Lugana

Geography:

The denomination is located south of Lake Garda, along the magnificent riviera. During the Riss ice age, which lasted from 300 to 130 thousand years ago, the glacier covered the lake and formed an amphitheatre stretching about 10 km south. When retracting north into the Alps, the ice left a trace of morainic soils rich in clay, sand, pebble and minerals.

The western (and largest) part of Lugana is in the Lombardia region. The eastern part, which surrounds the small lake Laghetto del Frassino, belongs to Veneto.

What kind of wine is Lugana:

Lugana produces elegant white wines dominated by notes of white flowers, sweet tropical fruit, stone fruit, spices and nuts. The main grape in Lugana DOC is Turbiana. The disciplinare of Lugana requires that the wine is made from at least 90% Turbiana grape, but in practice most producers use 100% Turbiana. Continued after the jump…

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Styles of Lugana wines

Turbiana is a versatile grape. It has high acidity, and responds well to fermentation and ageing in oak barrels. As such, Lugana wines can be produced in a range of styles:

“Lugana” is young, unoaked wine with fresh aromas of white flowers, honey, guava and peach. To create more complex flavour and texture, some winemakers stir the lees across several months.

“Lugana Superiore” is aged for at least 12 months. Winemakers can age their wines either in stainless steel tanks, concrete vats or oak barrels, ultimately producing wines with different flavours.

“Lugana Riserva” is the most complex style. This wine has flavours of toast, baked apples, apricot stone, honey and almond. Produced from the best grapes, it must be aged for at least 18 months in either inert vessels or in oak barrels, and spend at least 6 months in bottle before release.

Disciplinare also permits vendemmia tardiva (late harvest) and spumante (sparkling) versions of Lugana, but those are quite rare.

Interesting facts

Turbiana is also known as Trebbiano di Soave or Trebbiano di Lugana. DNA tests confirm that this is the same grape as Verdicchio, used around the town of Jesi in Marche to make some of Italy’s most noble white wines. But due to the very different soils and climates, Verdicchio and Turbiana produce very different wines.

It should be noted that, despite the similar name, Trebbiano di Soave is not connected with Trebbiano Toscano, which produces wines with a more subtle character.

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