Why it matters
The producer
Ca' dei Frati farms the southern shore of Lake Garda and makes its wines from a single native grape. The Dal Cero family has owned this address on Via Frati in Lugana di Sirmione since Felice Dal Cero planted vines here in 1939, and the operation is now in its third generation, run by Pietro's widow Santa Rosa alongside their children Igino, Gian Franco, and Anna Maria.
The grape is Turbiana, known locally as Trebbiano di Lugana, a thick-skinned white variety that carries almond and citrus aromatics alongside mineral freshness. The estate builds its entire range around it, producing two principal Lugana DOC whites that differ not in grape or place but in cellar method.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Lugana is a DOC appellation concentrated on the southern tip of Lake Garda, spanning parts of Brescia and Verona provinces. The lake sits at an elevation that generates reliable breezes across the vineyards, moderating summer heat and slowing ripening enough to hold acidity into harvest. The soils are predominantly clay, dense enough to retain moisture during dry stretches and to give Turbiana a firmer mid-palate than lighter, sandier ground would allow.
The Lugana label on a bottle indicates Turbiana grown in this specific climate corridor. It is a white-wine-only DOC; the geography, soil, and lake microclimate are what the appellation name stands for, and the wines carry that address clearly in their mineral character and fresh acidity.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
All parcels are vinified separately, preserving the character of individual plots rather than blending across sites before fermentation. The two main Lugana cuvées then follow distinct cellar paths from that point forward.
I Frati moves entirely through stainless steel: fermentation in tank, then six months of lees ageing in steel, then two months in bottle before release. The lees contact adds breadth without adding oak character, and the result keeps Turbiana's almond and citrus aromatics intact alongside clean acidity.
Wines to know
The range in view
The Ca' dei Frati range is built around two Lugana DOC whites from Turbiana, positioned at different points on the spectrum from mineral freshness to oak-influenced richness.
I Frati Lugana DOC is the entry-level and volume bottling. Fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel, with six months on lees before two months in bottle, it delivers Turbiana in its most direct form: pale straw in colour, with almond and citrus on the nose, bright acidity on the palate, and a clean mineral finish. It is the appellation in its lightest, most immediate expression.