Storia
Creation of the estate
Roccolo del Lago developed from cooperation between Giuseppe Campagnola S.p.A. and Tenute Francesco Righetti. Shared values and the combination of the two organizations’ expertise shaped an estate and wine range focused on the Lake Garda area. The original range was conceived around fresh, fruit-led Bardolino Classico, Chiaretto and Custoza, all bearing DOC designations.
The Roccolo
The estate takes its name from an old roccolo, a tower that formerly served as a hunters’ shelter. Standing among the vineyards, it recalls a long-established local tradition associated with the migratory-bird route passing through the area.
Present identity
The 30-hectare estate now combines established local experience with modern winemaking techniques. Its range encompasses Bardolino, Chiaretto, Custoza, Chardonnay and a late-harvest Corvina Veronese, with certified-organic cultivation forming a central part of its vineyard identity.
Terroir
Roccolo del Lago lies at Lazise on the eastern side of Lake Garda, where its vineyards extend across the morainic hills of the Bardolino Classico area. Saline and Colombare are specifically identified as vineyard locations within Lazise.
The estate’s soils are morainic and of glacial origin. The vineyards face southeast, while their hillside position is exposed to soft air currents descending from Monte Baldo. Lake Garda regulates and moderates the local climate, contributing to an average annual temperature of 15 °C. The combination of the lake, the temperate conditions, the Monte Baldo breeze and the glacial morainic terrain defines the estate’s growing environment.
Vinificazione
The estate’s vineyards are certified organic. Vineyard protection relies on products of natural origin, with the stated objectives of respecting the environment, maintaining biodiversity and protecting the wider ecosystem while producing high-quality grapes.
The vines are trained to a free spurred-cordon system. The estate description gives a planting density of 3,500 vines/ha; material devoted to the Bardolino Classico vineyards gives a range of 3,500–4,000 vines/ha. The estate selects its best grapes for the Roccolo del Lago range.
Harvesting is adapted to the individual production: the Bardolino Classico grapes are selected and mechanically harvested at the end of September, while grapes for Chiaretto and late-harvest Corvina are picked by hand. The late-harvest Corvina is also associated with deliberately low production yields.
Roccolo del Lago combines traditional experience with modern winemaking techniques, selecting grapes from its Lake Garda vineyards for a range conceived around freshness and fruit expression.
Production methods vary with the individual category. The red and white wines share gentle pressing and temperature-controlled fermentation as recurring techniques. The Chiaretto undergoes rosé vinification following gentle pressing, while Custoza is vinified without its skins. Late-harvest Corvina is crushed and destemmed, then fermented at controlled temperature with 10–15 days of skin maceration. It matures for about nine months in wood: half in Slavonian oak casks and half in French Allier-oak barriques.
Filosofia
Roccolo del Lago’s identity is built around the combination of shared values and complementary expertise contributed by Giuseppe Campagnola S.p.A. and Tenute Francesco Righetti. Its production approach joins inherited winemaking experience with modern techniques, while grape selection is directed toward fresh, fruit-driven expressions of the Lake Garda growing area.
Environmental responsibility is presented as inseparable from respect for tradition and from the duty to preserve resources for future generations. Certified-organic cultivation, the use of products of natural origin, and protection of the environment, biodiversity and ecosystem are central to this approach. The broader objective is to safeguard both the territory and its accumulated viticultural heritage.