La Basia

La Basia was founded by the late Elena Parona, an agronomist who transformed the humble country estate into a vibrant farm producing olive oil, honey, corn for polenta, flour, and many other artisanal products in addition to wines made from indigenous grapes. Elena’s son Giacomo, who now runs the winemaking operation, is equally passionate about preserving local traditions and continues to bottle hand-crafted wines from the western shores of Lake Garda. This hilly area of Lombardia benefits from both the warming effect of the nearby lake as well as cooling winds from the mountains to the north.

The indigenous Groppello grape takes center stage in “La Botte Piena,” a light-bodied red that falls into the Valtènesi DOC. Another local red variety, Marzemino, makes up the “Le Morene” bottling—a fuller-bodied effort with bountiful berry and spice notes that retains the easy-drinking spirit common to all of La Basia’s wines. These straightforward, pleasure-filled wines are a testament to the potential of this unheralded region as well as to Giacomo’s passion for the family farm.

Technical Information

Wine	Blend	Vine Age	Soil Type	Vineyard Area*
Valtènesi “La Botte Piena”	Varies: Groppello, Sangiovese, Marzemino, Barbera	15 – 50 years	Moraine, with sandy clay	3 ha
Garda Marzemino “Le Morene”	Marzemino	Planted in 2001	Moraine, with sandy clay	1.5 ha
* "ha" = hectares; one hectare equals roughly two and a half acres

VITICULTURE / VINIFICATION

• La Basia comes from a local Lombardian dialect and means “large bowl.” The locals called the estate La Basia because of the round shape of the field in the center of the property.

Valtènesi “La Botte Piena”
• Red wine
• Valtènesi is the DOC
• Vines located on the slopes above Lake Garda at approximately 900 feet
• Grapes are harvested based on the ripeness of different sections of the vineyard, not by grape variety as the vines are mixed in the vineyard. This creates a field blend for the wine.
• Groppello is the native grape variety of this area and makes up the majority of Valtènesi blends
• Hand-harvested in mid-September to early October
• De-stemmed
• Fermented and aged in concrete tanks
• La Botte Piena (literally translated as “the full barrel”) is part of a local proverb—Vuole la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca!—meaning “You can’t have your cake and eat it too.”
• 2015 Blend: 60% Groppello, 18% Barbera, 13% Marzemino, 9% Sangiovese
• 2014 Blend: 55% Groppello, 15% Barbera, 15% Sangiovese, 15% Rebo
• 2013 Blend: 80% Groppello, 10% Barbera, 5% Sangiovese, 5% Marzemino

Garda Marzemino “Le Morene”
• Red wine
• Garda is the DOC but this wine will be marketed as Marzemino
• Vines located on the slopes above Lake Garda at approximately 900 feet
• Marzemino is a native grape to northern Italy and can be found in Lombardia, Trentino, and Veneto
• Hand-harvested in mid-September to early October
• Fermented in concrete tanks
• Aged in a combination of steel and concrete tanks
• Le Morene means “moraines”—the type of glacial soil that is typical of the area and highlights the mineral characteristics of the wine