The Wine and Food Road of Garda

Garda’s Wine and Food Road is a 200 km route that runs through the hinterland of the Lombard shore of Lake Garda, connecting Limone with Peschiera, extending into the DOC production areas of Garda Classico, Lugana and San Martino della Battaglia.

While travelling down the route, there are several places to visit that either overlook the lake or are set in a verdant landscape of wood-cloaked hills and mountains. Vittoriale degli Italiani, the museum-house of Gabriele d’Annunzio, at Gardone Riviera, is no-to-be-missed. Other obligatory visits are the splendid towns of Salò, Manerba with the Rocca di Manerba and its Archaeology and Nature Park, Lonato with the Rocca di Lonato and the Casa del Podestà that belongs to the Fondazione Ugo Da Como.

From Lonato the route continues along the hilltops on the southern boundary of the Valtenesi and, after passing through Calvagese, travellers reach Polpenazze, the wine production hub of the southwest shore of Lake Garda. Many beautiful sites can be taken in along this route: the 9th-century Church of S. Pietro in Lucone at Polpenazze of Romanesque origin, the Castle of Soiano (9th century), and the remains of a pile-dwelling village in the area of the Sovenigo lakes. Also famous and worth seeing is San Martino della Battaglia with its Torre Sacrario, inaugurated in 1893 to commemorate the victory of the Piedmontese and the French over the Austrians in 1859.

Gourmet tourism blends in remarkably well with the natural and artistic heritage that is fostered and enhanced by Lake Garda and, thanks to its mild and windy climate, it’s also an ideal place for water sports.

Some of the area’s most typical products that visitors will have the chance to taste along the route are cheeses (Grana Padano DOP, Formaggella Tremosine, Formaggella della Valtenesi), cured meats (Soppressata bresciana, De.Co (Communal Denomination) -certified cured meat, oils (Extravergine di Oliva Garda DO), freshwater fish, black olives, honey and truffles.

Some suggestions for lunch include: shad fry, grilled eel or chub soup and to accompany meals there are several regional wines to choose from: Garda Classico DOC Bianco/Rosso and Rosso Superiore/Chiaretto/Groppello and Groppello Riserva, Garda Bresciano DOC Novello; San Martino della Battaglia DOC and San Martino della Battaglia DOC Liquoroso; Lugana DOC/Lugana DOC Superiore/Lugana DOC Spumante.

To get there by car: A4 Milan-Venice motorway; exits: Desenzano, Sirmione, Peschiera. By train: FS Milan-Venice, stations: Lonato, Desenzano, Peschiera. By plane: Milan-Orio al Serio, Brescia- Montichiari, Verona-Villafranca airports.