Mother of Pearl - Lugana Riserva 2022

Perla Madre from Perla del Garda – Lugana Riserva DOP

The Perla del Garda Perla Madre is a Lugana Riserva DOP 2022. For the Riserva quality level, the organic grapes are harvested late. The wine must be aged for at least 24 months, 6 of which are in the bottle. Thus, it is designed not for freshness, but for elegance, structure, and longevity.

Its straw-yellow color with golden hues shines from the glass. On the nose, one can perceive a hint of fresh fruit, such as apple and white peach, hazelnut and meadow herbs come through, but complex flint notes and eucalyptus can also be detected. On the palate, the Lugana Riserva Perla Madre shows the full splendor of the Turbiana grape and the distinctive minerality of its calcareous soils. It is powerful and round, broad and multi-layered, making it a wonderful accompaniment to even spicy dishes and 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 hectares) on calcareous soils of morainic origin. At an altitude of 150-250 m above sea level in the Casalin location, this organic Lugana Riserva DOP from the Perla del Garda estate is produced. Using the Guyot training system, 5,000 vines per hectare are planted close together, because the Turbiana grape variety has enormous vigor and quickly produces quantity over quality if one does not know how to restrain it. Winemaker Giovanna Prandini keeps them in check; planted densely, they have to compete for water and nutrients, and consistent yield reduction on the vine is also practiced. Harvesting takes place somewhat later than for the classic Lugana, around mid-September.

Harvested by hand in small crates, they are manually selected again at the winery, which is situated amidst the vineyards, before being placed in a cold storage room to protect them from oxidative stress and preserve the fruit. After gentle whole-cluster pressing, the 8-10 day fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks at approx. 15 degrees. The Lugana Riserva DOP is aged for 18 months on the lees in stainless steel tanks and for at least 6 months in the bottle before it goes on sale. The result is a top-class Lugana.

Lugana Riserva DOP – White wine from Lake Garda

Since 1967, Lugana wine has held the DOP or DOC (Denominazione di origine controllata) designation as a controlled designation of origin. Across the approximately 700 hectares of vineyard area covered by the DOC region on the southern shore of Lake Garda, the grapes also known as Verdicchio Bianco are grown: Turbiana and Trebbiano di Lugana. They produce a straw-yellow to greenish white wine that owes its freshness to the microclimate shaped by the large lake, with its mild temperatures and fresh breezes.

Madre Perla – an organic wine and its values

• 13% vol. alcohol
• 5.1g/l acidity
• 0.8g/l residual sugar

Organic inspection body IT BIO 012 – Italian Agriculture