The Superiore is a stronger aged wine, and was promoted to Denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG) status in 2001.

Beyond the classico zone to the south are flat, fertile plains where Bardolino wine is produced from high grape yields.

This is partly because Bardolino generally contains less Corvina which adds body and structure and more Rondinella which has a relatively neutral flavor profile.

Yields in Bardolino also tend to be higher than the 13 tonnes per hectare officially prescribed in DOC regulations.

The Bardolino novello was first produced in the late 1980s in a style that mimics the French wine Beaujolais nouveau.