Villa Dolce Gelato & Sorbet

Ice Cream.  Gelato.  Froyo.  Some of my favorite things.  I have *some* form of frozen dairy delight 99.99% of the days of my life.  No I'm not exaggerating.  Sometimes it is just the pairing with my fruit crisp, cobbler, pie, or crumble ... and other times, it is the feature.  Let's just say, I have eaten a lot of brands.

Villa Dolce is not one that you can generally pick up in stores, primarily a wholesale distributor, which is how I discovered them, working with my catering team to order 5L pans.  Gotta always have it in stock ...

"Villa Dolce is proud to be an Italian family owned company that produces artisan gelato and sorbetto for clients across the country."

They make Italian style products, both gelato and sorbet.  Established in the LA area in 2001 by some brothers from Italy who wanted to bring their favorite thing to the US, they established their base making gelato for hotels and restaurants.  They make a decent variety of flavors, mostly large form factor, along with a few grab-n-go sizes.

I've tried several.  All are "fine", good enough, although obviously not fresh gelato, and gelato ... well, it needs to be gelato.  And sorbet?  Never my thing.  That said, it is decent quality.  And nice to have on hand for "emergencies".

Gelato

"Villa Dolce Gelato is described as “heaven on earth” – true perfection in a cup or cone. Villa Dolce Gelato brings the delicious flavors of Italian Gelato to the U.S. offering elegant and sophisticated flavors which are 100% handcrafted with 100% natural ingredients. At Villa Dolce, we only use Fresh Fruit – never syrups, artificial flavorings, or fruit preserves. Our authentic Italian recipes feature Pure Cane Sugar, no high fructose corn syrup, and Fresh Pasteurized Cream free of growth hormones. "

Villa Dolce makes about 25-30 flavors, including some that sound fairly amazing (bourbon vanilla apple crisp, cookie butter, and swoon, ube!), but we had mostly basics.

Argentine Sea Salt Caramel.

"Buttery, sweet caramel gelato made with imported Argentine Dulce de Leche becomes even more irresistible with an infusion of French sea salt and chocolate dipped salted caramel truffles. A perfectly balanced sweet and savory delight!"

This was ok gelato.  The base product was smooth, creamy, clearly a decent quality product.

That said, I didn't taste much salt (ok, I didn't taste any), and the caramel flavor was very light.  Strong preference to Three Twins Sea Salted Caramel flavor (review soon!)

Roasted Banana Dulce De Leche.

"Bananas roasted in brandy and brown sugar are combined with delectable swirls of Argentine Dulce to create this richly complex dessert."

Great texture. Creamy.  Loved the dulce de leche swirl.

But.  Banana is soooo not my flavor of choice.  For anything, really.

Pure Sicilian Pistachio.

"The taste of Italian tradition! The secret to this Villa Dolce signature is our proprietary blend of 100% pure pistachio butter imported from Italy.  An extraordinary flavor inspired by the tradition and romance of gelato crafting."

This was a decent gelato.

Smooth, creamy.  I prefer pistachio gelato with chunks of pistachio inside, and more intense flavor, but, overall this was good, and did have a unique taste.

Caribbean Coconut.

"A tropical treat featuring sweet, fresh coconut shavings blended with creamy Madagascar vanilla."

The coconut too was decent gelato.  I'm a broken record, I know.

Creamy, great coconut flavor, a bit of texture from coconut.  I found it a bit too sweet, but overall still quite good.

Piemonte Hazelnut Chocolate Crunch.

"Our artisan blend of Belgian chocolate and Piemonte hazelnut gelato is enhanced by a delicious infusion of crunchy Valrhona Caramelia pearls and a chocolate hazelnut ribbon. This delicate balance of bold flavors creates a seductive Italian treat."

Well, this was better than "decent".  It was good.  Very good.

And I say this as one who isn't normally all that excited about everyone's favorite Nutella.

The gelato base was smooth and creamy, with a mild milk chocolate flavor, that had a backdrop of hazelnut to it.  The real reason this was great though was that, in addition to the chocolate drizzle you see on top, there were ribbons of chocolate throughout.  It was fabulous.  The little chocolate hazelnut crispy pearls on top sealed the deal.

Definitely the best Vila Dolce flavor I have tried.

Sorbetto

"For those that avoid milk or want a similar indulgence in a lower calorie format, Villa Dolce makes Sorbetto crafted from fresh fruit juice and pulp and made primarily with water, so it’s non-dairy and fat-free. Villa Dolce Sorbetto is tangy and refreshing and the fruit flavors burst in your mouth. With each taste, you can shut your eyes and just savor the intense flavors and aromas of the ripest mango, strawberry, lemon, raspberry, or passion fruit. "

Villa Dolce makes about 8 sorbettos, for those who want a lighter, more refreshing option.  Which, uh, is never me?  I have still tried a few.

Rosanna Raspberry.

"Hand picked ripe raspberries mixed with sweet cane sugar create an intense flavor that is pleasantly tart and sweet."

This was fruity sorbet.  I guess all berry sorbet is, but, well, it was very, uh, fruit forward?

Very sweet.  Very fruity, with visible raspberry seeds, and lots of raspberry goo (as if the sorbet had somewhat defrosted and refrozen, which, is entirely possible of course).  Icy in the way that sorbet is.

Pretty standard sorbet to me, no better nor worse than others, and just not my thing.

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Alfonso Mango

"Harvested in the remote Ratnagiri district on the west coast of India, Alphonso is considered the best mango in the world because of its superb flavor and smooth texture. Like biting into a ripe mango, this exotic flavor is sublimely rich and silky."

The mango was a bit better.  Less intense sweetness, I think because mango is just less sweet than raspberry.

But still, just simple fruit sorbet, not something I ever gravitate towards.