Tenuta di Bardolino

Rambaldi origins

The Bardolino property is the oldest part of the Guerrieri Rizzardi family enterprise. Its documented viticultural origin is placed in 1450, when the Rambaldi family—ancestors of the Guerrieri—already owned vineyards on the hills around Bardolino. Agricultural activity included vines and olive groves on the eastern side of Lake Garda.

In the later eighteenth century, Agostino Guerrieri (1749–1833) married Maria Teresa Rambaldi, the final descendant of the Rambaldi family. The marriage transferred the Bardolino properties to the Guerrieri family, which continued developing local winegrowing and olive cultivation.

The Guerrieri-Rizzardi union

The property remained with the Guerrieri until Giuseppina Guerrieri (1873–1967), the last descendant of that line, married Carlo Rizzardi. Their marriage united the two families in 1913, created the Guerrieri-Rizzardi name and established Bardolino as the headquarters of the combined agricultural business. The first vintage bearing the new family name was 1914.

The productive centre occupied a group of historic buildings adjoining Palazzo Guerrieri in central Bardolino. Parts of this borgo date to the fourteenth century; from the seventeenth century, buildings within it served as cellars for the Counts Guerrieri. The complex subsequently incorporated barrel rooms, fermentation spaces, workshops, shops, lemon houses and administrative buildings.

Antonio Rizzardi and specialization in vines

After the Second World War, engineer Count Antonio Rizzardi (1914–1983), son of Carlo Rizzardi and Giuseppina Guerrieri, progressively transformed the family farms from polyculture toward specialized viticulture. In 1969 he helped found the Bardolino wine consortium and then served as its president for 15 years. He also initiated the family’s investment in tourism and hospitality.

Maria Cristina Loredan Rizzardi

Following Antonio’s death in 1983, Contessa Maria Cristina Loredan Rizzardi assumed responsibility for the business. She expanded the vineyards, developed new wines and sought international markets. From 1985 she applied the concept of a cru as a quality expression tied to a clearly delimited vineyard. Her work also extended to the family’s olive-growing activities: she became president of the Consorzio Tutela Olio del Garda in 1984 and contributed to the recognition of Garda extra-virgin olive oil as a DOP. In 2010 she became the first woman from the region to receive the Cavaliere del Lavoro distinction.

The next generation and the Campazzi winery

Giuseppe, Orsola, Olimpia and Agostino Rizzardi entered the family business from the late 1990s. New vineyards were planted, varieties were matched more deliberately to soil characteristics, and training systems were refined. Estate production and bottling remained central, preserving control from vineyard to finished bottle.

In 2011, production moved from the old cellars in central Bardolino to a new winery and headquarters at Campazzi, just outside the town. The single-level facility stands among vineyards and olive groves and was designed to improve production efficiency while reducing environmental impact. Its vinification and ageing spaces use renewable energy, gravity movement of must and other energy-saving systems. The historic town-centre cellars were subsequently restored as Borgo Bardolino and Rambaldi Apartments.

Sustainability and current leadership

A 4 ha organically certified vineyard on the hillside of Rocca del Garda was acquired in 2016. The organization began implementing its Equalitas management system in November 2023, issued its first Equalitas sustainability report in 2024 and obtained Certificate of Conformity No. 84222/20241107.

Agostino and Giuseppe Rizzardi now lead the wider family business as its thirteenth Rizzardi generation. Bardolino remains its headquarters and principal production site, while Tenuta di Bardolino encompasses vineyards in Bardolino and Cavaion Veronese.

Viticulture is organized parcel by parcel. Each vineyard has its own supervision programme, and grape maturity is monitored to determine harvest timing. Soil analyses are normally repeated about every four years and always before a new vineyard is planted; the results also guide pre-plant fertilization.

Pruning is deliberately meticulous. Most vines are restricted to one cane under a simple Guyot system, limiting the number of bunches. Subsequent work is adapted to the requirements of each parcel so that the desired crop level can be achieved and yield per hectare controlled. Separate teams combining younger and experienced personnel work in the family’s production areas, while family members participate personally in vineyard and cellar work during harvest.

Herbicides have been eliminated in the Bardolino DOC vineyards. An autonomous Vitibot equipped for under-vine cleaning is used to manage the rows mechanically. All vineyards maintain spontaneous ground cover, sometimes supplemented with sown melliferous species. Peas, vetch and clovers are also seeded between rows and mown in summer to function as natural fertilizer. Ground cover is intended to prevent surface erosion, improve soil-bearing capacity, reduce compaction, strengthen physical and microbiological fertility, support biodiversity and provide habitat for pollinating insects.

Shrubs and trees selected to attract beneficial insects have been planted along vineyard edges, helping natural predators control pests and reducing reliance on synthetic pest- and weed-control products. Mechanical weeding is used in selected vineyards. A 4 ha vineyard acquired at Rocca del Garda in 2016 carries organic certification.

Irrigation is reserved for emergency support. Water may be applied through self-rewinding sprinklers monitored by rain gauge, under-canopy micro-sprinklers or drip lines. Supplies come principally from reclamation consortia and licensed estate wells equipped with consumption meters. In a normal season, two or three interventions—especially during berry enlargement from mid-June to late July—are considered sufficient for balanced production.

Before machine harvesting, damaged or underripe bunches are removed by hand. Hand-picked fruit undergoes visual selection during harvest. The estate’s approach combines indigenous grapes central to the appellation with smaller proportions of authorized supplementary varieties selected for their suitability to particular soils.

The company holds Equalitas organization certification under Certificate of Conformity No. 84222/20241107. The management system covers vineyards, cellars, in-house bottling and administrative operations and is structured around environmental, social and economic sustainability.

The Campazzi winery is built into a hillside in the heart of the Bardolino Classico area. Grapes from any of the Bardolino vineyards can reach the crusher within approximately ten minutes, reducing transport time and helping preserve fruit freshness.

After reception and crushing, must moves by gravity from the receiving area to the fermentation tanks. Red-wine fermentation tanks are positioned outdoors so that solar warmth assists them in reaching fermentation temperature. Vinification protocols are tailored to individual grape varieties and reviewed annually. These written work plans define each processing stage, its execution and the corresponding records.

The single-level facility contains both vinification and ageing cellars. A 2,000 m² solar-panel installation was designed to make the winery energy self-sufficient and has produced more energy than the facility consumes. Production water is drawn from an estate well; potable water is used for equipment cleaning and sanitation under defined protocols governing frequency, detergent use and consumption.

Bottling is carried out on the estate’s own line, with bottling days scheduled according to operational and market requirements. Primary, secondary and tertiary packaging is reviewed for material choice and weight. Lightweight glass is used for almost all wines, while glass, cork, office paper, cardboard and plastic packaging from daily operations are separated for recycling.

The production objective is estate-grown and estate-bottled wine, retaining direct control over the chain from vineyard to bottle. The intended stylistic qualities are finesse, elegance and balance.

Land, history and family tradition form the basis of the estate’s production philosophy, while technical innovation is accepted where it improves quality or reduces environmental impact. The vineyards and cellar remain under family ownership and management, with family members participating directly during harvest and long-serving employees contributing continuity.

The guiding production model is estate-grown and estate-bottled wine. Control of vineyard yields, parcel-specific cultivation, rapid transfer of fruit to the cellar and annually reviewed vinification protocols are intended to preserve identity and deliver finesse, elegance and balance.

Variety selection is based on the relationship between grape and soil rather than tradition alone. Regional grapes remain central, but authorized international or supplementary varieties may be planted where their contribution and site suitability justify them. Barbera and Sangiovese were already present by the beginning of the twentieth century; Chardonnay, Merlot and Ancellotta were introduced during the 1990s to add complexity and intensity.

Sustainability is understood in environmental, social and economic terms. Its practical expression includes renewable energy, gravity handling, reduced inputs, mechanical under-vine management, biodiversity plantings, ground cover, measured emergency irrigation, lighter packaging, recycling, local supplier relationships and formal Equalitas management. The family presents hospitality as another part of this philosophy: wines are experienced in the places where they originate, alongside the estate’s landscape and history.