Chiaretto
⏳ Drinking Window
2021 - 2023
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Fresh Caprese salad with buffalo mozzarella, grilled lake trout with herbs, and light seafood risotto.
✨ Technical Specifications
Crafted by the historic Tommasi family, pioneers in the Veneto region since 1902, this Chiaretto is a vibrant celebration of the shores of Lake Garda. The wine is born from the morainic hills of the Bardolino DOC, where glacial soils and a mild sub-Mediterranean microclimate shape the native Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara grapes. The term 'Chiaretto' derives from 'chiaro' (pale), paying homage to a traditional style popularized in the late 19th century by Senator Pompeo Molmenti, who brought refined rosé winemaking techniques to the region. Tommasi utilizes a brief maceration on the skins to coax out a delicate, blossom-pink hue and bright red-berry aromas, followed by cool fermentation in stainless steel to preserve its pristine, mineral-driven freshness.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1902 by Giacomo Tommasi in the hillside hamlet of Pedemonte di Valpolicella, Tommasi has evolved across four generations into one of the most prominent family-owned wine estates in northeastern Italy. While anchored in the classic calcareous-limestone hills of Valpolicella Classica, the estate has expanded its viticultural footprint across prominent northeastern denominations, including the mineral-rich, glacial clay terraces of Lugana on the southern shores of Lake Garda, as well as classic terroirs across Delle Venezie. Led winemaking-wise by Giancarlo Tommasi, the house operates under strict sustainability protocols certified via Equalitas. Vinification balances regional heritage with precision oenology, championing extended wood aging in large Slavonian oak casks for its iconic Amarone della Valpolicella and the ultra-prestige single-vineyard De Buris Riserva, while delivering vibrancy and saline minerality through stainless-steel vinifications in white expressions such as Le Fornaci Lugana and Le Volpare Soave Classico.