trentino-Alto Adige, to the west by Lombardy, to the south by Emilia-Romagna, and to the east by the Adriatic Sea and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The region’s northern and western sections become abruptly mountainous as they rise toward the Dolomite mountains of northern Italy. Most of Veneto’s renowned grapes are grown in this band of Alpine foothills and valleys between the plains and rugged mountains.

Three indigneous red grapes – Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara – hold sway in these vineyards. Corvina is considered the highest quality of the three and generally makes up the majority of the blend. All three grapes are used in the popular Valpolicella and are semi-dried to create the intensely flavored and dry Amarone della Valpolicella.

The Bardolino vineyards are located on a glacial moraine on the eastern shore of Lake Garda, west of Verona. At 30 miles long, Lake Garda is Italy’s largest lake with a depth of over 1,000 feet at its deepest. Lake breezes and cool mountain air blow across the area from the west and north respectively. As wine-searcher notes:

“The lake also slightly moderates temperature variations and reflects sunlight back onto the more elevated vineyards. This helps the fruit to reach full phenolic ripeness over the course of the growing season. This combination of cool temperatures and bright sunshine is responsible for emphasizing the bright, fruity qualities of Bardolino wines.”

The wine – 2019 Gorgo Bardolina Chiaretto DOC
Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara (made from organic grapes)

Established in 1973, the Gorgo Wine Estate comprises almost 125 acres of vineyards, almost all of them planted to organic-certified grapes. Along with organic fertilizers and hand harvesting, traditional cultivation techniques such as plowing keep vineyards free of weeds. The light-textured soil of this area is typically whitish, and consists of rock fragments, pebbles, humus, and silt rich in calcium carbonate.

For the Bardolina DOC rosato, the grapes spend a short time (15-20 hours) macerating on their skins and then aged three months in stainless-steel tanks.

My tasting notes: Pours a pale salmon in the glass. Bright, fruity aromas of nectarine, raspberry, and fresh cherries with a subtle flowery undertone. On the palate, I get more nectarine, plenty of mouth-watering red grapefruit, and a touch of minerality. Medium+ acidity. Medium+ finish. Light, crisp, and refreshing. Alcohol: 12.5%. Price: $12. Easygoing without being simple and, as the saying goes, “a cheap date.”

The pairing – Caprese salad, olive tapenade, hummus

This companionable Chiaretto liked every appetizer it met at our family dinner table. An especially long, in-depth conversation ensued between the Chiaretto and the classic Caprese salad. The Chiaretto was highly complementary of the salad’s heirloom tomatoes, fresh basil, and organic mozzarella. Common cultural roots surely contributed to what could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

Grilled chicken sausage joined the party later. The Chiaretto greeted the sausage like it was already an old friend. By now this delectable rosé was telling jokes and charming the pants off everyone. The following day, I drained the last few ounces (without food, which is rare for me) and said “goodbye” for now. No doubt we’ll meet again soon.

Check out what all the bloggers have to say about Italian rosato – perfect wines for summer or anytime:

• David from Cooking Chat writes about Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo: Pairings with My Favorite Italian Rosé
• Pinny from Chinese Food and Wine Pairings writes about Pairing Bibi Graetz Casamatta Toscana Rosato with Drunken Cold Chicken Wings and Pork Knuckle, Sautéed Julienne Leeks #ItalianFWT
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla tempts us with Italian Pinks, Sardinian Native Grapes, and Gamberi all’Aglio
• Terri from Our Good Life shares her pairing for Roasted Chicken Flatbread with Spumante Rosato
• Linda from My Full Wine Glass says Summer Won’t Last: and Neither Will this Charming Chiaretto in Your Glass
• Martin from Enofylz Wine Blog is Dreaming of Sicily with a Graci Rosato
• Gwendolyn from Wine Predator offers Summer Dinner with Rosato from Tuscany and Sicily
• Marcia from Joy of Wine chats about Rosato d’Aglianico Vulture: More than Just a Red Wine
• Lynn from Savor the Harvest suggests Rosato: Drinking Pink Italian Style, from the Mountains to the Sea
• Nicole from Somm’s Table prepares Cheese, Charcuterie, and Ciabatta with Praesidium Cerasuolo
• Robin from Crushed Grape Chronicles offers Pallotte Cac e Ove & Orecchiette with Two Brilliant Cherry Red Rosatos from Southeast Italy
• Katrina from The Corkscrew Concierge advises us to Get to Know Lambrusco Rosato
• Susannah from Avvinare tells us that Italy’s Chiaretto from Lake Garda Makes Waves
• Jennifer from Vino Travels shares Rosato from the Veneto with Pasqua
• Katarina from Grapevine Adventures shares An Italian Rosé Wine that Makes You Sparkle
• Lauren from The Swirling Dervish shares Cantele Negroamaro Rosato: Summer Wine from the Heart of Puglia