New types, such as Low Alcohol and Cremant, new grape varieties, such as Müller Thurgau and Rebo, and production updates for the Garda Doc appellation, a Doc in evolution.
Amendments to the production regulations for Garda Doc wines approved. The ministerial decree of Sept. 24, 2025, published in the Official Gazette of the Italian Republic – General Series No. 234 of Oct. 8, 2025, introduces important novelties . Novelties designed to strengthen the competitiveness and relevance of the denomination, balanced between productive evolution and respect for the tradition of a territory with a millennial wine vocation.
The updated specification introduces new types and major technical revisions. Garda Müller Thurgau, in the wine, sparkling and spumante versions, and Garda Rebo, in the still wine category, join the appellation.
Garganega and Chardonnay grape variety specifications are also added for the sparkling and semi-sparkling types. Garganega is the main indigenous white grape variety of Doc Garda used in the production of numerous white wines, including sparkling, and in bivarietals such as Garganega-Chardonnay and Garganega-Pinot Grigio. In recent years it has been the focus of intense agronomic experimentation and – starting with the 2025 vintage – will also be able to be marketed in the low-alcohol version, with an alcoholic strength of 9% vol. Thus the first Italian DOC dedicated to a still wine with low alcohol content is born, marking an important innovative step in the national wine scene.
Also significant is the introduction, for the sparkling wine category, of the term Cremant, which brings Garda production closer to international quality standards and the most prestigious European traditions.
A growing focus on local grapes
For the sparkling and sparkling rosé versions, the Corvina specification also debuts, further enriching the profile of the appellation by enhancing an indigenous variety among the most representative of the Garda area. A recognition that confirms the Consortium’s growing attention to the grapes of the territory and its desire to offer wines capable of expressing authenticity, identity and connection with the origin.
Also among the novelties is the introduction of Pinot Grigio Ramato Rosato, which enhances one of the symbolic grape varieties of northern Italy, proposing a contemporary interpretation consistent with the current sensibility towards fresh, elegant wines with a strong identity.
“This revision of the specification,” comments Paolo Fiorini, president of the Garda Doc Consortium.represents a strategic step for our appellation and its member producers. It is the result of a constructive confrontation with the Ministry and with the operators in the sector, with the aim of responding in a concrete way to the new needs of the market and consumers, today increasingly attentive to wines that are identity-driven, versatile and contemporary. It is a step forward that reinforces the identity of Garda Doc and expands its production and commercial potential, keeping quality and the link with the territory as a common thread.”
The president also emphasizes the role of the Consortium in promoting and protecting a denomination that stretches between Lombardy and Veneto, in a hilly area of extraordinary beauty, protected by mountains and overlooking Lake Garda. “Between the provinces of Brescia, Mantua and Verona ,” Fiorini continues, ” grapes are grown that have told the story and identity of this area for centuries. Today the Consortium represents 250 producers, working with a spirit of collaboration that allows Garda Doc wines to best express the richness and variety of the Garda lands.”
Extended production area
The changes also include theextension of the production area to part of the municipality of Castenedolo, in the province of Brescia, and the possibility of using all containers required by European regulations for the packaging of Garda Doc wines.
“Our mission,” Fiorini concludes, ” is clear: to give voice to a unique territory that has been able to combine viticultural tradition with a modern, international vision. Updating the specification is a fundamental part of this journey, because it allows us to further enhance the peculiarities of the native and international varieties that coexist in this area, offering consumers a range of taste experiences that is consistent, recognizable and deeply linked to Lake Garda.”
All the changes will be implementable as early as the current vintage, covering the 2025/2026 wine year, marking a new chapter in the appellation’s growth path.
With these changes, the Garda Doc Consortium renews its commitment to promoting quality, sustainability and territorial identity, telling the story of an area that looks to the future without losing its connection to its roots.
