Ca’ Lojera

Although their address is Sirmione, in the region of Lombardia (a stunning, medieval castle greets the many tourists to this long, narrow peninsula at the south shore of Lago di Garda), Ambra and Franco Tiraboschi and their Azienda “Ca’ Lojera” are physically closer to Peschiera del Garda, another town on the south end of the lake, further east and possibly even more charming than Sirmione. The bellissima Ambra herself, upon being asked about her own very graceful, natural beauty, replied without missing a beat, “why it’s because I live in such a beautiful place!”

The appellation Lugana stretches along the south shore of Garda and there are over 100 producers (the appellation is around 800 Ha in total), but few achieve the kind of taut, aromatic, intense quality of Ca’ Lojera’s wines. Ambra and Franco farm 18 Hectares and produce about 120K bottles per annum, most of which is their regular, current bottling. Their philosophy is to use only the native Turbiana grape, which is closely akin to Verdicchio of the Marche. In Turbiana, we find another grape with the potential not only of real nobility and fineness, but of cellar-ability, another example is our Brunori Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Riserva – where wines regularly improve in the bottle over 10 years or more.

The estate features a 14th Century palazzo, the summer home of Veronese bishops. Ca’ Lojera comes from dialect for “house of the wolves”, a reference to the legend that Lake Garda’s pirates were protected by wolves and even made the ancient house their “lair”.