Casello Bondoni — Attraction in Desenzano del Garda

By far the best wine tasting we ever had! We visited Casello Bondoni on Saturday before Easter this year. At the time we got there it was late afternoon and we had already visited several vineyards over the last few days. We wanted to make one last stop and kind of stumbled over this beautiful, authentic and inviting estate.

And it was the best choice we could have possibly made! We were greeted like close friends with the warmest welcome by winemaker Silvia, who owns and runs the property together with her husband and she invited us to join a little wine tasting party that was already ongoing. We were offered little snacks and unbelievably delicious cheese, and all the wines we tried were exceptionally good. They even make a sweet wine that is one of the best we ever came accross so far.

Silvia not only took her time to sit down and toast with us, but she also showed us the beautiful and cosy room located in the small tower that belongs to the property. She truly is one of the most warm-hearted, most charming and liveliest person we´ve ever come accross and the wines they make are really something special, and on top the wine is sold at absolutely reasonable prices.

Casello Bondoni offers the full package for a perfect wine tasting experience. When we left, we had bought 18 bottles of wine and had made new friends.

We can recommend this vinery 200 %, an absolute must-visit when you are in the...

This is an amazing experience, a must-do for any wine lovers visiting South Lake Garda. Email the owners in advance to schedule your visit.

Rather than dividing the experience evenly between the tour and tasting, Silvia gave us many tastings punctuated by more technical experiences, such as visiting the vat room or viewing the original estate from the vantage point of the house’s tower. This gave the whole experience more of an organic feel, like hanging out with an old friend.

The wines themselves were very good. The red is exceptional, particularly for a region focused on Lugana whites. The Luganas, naturally, are the star performers in this show. The pours were extremely generous; I suggest using a taxi service here. We had to call a halt to the proceedings prior to the two grappas which are meant to be the grand finale!

The tasting room is actually a family dining room, with a baby grand piano, which guests are invited to play. Silvia provided a huge spread of hors d’ovres such as breads, cheeses, and meats, in order to display the food-pairing utility of the wines.

There’s also a bed-and-breakfast experience, currently under construction. We’ll give a review of this next time, once it is ready for guests.

Again, I strongly recommend this tasting experience. You will come away educated and experienced regarding the Lugana region and style. Cheers, Silvia, should you be...

This has been the highlight of our trip so far. We arrived with the hopes of doing a tasting and maybe buying a few bottles. We were greeted by one of the owners even though she was busy helping a regular customer. Her nephew, Nicola, arrived and took over. He led the tasting, covering all the important details about the grapes, etc., which was interesting. He also started going into the history of the property and family. He even showed us a secret tip for using Grappa. After we took care of our rather large purchase, he took us on a short tour or the production area. Very interesting and the basement area with the wooden kegs was really nice. He also took us up to the top so we could have a view of the entire vineyard. If it had been a clearer day we would've been able to see Lake Garda. Oh, I almost forgot about the wines. The grape varieties were new to me. I have had a Lugana before but I now have a whole new appreciation for it. My favorites of the 7 wines were the Zinafranca (Lugana aged in Oak barrels) and the Trepio (the only red they make). The rest were also very good. Both of the Grappas were very smooth. Thanks so much to Nicola for the 2 hours he spent with us. We really enjoyed our time there. Hopefully the B&B will be finished soon so we can stay there some time...