The Trentino-Alto Adige region is composed of two distinct geographical and administrative entities: the bilingual Alto Adige/Süd Tirol of the province of Bolzano/Bozen to the north and the Trentino, which takes its name from the provincial capital of Trento, to the south.

Of the two, Alto Adige has undoubtedly gained the most visibility in recent years.

Trentino on the other hand, is known for its classy Trento DOC sparkling metodo classico, but to a large extent the still wines of the province have remained under the radar.

Camera obscura

One reason for this might be that Trentino presents itself to the outside world as a wine region with a certain lack of chiaroscuro.

Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay together account for more than half of the province’s 10,232 ha of vineyards.

Cooperatives make 85% of the wine, 75% of the production is covered by the catch-all Trentino DOC and a significant percentage of the rest is bottled under the even more generic Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT. (Trento Chamber of Commerce, 2022)

The statistics, however, do not tell the whole story.

Within the global DOC there is a mosaic of terroirs and site-specific wines, beside the commercial varieties there are native grapes of great interest and outside the cooperative movement, there is a dynamic artisan winemaking scene.

When you step off the beaten track, there is a whole world to be discovered.

The province of Trento stretches along the central valley of the Adige for roughly 75km, from the border with Alto Adige near Salurno/Salurn, to Veneto in the south, at the village of Borghetto.

To the west it takes in the valley of the Sarca which leads to the northern shore of Lake Garda, and to the east rises to the high peaks of the Dolomites.

Nuts for Nosiola

The first important growing area, moving south from the border with Alto Adige, lies on the left of the Adige, between Salurno and Trento and includes the villages of Faedo, Pressano, Lavis and Sorni.

This is the habitat of one of the Trentino’s most intriguing native varieties, the white Nosiola.

Not much is known about its origins, but it has a historic presence and these days grows almost exclusively in Trentino.

Production is tiny – Nosiola accounts for less than one percent of the vineyard area of the province – but producers on these sunny, gently rolling, glacial-alluvial hills grow it with conviction, making light, dry, tangy wines with subtle hazelnut aromas.

It is the most traditional of Trentino whites, but the style is very contemporary.

Mountainous Müller-Thurgau

Striking east from the Adige, takes you into the much more extreme growing environment of the Val di Cembra.

Dizzyingly terraced slopes supported by over 700 km of dry stone walls creep up to 900 metres in the narrow closed valley where the grainy porphyric soils and the dramatic diurnal temperature excursions give the whites an authentic mountain wine feel.

Chardonnay and Riesling grow here, but the variety of the Val di Cembra is Müller-Thurgau.

On these terraces, the Riesling x Madeleine Royale crossing makes wines with a steely-dry intensity and subtle herbs and white blossom aromas that set them apart from the more familiar soft and scented profile of the variety.

It is a very different wine to the Nosiola of the Adige valley, but as in the case of the former, it is the variety which best shows off the terroir.

Valle di Cembra Superiore is an official sub-zone of the DOC, and the label is worth looking for.

Mysterious Marzemino

If points north and east of Trento are white wine country, south of the town the warmer, lower slopes of the Vallagarina are dominated by red varieties.

Italy’s very first Bordeaux blend was bottled here in the early 1960s, laying the foundations for a production which is a benchmark for the style.

Cabernet and Merlot, however are relative newcomers compared to Marzemino, which has been documented in the northeast since the 15th century.

Various theories of its provenance have been advanced, including migration from the Middle East across the Mediterranean to Dalmatia and thence to Venice.

But research that demonstrates genetic links with the Trentino’s own native Teroldego (quoted in D’Agata, Native Wine Grapes of Italy) suggests origins much closer to its current home.

Marzemino is a medium-bodied, ruby-violet coloured wine with wild berry-and-violets aromas and a dry finish with firm acidity.

Two specific sites are associated with the variety. The first is on the right of the valley at Isera, where soils of volcanic origin give the wines a light minerally quality

And the other on the left, on the calcareous and basalt soils of the Ziresi sub-zone, where the wines tend to have slightly firmer structure.

Both sites have Superiore status in the DOC.

From holy valley

The Valle del Sarca with its picture postcard lakes, runs roughly parallel to Adige, separated from it by a long mountain range with peaks up to 2,000 metres.

The valley is the elected second home of Nosiola, but here, around the communes of Calavino, Lasino, Padergnone and Cavedine, it makes not a dry white, but Trentino Vino Santo, one of Italy’s rarest and most extraordinary sweet wines.

Nosiola for Vino Santo is picked mid-to-late September, the bunches laid to dry on straw mats in open lofts for a period of not less than six months and pressed around Easter time, a tradition recalled in the name of the wine.

The natural environment of the valley is the determining factor in the unique character of the wine.

It is a story of contrasting forces. On one hand the humidity of the lakes encourages the development of botrytis.

On the other, the daily blast of wind from Lake Garda that rattles the shutters from midday to sunset throughout the spring creates the conditions for a period of drying far longer than for any other Italian passito.

So concentrated are the grapes at the end of this period, that it can take two to three days to squeeze the juice from them in hand-operated basket presses.

Yields are miserly. From 100kg of grapes a producer will typically obtain 15 litres of must, which ferments and matures in small barrels for 8-10 years.

Vino Santo is a wine of exceptional complexity on the nose and intense flavours on the palate, sweet but never cloying (fermentation blocks spontaneously at around 150-170 g/l of residual sugar) with a finesse which is rare among wines of the style.

Average production is around 25,000 half-bottles a year.

Terrific Teroldego

The one important wine which does not come under the Trentino DOC umbrella, but has a denomination all of its own is Teroldego Rotaliano.

The Campo Rotaliano is a wide alluvial plain with shallow gravelly soils on the floor of the valley of the Adige, Teroldego is the grape.

It is presumed to be indigenous to Trentino, however research (D’Agata, Native Wine Grapes of Italy ) shows that it is a sibling of the French variety Dureza, which in turn is a parent of Syrah, and this raises an intriguing question about the geographical origins of the Trentino variety.

Wherever the variety came from, Teroldego is cited in local chronicles since at least the 17th century and has always been held in high esteem.

It is a vigorous variety, traditionally grown on high-trained pergolas to give vent to its productive energy.

The wines are medium-bodied, deeply coloured but only moderately tannic with good acidity and aromas of red fruit and violets and often a hint of bitter almonds.

It needs careful handling in oak, but when it is good, it is very good indeed.

Teroldego ranks among the most interesting native grape red wines of the northeast, however one has to wonder about the quality ambitions of a denomination which allows yields of 119hl/ha, the highest of any DOC red wine in Italy.

Entry level wines can be very simple. The twin villages of Mezzocorona and Mezzolombardo are the most important sites.

Savvy young producers

The producers I have listed at the foot of the sections above are (with the exception of two small cooperatives) small-to-medium scale independent estates, which grow and bottle their own wine.

The agricultural census of 2010 found that there were 168 such grower-producers in Trentino.

Official figures for 2022 show that the number has shrunk to 119, but interestingly, the percentage of the total production made by growers has remained stable at 6%.

It is a niche, but it is very much alive, driven by the independent spirit, energy and innovation of a generation of very savvy young producers.

Many of these are represented in the following notes on some of my favourite artisan wines from recent trips to Trentino.

This included a visit in March this year to the excellent Vinifera show dedicated to artisan winemakers from northern Italy’s mountain regions.

The wines of Trentino

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Tenuta San Leonardo occupies the site of a medieval monastery on the floor of the Trentino valley, the corridor which links Veneto with Alto Adige.

Known for its flagship red, which, unusually, includes Carmenere alongside Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, San Leonardo's estate has been home to the Guerrieri Gonzaga family for the last 300 years.

Surrounded by woodland and dotted with vineyards, the jewel in the crown of the estate is the impressive garden maintained by the family and attached to the 19th century Villa Gresti, which serves as the family home.

It was at the recent launch of the new 2021 vintage of San Leonardo in Palazzo Taverna in Rome, that the link between nature and wine, light and shade, became apparent.

As the evening unfolded beneath gilded chandeliers, Caravaggio-esque paintings and Flemish tapestries, leading Italian artist Chiara Camoni presented Spiritelli di Terra e Vegetazione (‘Sprites of Earth and Vegetation’) as part of the estate's ‘Arte a San Leonardo’ project (see boxout below).

Light and shade

Situated at the southern reaches of the mountainous Trentino region, San Leonardo is defined by its alpine energy.

Even in the scorching vintages of the past decade, it has retained a sleek, finesse-driven style.

In Rome, Anselmo Guerrieri Gonzaga commented: ‘2021 was an outstanding, eagerly anticipated vintage across Italy. At San Leonardo, it was a year of extraordinary light – and that matters, because we are in a narrow valley where the sunlight isn’t always direct.

‘Looking back over 40 years of records, we recognise that light – distinct from heat – is the foundation of great vintages.’

Already fairly expressive, this newly released 2021 vintage will please those drawn to fresher styles straight out of the gate, yet Anselmo maintains it has a long life ahead.

‘The 2021 is a marathon runner,’ he explains. ‘Perhaps it will last a little less than legendary vintages like 1988 but we expect it to drink well for forty years or more.’

The highly acclaimed 2019 is 2021’s most natural benchmark: similar in depth, though even tighter and aromatically more reserved, reflecting a slightly cooler season.

Only time will tell which of these two great vintages will ultimately prove superior, yet there is little reason to doubt that 2021 ranks among the most complete and cellar-worthy San Leonardo releases in recent years.

A taste of San Leonardo: The new 2021 vintage

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For Austrians and Germans, and a great number of the people who live there, it is the ‘Südtirol’ – the southern province of the Tyrol.

For Italians, it is the ‘Alto Adige’, the Upper Valley of the river Adige.

This bilingual province on the border with Austria is a meeting place of cultures created by the twists and turns of history.

What is now the Trentino-Alto Adige region spent more of the last 200 years of its history under Austrian rule than Italian, and it was only after the defeat of the Austrio-Hungarian Empire in WWI that it was incorporated into Italy.

Not least of the influences of its cultural heritage regard the wine production of this fascinating border area.

Grapes of northern European origin grow alongside international and local varieties; barriques coexist with giant casks with elaborate carved heads; and in many cellars the chief winemaker still retains the title of ‘Kellermeister’.

The wine growing areas of the Alto Adige stretch north from the border with the neighbouring Trentino in the shape of a letter ‘Y’.

The lower part, the Bassa Atesina, follows the valley of the Adige to Bolzano, where viticulture branches northeast into the Isarco Valley towards Bressanone, and northwest past Merano, into the Venosta Valley.

Jigsaw puzzle

The umbrella Alto Adige DOC covers all 5,850 hectares of the province, with important DOC sub-zones for Terlano, Santa Maddalena, Valle Isarco and Val Venosta, while the pale red wines of Caldaro/Kaltersee have a denomination all of their own.

Vineyards stretch from around 250 metres above sea level to the upper slopes of the valley sides, reaching elevations of over 1,000 metres above-sea-level in places.

The climate is sunny, and warmer than you might expect – July temperatures are higher in Bolzano than Palermo! – but with the extreme day/night excursions typical of mountain regions.

The soil map of the province is a highly-coloured jigsaw puzzle which defies close description, but the three basic types are the Dolomitic limestone of the Adige valley, soils of volcanic origin around Bolzano, and the coarse, sandy quartz, slate and mica of weathered native rock in the Isarco and Venosta valleys.

Twenty varieties

Alto Adige grows 20 DOC-recognised varieties, 11 white and five red.

The principle international white grapes, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco and Sauvignon, are distributed pretty much across the whole of the province, with characters which respond to the different terroirs.

Pinot Bianco/ Weissburgunder

Of all the international varieties, Pinot Bianco is the one most closely associated with the Alto Adige.

It can be soft and round with yellow apple and floral aromas on the lower slopes of the Bassa Atesina, and intensely dry and minerally in the high vineyards of Appiano and at Terlano, the top two villages for the variety.

Sauvignon Blanc

Similarly, Sauvignon can be rich and fleshy around Caldaro, and crisp and zingy at Cortaccia and in the Val Venosta.

Gewürztraminer

Of the aromatic varieties, Gewürztraminer does not move far from its home in the village of Tramin, where styles range from off-dry to full-on sweet and luscious.

Sylvaner

In the Valle Isarco, Sylvaner has body and richness of aroma which distance it from the more familiar, lighter styles of Alsace.

Grüner Veltliner

Also in the Valle Isarco, Grüner Veltliner has the power and ageing potential of its top Austrian counterparts, and there is also a tiny production of the appetisingly peachy Schiave/ Riesling crossing, Kerner.

Riesling

Val Venosta is the go-to destination for steely, refined Riesling in Alto Adige.

Pinot Noir/ Blauburgunder

Among the international red varieties, there are individual examples of imposing Cabernet and Merlot in the lower valley of the Adige, but it is the far more widely planted Pinot Noir/ Blauburgunder that has made its name in the province for wines with very pure varietal character.

The longest established sites are on the eastern slopes of the valley, which include the renowned vineyards of Mazon.

The local Vernatsch/ Schiava and Lagrein may come second behind Pinot Noir in terms of surface area under vine, but they are two of the great resources of the province and both give their best in specific sites.

Vernatsch/ Schiava

Vernatsch is the grape of the Kaltersee/ Caldaro DOC, where it makes delicious cherry- and violet-scented wines with a delicate almondy finish.

The other classic growing area is above Bolzano at Santa Maddalena. The wines here often have a dollop of Lagrein in the blend, which makes them a little darker and more structured than those of Caldaro; think Moulin-a-Vent, not so much for the aromatic profile but for style and drinkability.

Lagrein

Lagrein, on the other hand, is a much more robust proposition.

Its family tree includes Teroldego and Syrah, and it shows in the inky, glass-staining colour and chunky tannins.

Lagrein needs heat and well-drained soils, and its traditional home is just outside Bolzano, in the garden suburb of Gries.

Reinvention

The Alto Adige has a tradition of cooperative winemaking that goes back to the 19th century. Its 12 top quality, highly efficient cooperatives collect grapes from 4,800 small-scale growers and today account for around 70% of the provincial production.

The remaining 30% is made by long established private houses and in lesser – but increasing – amounts by small independent estates. Membership of the ‘Vignaioli Alto Adige’ association which represents the category has grown to over 100 in recent years.

Winemaking in the Alto Adige has seen perhaps the most radical transformation of any region in Italy. The province today is universally recognised for the white wines which constitute 65% of its production, but historically red wines dominated.

Up until the 1970s, Vernatsch occupied almost 70% of the total surface area and monopolised planting in the villages of the Bassa Atesina.

Vineyards were heavily cropped, much of the wine was sold in bulk, and although the arrival of the DOC in 1975 improved quality, the wines of the time were light and very simple.

Change began in the 1980s, and in the years that followed the Alto Adige basically reinvented itself. The drivers of the revolution were the cooperatives.

Legendary Kellermeisters like Hans Terzer at San Michele, Sebastian Stocker at Terlano, and Willi Sturz at Tramin began to impose quality in the vineyards and craft premium wines in the cellar, the likes of which had never been seen in the province before.

The quality of winemaking across the province today is high, although at times you feel it risks overshadowing the sense of place.

Many of the top selections are concentrated, full-bodied wines with bold fruit and aromas which owe more than a glance towards international styles.

Clarification or complication?

The Alto Adige’s newly revealed UGA (Unità Geografiche Aggiuntive) zoning, which comes into effect with the 2024 vintage, aims to put the focus back on terroir and give some order to the ampelographical wealth and diversity by designating sites for specific grapes varieties.

The Mazon UGA, for example, is reserved for Pinot Noir; Gries-Moritzing for Lagrein; and UGAs at over 900 metres above-sea-level at Appiano and Magrè are created for Muller Thurgau.

In other instances, the system is a victim of the province’s eclectic traditions. There are cases where up to five white, red and aromatic varieties share the same UGA.

It is hard to imagine that grapes with such different characters can express the identity of a terroir.

Time will tell, as the wines come out over the next two years, whether the 86 new UGAs will clarify or further complicate the task of grasping the intricacies of the Alto Adige.

However it unfolds, there will always be much to enjoy in this bountiful province.

Below is a selection of two-dozen of my top wines from the current vintages tasted at the Alto Adige Wine Summit held in Bolzano in September this year.

Pinot Bianco was the star among the white varieties, but Sauvignon is right up there too, and I also loved Sylvaner from the Valle Isarco.

As for the reds, there was Pinot Noir for ageing, Santa Maddalena and Caldaro for drinkability, and if you are looking for something weightier, Lagrein wins the medals as the authentic Alto Adige red wine experience.

Expert-rated Alto Adige: 24 to try

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Tucked between northern Italy’s mountains and shaped by Alpine winds, Tenuta San Leonardo produces some of the country’s most refined wines in one of its most biodiverse landscapes.

I recently sat down with Anselmo Guerrieri Gonzaga, who now leads the estate, to talk light, legacy, elegance, and what it means to build a garden just for winter.

Tasting note of the recent 2020 vintage of San Leonardo below

Victoria Daskal: You’re located in quite a striking part of Italy. Can you describe San Leonardo’s setting?

Anselmo Guerrieri Gonzaga: We’re exactly halfway between Verona and Trento, in the Adige Valley. It’s a narrow strip — only 800 metres wide — framed by mountains that climb to nearly 2,000 metres.

We’re low in altitude, just 120 metres above sea level, but the vertical contrast is dramatic. Lake Garda nearby gives us this thermic wind, Ora del Garda, which blows like clockwork every afternoon. It keeps the air moving and the vines healthy.

VD: Does that geography shape the wines?

AGG: Completely. The valley runs north to south, and the mountains shade us for hours. We lose about three and a half hours of direct sunlight daily. There’s no golden hour at San Leonardo — no Instagram sunsets.

But we gain something more important: indirect, luminous light, plus dramatic thermic shifts. The air floods cold at night, and by day it warms quickly. It’s excellent for photosynthesis and freshness. Our wines tend to have low alcohol, but a lot of flavour concentration.

VD: How would you sum up your terroir in three words?

AGG: Extreme. Hydrated. Bright. The extremes come from our thermic range—lush summers, hard winters. With big drops in temperature between day and night.

We have abundant mountain water that filters through the rocks, emerging like mineral springs keeping the vines and vegetation hydrated. And the light is intense, though indirect. A quiet brilliance.

VD: Your family is renowned for their gardens. When did this passion start?

AGG: Gardening is almost as important to us as winemaking. My great-great-grandfather was inspired by La Belle Époque in Paris. He built Villa Gresti in the Liberty style in the 1870s and surrounded it with exotic gardens.

Later, my grandmother created a remarkable garden near Rome called La Landriana with Russell Page, one of the most important British garden architects. That shaped my father, and it shaped me.

VD: What about at San Leonardo? Are you working on any new garden projects?

AGG: Yes — a winter garden. Our region is stunning from April to November, but winter is harsh, brown, silent. I want to create a space that blooms even in January, full of fragrance and shelter for birds.

It will be open-air but enclosed by earth—like a round bowl carved from the land. Inside we’re planting Calycanthus, hellebores; plants that are beautiful in the cold. A garden for a sombre season.

VD: Let’s talk wine. You joined your father at San Leonardo at a very young age. What was your vision then?

AGG: At the time, the world wanted big, extracted, oaky wines. I was 23 and thought I knew better. I pushed my father to make San Leonardo more ‘contemporary’. I even suggested blending Teroldego into the flagship wine, as part of the ‘glocal’ (global and local) trend.

He looked at me and said: “You’re an idiot. Go back to the office.” And he was right. He had a very clear vision of what a wine was. Elegance was always the main drive of his wine production.

VD: But you did make important changes eventually — particularly with white wines.

AGG: Yes, in 2011 I launched Vette, a Sauvignon Blanc. It’s vibrant, floral, and stainless steel–fermented with bâtonnage to give it texture. Later we introduced Riesling, which is more gastronomic. That one sees a year in 900-litre Stockinger oak barrels with bâtonnage. I love a bit of oak in whites — it gives finesse. But I don’t like to feel oak in reds.

VD: Are those white wines from your own vineyards?

AGG: Currently, we buy the grapes from seven high-altitude plots, between 200 and 700 metres. Land is impossibly expensive here — half a million euros per hectare, if you can even find it.

Most plots are 1.5 hectares, and 95% of the wine in our region is made by two huge co-ops. But we are in the process of buying a small vineyard of Riesling that also contains some rows of Pinot Bianco.

VD: You’ve been shifting toward organic farming. Where do you stand now?

AGG: We’re fully certified organic. We use many biodynamic practices too, like moon cycles, but I wouldn’t say we’re fully biodynamic. The reds can’t be certified because we still buy some grapes, but the philosophy is there: treating the vineyard as a living thing.

VD: Besides moving to organic, and introducing white wine, what other major changes did you make at the estate?

AGG: I changed the way we sell our wines. My father had one distributor for the whole of Italy. Today, we have 123 agents. It’s much more work — small orders, direct to restaurants, not big pallet drops.

But it creates relationships, and those matter. Fifty percent of our wine now stays in Italy. The rest goes to 67 markets — US, UK, Switzerland, Germany… even Kazakhstan. I also have hopes for selling to Lebanon and India.

VD: What’s next on the horizon for San Leonardo?

AGG: Sincerely, I don’t want to grow San Leonardo more than it is already. Actually I reduced the size, the production is more manageable and sustainable. We can concentrate on our identity and vision.

Tasting San Leonardo 2020:

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Super-premium whites, Primo Grande Cuvée and Rarity – both Platinum Medal winners at the Decanter World Awards and ‘100 pointers’ across the wine press at large – may be Cantina Terlano’s flagship wines, but delve deeper and you’ll find stunning quality and value throughout the entire portfolio.

This exemplary co-operative lies less than 10 kilometres west of Bolzano, regional capital of the Alto Adige in northeast Italy.

Notes and scores for six Cantina Terlano wines below

Michael Garner: Cantina Terlano’s white wines have extraordinary ageing potential and need time in bottle to develop, yet the reds are delicious to drink young. How do you explain this apparent anomaly?

Klaus Gasser: This is white wine country. We’re on the left bank of the Adige and growing conditions here are pretty much unique. It’s cooler and the soils have a much higher limestone content over the river.

The village itself sits in the crater of an extinct volcano with mainly sandy, fast-draining, siliceous soils over a bedrock of red porphyry.

We have a very particular microclimate, with huge differences between day and night-time temperatures governed by our proximity to the Alps and warm afternoon breezes which blow up from the south.

White grapes are planted at up to 900 metres, many on steep slopes. As a result, our whites demonstrate great nervosity and tension: marked sapidity and above-average acid levels promise great longevity thanks to the low pH of the soils.

Our legendary winemaker Sebastian Stocker was the first to recognise and start developing this potential. The reds, however, are mainly from lower-lying vineyards on the eastern side of the village towards Bolzano: they’re a very different proposition, though they can age quite well too.

MG: How do you highlight these very distinctive characteristics?

Rudi Kofler: It’s mainly the age of the vines: we use younger ones for our Tradition range and older for our Selection and Riserva wines. Our aim is to maintain fruit integrity and purity through to the bottle, so we avoid cold-maceration and aromatic yeasts.

We ferment the simpler wines at cool temperatures (around 18-19 ℃) in stainless steel, with up to around six months of lees ageing.

We prefer whole-bunch fermentation for the Selection range, and slightly higher fermentation temperatures with a mixture of large wood and stainless steel plus longer lees ageing, because the fruit is more concentrated.

MG: What about your background in wine?

RK: After studying agronomy, I worked at Cantina San Michele Appiano under Hans Terzer between 1997 and 1999, then moved to Terlano where Hartmann Dona was the head oenologist. He left in 2002 and I took over. The spirit of Sebastian Stocker lives on here, so I’ve followed in the footsteps of three great local winemakers.

MG: Can you explain a little more about the innovations Stocker brought in?

RK: Under his guidance the winery acquired its first stainless steel vats in 1977; they proved perfect for the singular kind of storage regime he was interested in and the effects of lengthy lees ageing in particular.

These days our Rarity wine is fermented and undergoes malolactic in large wooden barrels. It stays there for a year with regular batonnage and is then transferred to those original stainless steel drums and stored for 10-12 years – sometimes more – on the noble lees.

The wine is still turbid so we don’t stir the lees any further. People say that the yeast autolysis process is over after about four years, but we’ve seen how our wines go on developing long after that. Stocker laid the groundwork for us.

MG: How have the warmer vintages of the last decade affected the character of your wines?

KG: We’ve been lucky so far. The red wines have benefitted and have a much riper style. Overall there’s better phenolic maturity but also greater focus on getting the picking date just right to avoid over-ripeness.

The changes we’ve seen are more in terms of random patterns, hotter spells certainly, but seriously cold snaps and an increased danger of hail. But we’re already used to extremes here!

RK: Ironically, we were harvesting earlier in the first decade of this century than the second! In 2021 we picked our white grapes in October, about a month later than usual. But we don’t pick early for higher acid levels: our style is based on low yields of perfectly mature grapes.

MG: Finally the future. Which wines will carry the name of Terlano forward?

KG: Over time, Pinot Bianco, Sauvignon and Chardonnay have established themselves as the grapes that grow best here.

They work both as single varieties (eg Pinot Bianco for Rarity or Sauvignon Blanc for Quarz) and in combination (eg Primo Grande Cuvée or Terlaner Nova Domus).

Terlaner Cuvée, a blend of all three grapes, is actually the original wine of the area; varietals didn’t take off until the 1970s.

Factbox: Terlano

Founded: 1893 (as a cooperative)

Current members: 143

Hectares under vine: 190

White varieties: Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Gewürztraminer, Müller Thurgau

Red varieties: Lagrein, Pinot Nero, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon

Product ranges: In addition to Primo and Rarity, there are two ranges: Selection is the single-vineyard or Riserva line, and Tradition the introductory line consisting mainly of single varietals.

Annual average production: 1.5m bottles

Tasting Terlano: Six of the best

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Nestled in the dramatic landscapes of northeastern Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol is a region where winemaking is as deeply rooted as the towering Dolomites themselves. This region is known for its pristine mountain air, varied terroirs, a blend of Italian and Germanic influences, and elegance and precision in its wines.

It’s uniquely split into two distinct identities: Trentino, with its Italian heritage and renown for sparkling Trento DOC; and Alto Adige/Südtirol, where Germanic traditions shine through in vibrant whites and expressive reds.

While its reputation has often been linked to fresh, mineral-driven whites and structured reds, the region is stepping into the limelight with a stunning selection of wines that showcase its boundless potential.

Scroll down to discover DWWA 2024 awarded wines

The Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2024 competition results last year highlighted this region’s consistent excellence, with an impressive Best in Show, six Platinum, 15 Gold and 101 Silver medals in all – a selection of which we show here.

These accolades highlight not only the diversity of varieties thriving in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, but also the region’s winemaking of finesse and character.

Michael Garner, DWWA Regional Chair for Northern Italy noted: ‘The excellence of the region’s white wines is well established, but the resurgence of its reds should come as no surprise: they dominated production prior to the 1980s.’

At the pinnacle of this excellence in 2024 was Cantina Andrian’s sweet passito Gewürztraminer (see below), awarded Best in Show. A nod to the grape’s origins in Alto Adige, this is a wine of exquisite purity.

Discover more DWWA medal-winning favourites from all over the world at awards.decanter.com

Best in Show

Cantina Andrian, Juvelo Gewürztraminer Passito 2022

Best in Show, 97 points

POA £ Astrum Wine Cellars, Sociovino

We tend to associate Gewürztraminer with Alsace, but its name actually signifies ‘the spicy one from Tramin’. More fruity (fresh peach, nectarine, apricot) than many of its French vendange tardive or sélection de grains nobles peers, this is relatively low in acidity but lusciously rich in sugars – a fruit-tart-in-a-glass, dusted with the finest sugar spice you could imagine. The texture overall is lighter than many sweet Alsace examples, which tend to have richer tannin profiles. It’s the prettiest of dessert wines, and perfect for afternoon tea. Alcohol 11%

Whites

Pinot Bianco

Nals Margreid, Sirmian 2022

Platinum, 97 points

£36.50 NY Wines

Enthralling grapefruit, fresh cut grass and floral aromas abound with a twist of pepper freshness clinging rapturously to the lively acidity. Plump and viscous with a lavish lemony fluidity that trickles towards the end. Superb. Alc 14.5%

Cantina Terlano, Rarity 2011

Gold, 95 points

£225.50 Falcon Vintners, Harrogate Wines, Hedonism, Sociovino

Exuding impeccable maturity and laden with plump nectarine, peach, melon and yellow blossom. Toasty generosity and enlivening mineral undertones. Ample, rich and very long. Alc 14%

Sauvignon Blanc 

Kornell, Oberberg 2021

Silver, 94 points

kornell.it

Aromatic nose of cut grass, gooseberry and lychee, followed by a palate of mandarin, grapefruit and mango. Alc 13.5%

Sylvaner 

Abbazia di Novacella, Praepositus, Isarco 2022

Gold, 95 points

kloster-neustift.it

Remarkably expressive floral aromas and notes of green tea, grapefruit and pear infuse nicely into the plush texture and stony, mineral acidity. Long and memorable. Alc 14%

White blends

Cantina Terlano, Terlaner Primo Grande Cuvée 2021

Platinum, 97 points

£254 Berry Bros & Rudd, Field & Fawcett, Harrogate Wines, Sociovino

Mango, pineapple and melon, with grassy, floral undertones. Poised and elegant, with impressive mineral structure and citrus acidity. Rich, refreshing and amazingly long. Alc 14%

Kurtatsch, Amos 2022

Gold, 96 points

kellerei-kurtatsch.it

White stone fruit, ripe melon and mango fruits with a surge of grassy herbals. Incredibly juicy, with a touch of minty grip on the finish. Alc 14%

Cantina Tramin, Stoan 2022

Gold, 95 points

£26.99-£34.95 All About Wine, Harrogate Wines, Hic, Valvona & Crolla, Vinvm, Wadebridge Wines, Wine Poole, Winesquare

Very buzzy and bright, with myriad grassy herbals, apples and lemons. Brilliantly fresh and alluring with a chalky mineral core and bracing acidity. Distinctive and joyous. Alc 14.5%

St Michael-Eppan, Appius 2019

Gold, 95 points

£135-£161.61 Dexter & Jones, Eurowines

A panorama of flavour: melon, orchard fruit and ripe citrus enhance by a lick of mint and dried herbs. Scrumptiously creamy, unctuous and complex. Alc 14%

Weingut Niklas, DJJ Weiss Riserva 2021

Silver, 94 points

niklaserhof.it

Opulent, tropical nose of pineapple, mango and toast, followed by sleek oak, spice and a lovely minerality on the palate. Alc 14.5%

Reds

Pinot Noir 

Englar, Baltasius Riserva 2020

Gold, 96 points

englar.it

Awash with red berries and attractive florals that perch decadently upon a nutty, vanilla oak structure, with a crunch of chalky tannin and a spicy finish. Alc 13.5%

Peter Zemmer, Vigna Kofl Riserva 2021

Gold, 96 points

£38 Wine-Boutique

Copious amounts of raspberry, strawberry and plum fruit alongside fragrant anise and liquorice spice. Remarkably plush with velvety tannins and a charming, fruit-laden acidity. Alc 13.5%

Alois Lageder, Krafuss, Vigneti delle Dolomiti 2022

Silver

£48.15-£51 Bibendum Wine, The Fine Wine Co, Vinvm

Inviting and aromatic, with fragrance of vibrant red fruit, violet and spice, then a palate of cranberry, wild strawberry and sweet spice. Alc 12.5%

Teroldego

Cavit, Terrazze della Luna, Teroldego Rotaliano 2022

Value Gold, 95 points

£9-£9.99 All About Wine, Dunstable Wines, Kwoff, ND John

Classic style exuding scrumptious red berries, plums and inky spice with a cleansing sour-cherry note. Crunchy fresh with smooth tannins and a mouthwatering finish. Alc 12.5%

Search all DWWA 2024 award-winning wines

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The UNESCO World Heritage listed Dolomites, in the northern Italian Alps, are a jaw-dropping set of peaks, whose majesty is hard to convey unless you’ve actually been there.

A luxurious base from which to explore them is Hotel La Perla, a member of the Leading Hotels of the World, in the village of Corvara – the heart of the Alta Badia ski resort – in the province of Alto Adige (aka Südtirol).

Founded in 1956 by Ernesto and Anni Costa, this South Tyrolean manor house is now run by their sons, Michil, Mathias and Maximilian, all of whom have a hands-on role at the property, welcoming guests with the warm hospitality typical of Alto Adige’s traditional Ladin mountain culture.

This inviting atmosphere, which sees the lederhosen-clad Mathias Costa and Corvara locals mingle with hotel guests over a drink, is a key reason why many guests return annually and become part of the extended La Perla ‘family’.

Traditional yet elegant living

The hotel offers 51 rooms, ranging from singles to suites, most with their own balcony, either facing the imposing Mount Sassongher or the picturesque village. The style throughout is traditional yet elegant – rugs and reclaimed wood, exposed beams and cosy soft furnishings, along with regional art and quirky accessories such as antique walking sticks and teapots.

In the Romantik double rooms, enjoy an enormous pillow- and throw-laden king-sized bed with crisp linen, a traditional silo-like free-standing fireplace, a leather chesterfield, and a chandelier over a breakfast table, where an ice bucket and bottle of Franciacorta, fresh fruit and chocolates welcome you.

Gourmet dining, from cosy to Michelin

Guests are spoiled for choice when it comes to dining options. Les Stües (‘The Rooms’) is the main half-board restaurant, available only to guests. As its name suggests, it is a warren of connecting wood-panelled rooms each with its own distinctive traditional décor following authentic Alpine kitchen-diners from the 1700s: think bold tablecloths and curtains, matching floral arrangements and crockery, and decorative plates adorning the walls.

While you could fill up on the buffet-style salad bar, the à la carte menu of traditional Alto Adige dishes is simple yet comforting and, as with all La Perla’s restaurants, vegan menus are available.

On a sunny day, the Bistrot’s terrace is the place to be for a casual lunch, particularly for classic Italian fare. Or sit inside, around the impressive polished wood main bar, for afternoon tea or an aperitif. After dark, the venue becomes the Music Club, with different local singers and musicians each night.

Gourmands will have booked their seat at the Michelin one-star La Stüa de Michil in advance. While it follows the 18th-century wood panelling of the rest of La Perla, this is more of an opulent, intimate, candle-lit chamber, where Calabrian chef Simone Cantafio takes inspiration from his years in Japan to create an innovative tasting menu for up to 10 people.

Sustainable, seasonal and organic

A stone’s throw from La Perla, is sister property Berghotel Ladinia. The building was the first inn in Corvara and its historic, rustic décor exudes real charm. The eponymous Alpine restaurant specialises in using locally farmed, grown and forged produce and the wine list champions mainly boutique Alto Adige producers, many of which work biodynamically.

From extensive buffet breakfast to innovative nightcap, La Perla’s food and drink philosophy is organic, local and seasonal, and encourages diners to eschew meat on Fridays. The hotel also follows the Common Welfare Economy model, where social responsibility, ecological sustainability, democratic management and company solidarity replace profit as the company objective.

To underline the brothers’ altruism, they set up the Costa Family Foundation in 2007 to protect and promote the rights of children, mainly in developing countries, including building schools and supporting nutrition and irrigation projects. A dish on each restaurant menu is ‘priceless’ and invites diners to pay what they like, with all proceeds going to the foundation.

Wine-lovers’ haven

For wine lovers, the pinnacle of a stay at La Perla is a visit to its Mahatma Cellar, which boasts more than 30,000 bottles from across Europe. Prepare to be amazed by the vision of Michil Costa, as you take a sensory journey through each cave of the labyrinthine cellar, designed in a bespoke theme of not only wine but music and explanatory voice-overs to accompany the very unique design and accessories.

Among the 3,000 labels, of which half are from Alto Adige, there are cellars dedicated to Champagne, Burgundy and Barolo, but the most jaw-dropping is the Sassicaia ‘temple’. To really experience this SuperTuscan in all its glory, guests can book a guided tasting (one of five on offer) in the Incö Weinstube.

This intimate, informal wine room, with banquette-style seating around a wooden island table is also used by chef Simone Cantafio for a three-course sharing menu for up to six people, using only what local farmers and foragers have delivered that day.

On the slopes

To work up an appetite for all these food and wine options, you’ll be spending your days on the mountains – whether summer or winter. Alta Badia, part of Dolomiti Superski, has 132km of slopes and 53 lifts; La Perla is ski-in, ski-out, with the Col Alto lift (Italy’s first) 30m from the front door. At the end of the day, join everyone else in the valley and head to the hotel’s L’Murin – an après ski institution, which becomes a beer garden in summer, complete with a treehouse for romantic rendezvous.

If you are staying during La Perla’s summer season (June to September) enjoy a nine-hole golf course at 1,700m, or test your cycling mettle on the high Dolomite passes – the hotel has a range of premium Pinarello road and mountain bikes, as well as e-bikes for the less adventurous. As with cycling, keen hikers can take advantage of a daily guided excursion with the outdoor activity instructor (he’s in the lobby each morning) or ask him for advice on local Via Ferrata routes.

The biggest drawcard in Alta Badia is the Sellaronda, an iconic 40km ski circuit around the Sella massif. But increasingly visitors are flocking to the mountains for innovative gourmet opportunities arranged by the Alta Badia tourist office and Alto Adige Sommelier Association.

In winter, the programme includes Sommelier on the Slopes and Ski Safaris, where a ski guide and a sommelier accompany winelovers between high-end mountain ‘huts’, such as the unmissable Rifugio Utia Bioch (at 2,079m), to try local wines, as well as signature dishes from celebrity chefs.

There’s a similar programme in summer, including outdoor wine tasting tours (Vins Alaleria), accompanied by a sommelier, in picturesque nature hotspots across the province.

Relax and escape

After so much activity, food and wine, you’ll want to decompress in La Perla’s newly renovated spa. In addition to practitioners offering a host of heath and natural beauty treatments, guests can enjoy the indoor pool with its range of regenerative showers and massage jets, the sauna and steam rooms and a Kneipp hydrotherapy bath to revive tired feet and legs.

Hotel La Perla is about 200km from Venice airport, where the three-hour drive takes you through the Prosecco DOCG vineyards areas of Conegliano-Valdobbiadene. Alternatively, it’s 70km from Bolzano and 135km from Innsbruck in Austria. For train travellers, the best stations are Bruneck or Fortezza.

The hotel opens for the winter season from 6 December to 7 April, and for the 2025 summer season from 6 June to 27 September. Rates per night including breakfast start from £250 (single); £532 (double) and £1,135 (suite).

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I met Alois Lageder and head winemaker, Jo Pfisterer, in April this year at Summa, the annual wine event which Lageder host at their property in Magré, in the Alto Adige in northern Italy.

Alois is in his early 70s; tall, with slightly receding, wiry hair, a polyglot with a consummate command of English, charming, quiet mannered, a vegetarian, and the ruddy complexion and tweedy jackets of a country gentleman. He has been running the Lageder estate and winery for exactly 50 years this year.

He is the fourth generation of the wine family, founded in the 19th century by his great- grandfather. By tradition, the oldest son of the Lageder family is always called Alois. Alois III died young, leaving the estate and winery to the supervision of his wife and oldest daughter, until his son was old enough to take over.

After a degree in economics and studies in enology, Alois IV assumed the management of what was then a traditional, solidly established, family business (the kellermeister was his brother-in-law) – he was only 24.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for the Löwengang Chardonnay

Holistic

Alois grew up in a family with a culture of respect for nature (his mother kept a biodynamic vegetable garden) and he says it was natural to want to extend that to the estate when he took over. He read Steiner in the 1970s, but confesses: ‘I didn’t understand too much of it at that time,’ and he put biodynamics to one side until he felt ready to undertake the complex task of converting the 50 hectare estate to Steiner’s principals; a process which lasted through the 1990s.

Demeter certification came in 2004, and Lageder was later to become president of this biodynamic association, from 2016 to 2022. Alongside the conversion in the vineyards, Alois also saw an urgent need to put the vinification facilities on an ecological footing.

The revolutionary, holistic, eco-compatible cellars came into operation in 1996, and they remain today one of the most advanced of their kind in Italy with – among other features – zero-carbon emission, no pumps, all natural building materials, and temperature regulation using geothermal energy.

The estate has 55ha of its own vineyards, located in various areas of the Adige valley, and sources grapes from around 90 long-term suppliers, some of whom are certified organic or biodynamic, and the rest conventional.

Wines from non-certified growers are bottled separately, but the range – which comprises over 30 different lines – currently has only six wines which are without certification.

Shifting style

It has been said that Lageder’s Löwengang Chardonnay was to the Alto Adige what the Super Tuscans were to Tuscany in the early 1990s – a demonstration that the region was able to compete on the world stage with a classic international variety.

There was an element of chance in the way it came about: Lageder recounts that Robert Mondavi was on a visit to the estate in 1981 and, upon tasting the wines from the property, enquired how they were aged.

‘In large barrels, as we always have done,’ was Lageder’s reply. ‘Have you thought about barriques?’ asked Mondavi. ‘Try it and I’ll come back next year to taste the wine.’

That was exactly what happened, and after a period of experimentation, the first official vintage of the new style Löwengang Chardonnay came out in 1984. It is the wine which more than any other traces the evolution of winemaking at the estate, from the international style of the vintages of the 1990s, which drew comparisons with France and California at the time, to the more terroir-oriented, mineral, low intervention wines, post-Demeter.

Pergolas and new oak

Löwengang Chardonnay is typically sourced from 8ha of the 15ha available between estate properties and long-term contract growers. The majority of the plots are on the calcareous soils on the west side of the Adige, although there are also grapes from the high slopes above Salorno on the opposite side of the valley. All the vineyards are certified biodynamic, and 60% are pergola-trained in the traditional way.

Over the years, there has been a drastic reduction in the amount of new oak used in the winery. Lageder states that ‘In the early years we were buying 130 new barriques a year, now it is down to 30.’ Currently, only around 10% of the wood used for Löwengang is new.

Accompanying this, there has been a reduction in the amount of battonage, and the tendency to move the wine as little as possible during ageing. ‘In the past, we used to rack the wines at the first signs of reduction; now we tend to leave them alone to come around by themselves,’ says Lageder.

Spontaneous fermentation was introduced in 2004. Alcohol levels are constant at around 12.5%, and even in hot vintages rarely exceed 13.0%.

Impressive longevity

The longevity of Löwengang Chardonnay is amazing. The older vintages have lost some intensity, but never freshness. There is not a shadow of oxidation in any of the wines tasted, and the level of quality is incredibly consistent across vintages.

The wines appear more subtle in cool and wet years such as 1992, and expansive in hot and dry years such as 2015, but they always seem capable of giving the kind of pleasure that is hard to reduce to a points score.

Tasting Löwengang Chardonnay

Including a cuvée of old vintages – the Inedito II. Wines are listed youngest to oldest

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Alto Adige is a tiny region in north Italy, with fewer than 6,000 hectares under vine accounting for less than 1% of Italy’s total wine production. Yet at least 20 different grape varieties grow in these spectacular Alpine vineyards, ranging from 200 to over 1,000 metres above sea level.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the eight Alto Adige masterclass wines

The near-perfect climate for viticulture enjoys nearly 2,000 hours of sunshine, with adequate rainfall (approximately 800mm per annum). Cold down-slope winds from the high Alps to the north are mitigated by warm, early evening breezes blowing up from the south across Lake Garda, ensuring excellent ventilation for the bunches. Crucially, extreme temperature fluctuations between warm days and cool nights prolong the ripening process as harvest approaches, allowing the fruit’s aromatic precursors to develop to their full potential.

A change of focus

Today, almost two-thirds of the wine produced in Alto Adige is white, whereas 40 years ago, reds made up almost 80%. In the 1970s and ‘80s, the native red variety, Schiava (aka Vernatsch; Trollinger) dominated, covering nearly 70% of the land under vine and producing light, often innocuous bulk reds from over-cropped fruit for the traditional markets of Austria and southern Germany over the Brenner Pass.

That figure has now dropped to just 9% – unable to compete in terms of quantity with other Italian regions, the Alto Adige’s quality revolution over the last few decades has seen Schiava widely uprooted in favour of premium white varieties. The region’s wineries, prompted by the local agricultural institute at Laimburg, decided there was simply no room any longer for anything less than excellence given such rarified growing conditions.

Matching the right varieties to the right sites in terms of altitude, exposure and soil composition became the guiding light, with the aim of making limited quantities of the premium wines that the vineyards are clearly best suited to.

Average holdings of less than one hectare are distributed amongst some 5,000 growers, many of whom choose to supply the region’s cooperatives, who lead the way in terms not only of quantity but, perhaps surprisingly, quality too. Meanwhile, smaller cellars are beginning to flex their muscles and grower/negociant wineries like Haas, Lageder and Tiefenbrunner are more than holding their own. Competition is for once a sign of good health; the rivalries stimulating and largely friendly thanks to a common goal.

The Decanter masterclass

This masterclass was designed to illustrate the extraordinary variety and the consistently high standards the wines of Alto Adige achieve. The first wine, Pinot Grigio from the Klausner vineyard located in the Punggl area of Magre, showed the value of adopting an uncomplicated approach to winemaking: inert containers only (stainless steel and glass) for fermentation and storage showcased the grape’s pristine fruit aromas and flavours; a marriage of freshness and opulence balanced by the stony, mineral notes that are the true hallmarks of the region’s wines.

The next three wines, made following more ambitious cellar methodology including wood fermentation and ageing, showed the extraordinary ageing potential that is common to many of the region’s whites. The iconic white variety is Pinot Bianco, and Limes – from a vineyard lying at around 600m above the village of Appiano – showed the structure and intensity that promise greatness to come over the next 10 years.

Müller Thürgau, frequently dismissed as a minor variety, from the Feldmarschall vineyard at 1,000m above sea level shattered that misconception with its staggering breadth of spicy and herbal-toned aromas and exquisite balance.

The final dry white was another trailblazer. Most of the region’s wines are produced as single varietals but Terlano, from vineyards surrounding the volcanic crater where the village lies, is a blend of Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc; the three grapes most commonly planted locally. This wine is the prototype for the increasingly popular trend of using blends to interpret the individual terrains of the various subzones, rather than focusing on the characteristics of single varieties.

Wines five and six showed what the Adige does best with red grapes: G’Schleier, from old Schiava vines (including some majestic centenarians), and a Pinot Nero from the reputed, west-facing Mazzon area on the river’s left bank, were lighter-bodied wines of real style and balance.

The final red was from the native Lagrein variety, and a very different proposition: a deeply coloured, ripe full-bodied wine from the Taber vineyard that is the ideal match for hearty mountain dishes.

To complete the tasting, Epokale, a late-harvested Gewürztraminer, has undergone a truly inimitable ageing process, spending a period of no less than six years four kilometres inside the mountain in a disused silver mine. It proved to be well worth the wait, and for anyone with enough patience, it will continue getting better and better.

Alto Adige’s diversity in eight wines:

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Join us at the upcoming Decanter Italy Experience, on Saturday 24 February 2024, for a very special masterclass highlighting the thrilling quality and diversity of Alto Adige.

This fascinating corner of northeast Italy – where Alpine freshness combines with Mediterranean charm – is today one of Italy’s most exciting wine-producing regions, with a deep-rooted winemaking and grape growing culture.

Experience the thrilling quality and diversity that Alto Adige has to offer, featuring wines handpicked by Italian wine expert, Michael Garner, Regional Chair for Northern Italy at the Decanter World Wine Awards, to showcase the impressive quality and incredible diversity the region has to offer.

The line-up of wines for the Alto Adige masterclass

Guests will have the opportunity to taste the 2016 vintage of Cantina Tramin’s extraordinary Epokale – considered by some experts to be one of Italy’s greatest white wines – made from late-harvest Gewürztraminer.

The tasting line-up will also include Terlano’s Primo Grand Cuvée 2018 – a spectacular blend of Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, and Decanter’s White Wine of the Year 2021 in the Classic category.

Delicious reds from indigenous grape varieties Lagrein and Vernatsch (Schiava) will be poured, alongside a local twist on Pinot Nero (Noir) as well as a small-batch Pinot Grigio of pristine, premium quality, an oak-fermented Pinot Bianco, and the highly reputed ‘Feldmarschall Von Fennberg‘ Müller Thurgau.

Featured wines

Kobler, Klausner Pinot Grigio, Alto Adige, Italy 2022

Ignaz Niedrist, Berg Pinot Bianco Limes, Alto Adige, Italy 2021

Tiefenbrunner’s, Feldmarschall Von Fenner Müller-Thurgau, Alto Adige, Italy 2020

Cantina Terlano, Primo Grand Cuvée, Terlano, Alto Adige, Italy 2018

Cantina Girlan, Gschleier Alte Reben Vernatsch, Alto Adige, Italy 2021

Weingut Gottardi, Pinot Nero, Alto Adige, Italy 2019

Cantina Bozen, Lagrein Riserva Taber, Alto Adige, Italy 2021

Cantina Tramin, Epokale Gewürztraminer Spätlese, Alto Adige, Italy 2016

Alto Adige is the diamond tip of the Italian wine scene, and its diverse portfolio is sure to leave a lasting impression on discerning palates. Secure a masterclass place today to avoid disappointment.

Buy Alto Adige masterclass tickets here

Essential Information

Decanter Italy Experience

Masterclass: The thrilling diversity of Alto Adige

Date: Saturday, 24 February 2024

Masterclass time: 11 AM – 12:15 PM

Price: £55 per Alto Adige masterclass ticket | £65 per Grand Tasting ticket

Location: The Landmark Hotel

222 Marylebone Road

London NW1

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7631 8000

www.landmarklondon.co.uk

The Decanter Italy Experience is kindly sponsored by Riedel.

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Since 2021, Italian sparkling wine house Ferrari Trento has been the podium sponsor for F1, a deal which was recently extended until 2025. Ferrari Trento is managed by the grandchildren of Bruno Lunelli, who purchased the estate in 1952 from founder Giulio Ferrari. Decanter recently caught up with Camilla Lunelli, Bruno’s granddaughter, to talk cars and wine.

Do you train staff at F1 events to ensure your wines are identified and served correctly?

‘Ferrari Trento is the exclusive sparkling wine in The Paddock Club, meaning every day, thousands of bottles are being drunk by very affluent people. They care about service…we hired someone to focus solely on F1, overseeing serving and training.’

How many bottles of Ferrari Trento sparkling wine are opened every race weekend?

‘To give you an example, around 5,000 bottles were opened at Silverstone [the British Grand Prix in July].’

What was your most exciting race weekend of 2022?

‘We [the grandchildren of Bruno Lunelli who currently manage Ferrari Trento] usually take it in turns to go to international race weekends, but we were all at Monza. It was incredible; you have all the race fans and it’s Ferrari Trento’s “home” race, being in Italy. Giulio and Enzo Ferrari weren’t related but you could feel a connection.’

Being a podium sponsor must be a challenge given the potential for confusion between Scuderia Ferrari [the team] and Ferrari Trento [the winery]?

‘We thought that there might be some tension if a pilot [driver] from Mercedes or Red Bull, for example, is toasting their win with a bottle saying Ferrari on it, but everyone has been great so far – there have been no issues.

What is involved in your relationship with Formula 1?

‘Being the podium sponsor is not as simple as sending bottles to every race. As well as appointing someone specifically for staff training at F1 events, our export team plus the local importers take care of all external activations, including events.

‘We also take part in a charity initiative where, every other race, a signed jeroboam of Ferrari Trento Brut is auctioned on f1authentics.com. Last year, the proceeds went to the Keep Fighting Foundation [founded by Michael Schumacher’s family in 2016]; this year, the season began shortly after the commencement of events in Ukraine and so we decided that proceeds should go to the International Red Cross.’

The 2022 F1 season finale took place on 20 November in Abu Dhabi, marking the climax of a 22-race spectacle which saw Max Verstappen (son of ex-F1 racer, Jos Verstappen) crowned champion for the second time on 9 October in Suzuka at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Verstappen’s team, Red Bull Racing, won its first Constructors’ Championship since 2013 in Austin at the United States Grand Prix on 23 October.

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Like many other wineries in Alto Adige, Cantina Kurtatsch is a cooperative. One of the smallest, in fact. Founded in 1900, its 190 member families grow enough fruit across 190 hectares for 1.5 million bottles per annum, spread across a significant range of 34 wines.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for six vintages of Kurtatsch Freienfeld Riserva Cabernet Sauvignon

A recent opportunity to taste a vertical of Kurtatsch’s Freienfeld Riserva Cabernet Sauvignon allowed me to appreciate the alpine qualities of this ageable red. It belongs to the coop’s ‘Terroir’ range, which focuses on wines made from low-yielding vines from the best sites, maintaining a sense of place.

First released in 1990 with the 1988 vintage, its roots arguably go back to the mid-19th century, when Archduke Johann first encouraged the planting of noble red varieties from France.

The two hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon for Freienfeld, planted in 1980, are grown between 220 and 350 metres above sea level on steep southeastern slopes. The soils, gravelly and calcareous, are not unlike those found on Bordeaux’s left bank, making them perfectly suited to Cabernet.

The vines here benefit from plenty of sunshine during the day: 300 sunshine days per annum, the same as Palermo in Sicily. These lower-altitude vineyards – the highest, reserved for white varieties, climb to 700m – are among the warmest in Alto Adige, reaching up to 40°C in the height of summer. A cool breeze from the Mendola ridge runs down the slopes at night, creating a large day/night temperature swing which helps to retain freshness in the grapes by prolonging physiological ripening.

Freienfeld Riserva Cabernet Sauvignon is only made in years where the conditions allow for high quality grapes, so just 20 vintages have been released to date: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Since 2015, Kutatsch has followed a sustainability program. In the vineyards this includes preserving biodiversity, sowing plants as green manure and banning the use of herbicides for the Terroir range (one treatment per year is still permitted for other wines). In the modern low-energy winery it includes using water from their own on-site sources and the use of unbleached, undyed and chemical-free corks from certified sustainable forests.

After a temperature-controlled fermentation in rotary tanks, Freienfeld Cabernet is matured in French barriques for 15 months, followed by a further nine months in large oak barrels and at least one year in bottle.

The result in bottle is at first tightly wound but – as the vertical below demonstrates – after some time the fruit and spice is delicately unfurled. These Cabernets show no hint of opulence or overripeness. Instead, they showcase their Alpine surroundings with beautiful fragrance, ripe black fruits and pepperminty freshness allied with dense but supple tannins.

Best enjoyed within 20 years of the vintage, if you’re a fan of more savoury Cabernet expressions then Kurtatsch’s fine example is well worth seeking out.

Kurtatsch Freienfeld Riserva Cabernet Sauvignon:

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Discovering Italy’s high-altitude wines plus 12 worth seeking out

Matched in excellence by quality cuisine, the wine culture in Alto Adige (also known as South Tyrol) is deep-rooted. Vines grow at varied altitudes in a Y-shaped area, with the main city, Bolzano, at its heart. Terrains here range from sandy marl and limestone to schist or porphyry, and wide temperature swings make for wines that combine the fresh, fragrant aromas of cooler climates with warm-weather power and complexity. Most come under the six Alto Adige DOC sub-zones, while more specific MGA zones (menzione geografica aggiuntiva: a specific, delimited area within a DOC/G, broadly equivalent to a ‘climat’ in France) are planned.

Bolzano’s appealing historic centre has countless references to wine in road names, frescoes and the cathedral’s medieval ‘wine door’. Protected by mountains, the city registers some of Italy’s hottest summer temperatures and vines flourish here. These include the Lagrein vines surrounding Castel Mareccio (see ‘My perfect day’). The true home of fruity, vibrant purple Lagrein is, however, across the Talvera river in the Gries neighbourhood. At the Muri-Gries monastery, a former fortress that’s been home to Benedictines since 1845, benchmark Lagreins include Klosteranger, a single-vineyard Riserva from vines grown within the monastery walls.

Another monastery that plays a key part in Alto Adige winemaking is Abbazia di Novacella. Active since 1142, it’s among the world’s oldest wineries and is fascinating to visit. Here in the cool Isarco valley, northeast of Bolzano, white grapes such as the semi-aromatic Kerner thrive; Sylvaner, the winery’s speciality, also grows well here – a new sparkling version is due for launch in December 2022. The producer is also one of several experimenting with fungus-resistant [hybrid] PIWI varieties.

Also in the Isarco valley, at the 3ha Röck estate, Hannes Augschöll is among the new wave of winemakers bringing changes; his range of low-intervention wines includes a Müller- Thurgau pét-nat (see our ‘Buyer’s guide’). ‘I’m aiming for drier, lighter wines than my father’s,’ he says. Each autumn, the winery, along with many others, opens its doors for the Törggelen festival, serving home-cooked dishes and speck (cured ham) that’s been smoked at the stone farmhouse.

At the southern tip of the Isarco valley, with steep 70° slopes, Gump Hof has been run by the Prackwieser family for two centuries. Markus, in charge since 2000, introduced Sauvignon Blanc here, and his wines have an irresistible intensity. He’s one of many planting at ever-higher altitudes; 2021 was the first harvest at 800m, near the striking Presule Castle.

Alto Adige: the facts

Area planted 5,600ha

Altitude range 200m-1,000m

Days of sunshine 300 per annum

Annual production 40 million bottles (64% white, 36% red); 98% are DOC

Source: Consorzio Vini Alto Adige, 2021 altoadigewines.com

Schiava revival

Another young winemaker bringing new ideas is Martin Ramoser at his family’s Fliederhof winery in Santa Maddalena di Sotto, where pergola-trained Schiava vines surround the pretty hillside church, walkable from Bolzano via the St-Oswald footpath. Here, a percentage of inky Lagrein is typically added to naturally pale Schiava (also known as Vernatsch). After dominating the region’s winemaking for centuries, the fresh, light variety has endured a generic table wine image, but things are looking up. ‘I really believe in Schiava’s renaissance,’ says Ramoser. ‘It’s so versatile, and ideal with contemporary cuisine and our local specialities.’

Schiava is also the main grape in the Merano sub-zone, northwest of Bolzano, and the Caldaro DOC area around Caldaro lake to the south. With neighbouring Appiano, Caldaro is the real heart of the region’s wine scene and central to the Strada del Vino with its network of paths through vineyards. Regular events at Caldaro include the ‘Fascination wine world South Tyrol’ sommelier talks and tastings, held on Sundays from April to November; the Kalterer Weintage ‘wine days’ in the market square on 1-2 September; and Weinkulinarium (‘Wine & Cuisine’) on Saturday 1 October (see kaltern.com). It is home to a historic wine museum and wineries such as Peter Sölva, run by the same family for 10 generations making some memorable wines including a Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon-Lagrein blend, Amistar.

With so many growers owning such tiny plots (on average a single hectare), Alto Adige’s admirably run cooperatives are fundamental to the region’s wine production. But rather than churning out lowest-common-denominator wines, many are impressively experimental. The Caldaro co-op is currently trying out different Schiava clones, while Cantina Girlan has launched a Pinot Nero project, and St Pauls is working with Pinot Bianco, the variety grown throughout the region that’s a locals’ favourite for its dry, peppery bite. It’s also a key player (with Pinot Nero and Chardonnay) in the growing movement for Alto Adige traditional-method spumante.

Idyllic setting

The landmark 17th-century Castel Ringberg has fabulous views from the terrace across a patchwork of vines to Caldaro lake. Owned by the Elena Walch winery, a protagonist in the recent drive for quality, it’s run with style and brio by Walch’s two daughters. The main site at Termeno (Tramin in German), the village Gewürztraminer is named after, has a historic cellar with traditional sculpted barrels. While locals are fond of recalling that Gewürztraminer isn’t popular here, some excellent versions of the aromatic variety are produced.

Nearby at Manincor, Count Michael Goëss-Enzenberg and his wife Sophie are hands-on at their biodynamic estate, in an idyllic setting with sheep and chickens among the vines, a stunning manor house dating from 1608 and a modern underground cellar; no wonder it was chosen as the setting for the 2021 TV mini-series The Winemaker (Good Friends Filmproduktion). Barrels are made from estate-grown wood and the wines, including the Mason Pinot Nero, share an elegance that reflects the location.

Horses and oxen are among the animals grazing the vineyards at the Alois Lageder winery, a collection of atmospheric farm buildings in Magrè at the southern end of the Strada del Vino. Many of the wines have Demeter biodynamic certification, and the top range, which ages to the sounds of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, includes an exceptional Chardonnay and a historic field blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Cabernet Franc and Merlot from 140-year-old vines at the Löwengang estate. But they’re mere youngsters compared to a vine planted in the village in 1601, a natural monument that’s still producing grapes today.

Alto Adige is the diamond tip of the Italian wine scene and much of its wine never leaves the region – all the more reason to plan a trip to this extraordinary wine-lover’s wonderland.

My perfect day in Alto Adige

Morning

Start the day at the Piazza Erbe market in central Bolzano to buy locally grown apples, then pick up spicy pastries or choose from a wide range of breads at the Franziskaner bakery (@franziskanerbaeckerei) around the corner. Pop into the Franciscan church next door to see medieval frescoes before taking your purchases for a breakfast picnic at the Talvera riverside park, stopping for coffee on the way. Take a short stroll to see the vines at Castel Mareccio, then cross the river into the Gries neighbourhood. Visit the imposing Muri-Gries monastery (see p68) and try a selection of wines, including some of the very best Lagrein there is. Before leaving the area, walk through exotic vegetation along the zig-zagging Guncina footpath for a stunning panoramic view across the city to the Dolomites.

Lunch & Afternoon

Pick up your car and head southeast and up another hillside for lunch at the idyllic Grafhof farmhouse (see ‘Your Alto Adige address book’), just 5km out of town – though it feels much further than that. Tuck into a meal of farm-fresh eggs with potatoes and speck, followed by strudel made with home-grown apples, all while enjoying the fabulous views across the valley to the Santa Maddalena hill and its tapestry of pergola-trained vines. After lunch, drive south along the Strada del Vino to Caldaro. Explore the attractive town centre, visit the Museo del Vino and stop at the Peter Sölva winery (see above). Walk through vines on the Sentiero del Vino footpath to see Caldaro lake, ending up back in the centre at the Casa del Vino Punkt (see ‘Your Alto Adige address book’) wine bar for a personalised tasting of local wines.

Evening

From Caldaro it’s just 7km to Hotel Weinegg (see ‘Your Alto Adige address book’). After checking in, cross the hotel garden and vines beyond to the K Martini & Sohn winery. Try some of its excellent wines or relax at a barrel table on the patio with a glass of old-vine Pinot Bianco. Enjoy a delicious dinner on the hotel terrace – perhaps local char with white wine mousse and something from the extensive wine list – then finish the day with a relaxing swim under the stars in the hotel’s heated indoor-outdoor pool.

Your Alto Adige address book

Accommodation

Angerburg, San Michele Appiano

This simple yet comfortable, family-run hotel stands in a large garden with an orchard and pool. Balconies have spectacular views and the restaurant serves traditional dishes and local wines.

Hotel Weinegg, Cornaiano

A five-star resort hotel with a well-equipped spa and indoor-outdoor pool, plus superb dining and an impressive wine list including bottles from the owner’s family estate.

Panholzer, Caldaro

Stay at the suite among the vines near lake Caldaro and tuck into beautifully presented seasonal dishes at the gorgeous stone farmhouse restaurant with courtyard garden.

Restaurants & bars

Alois Lageder Paradeis, Magrè

Named after the mountain behind, this organic-certified winery restaurant specialises in light and tasty dishes with much use of estate-grown vegetables, paired, of course, with Alois Lageder wines.

Casa del Vino Punkt, Caldaro

Both a locals’ bar and showcase for Caldaro wines, this informal ‘house of wine’ on the central piazza offers 20-25 wines by the glass, personalised tastings and typical snacks including smoked sausage and local cheese. @weinhauspunkt

Grafhof, Bolzano

The Staffer family’s historic Buschenschank (farmhouse winery serving food), which overlooks Bolzano, has a wood-clad stube and terrace. Enjoy tasty home cooking such as spinach-filled pasta, paired with Schiava wine.

Löwengrube, Bolzano

Tradition and design combine at Bolzano’s oldest restaurant, dating from 1543. There are medieval frescoes, a thousand-strong wine list and a menu featuring dishes such as braised lamb cannelloni.

Rifugio Oberholz, Obereggen

Take the Obereggen chairlift or walk (90 minutes) to this contemporary mountain hut (2,096m above sea level) for spectacular scenery and superb cuisine. Try the Alpine beef with a Lagrein Riserva and sweet kaiserschmarrn pancakes.

Vögele, Bolzano

A local institution with an all-day menu of traditional specialities, this historic tavern guarantees at least 75% regional wines as part of the Locanda Sudtirolese association.

How to get there

Bolzano is 60km from Trento and 150km from Verona, the nearest major airport along with Innsbruck (120km); Alto Adige Bus runs regular shuttles. Bolzano airport has some international flights.

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Trentino-Alto Adige and Friuli-Venezia Giulia make up Italy’s very northeastern tip, and their most renowned vineyards lie near the national frontiers with Austria and Slovenia.

In Alto Adige, the main growing areas form a ‘Y’ shape with the city of Bolzano at its intersection and the conjoining valleys of the Adige and Isarco stretching outwards and upwards to the north, towards Austria.

In Friuli (as it’s commonly called) the key denominations of Colli Orientali, Rosazzo, Collio, Isonzo and Carso run right up to the border with Slovenia.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 10 top white blends from Friuli and Alto Adige

The influence of the shared heritage as part of the old Austro-Hungarian empire is still evident today: Alto Adige (an autonomous region since 1972) embraces its links with Austrian culture and German is still the first language for many; but while surnames over to the east often reveal Slavic origins, most of Friuli feels distinctly Italian.

The two areas spearhead Italy’s burgeoning fine white wine scene: according to the regional consorzi, 68% of wine production in Alto Adige is white and in Friuli almost 75%.

Both regions are probably best known for their single-varietal wines produced from many of the same grape varieties: Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon [Blanc or Vert]. The growing tendency, however, is to place greater emphasis on distinctive and often unique ‘top-end’ blends that are designed to show off the character of their local terroir.

The idea has been gathering momentum since the 1970s in both areas. The release of Jermann’s Vintage Tunina – a blend of Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Malvasia Istriana and Ribolla Gialla (2017, £45.55-£47.76 Field & Fawcett, The Drink Shop) – in 1975 was a milestone for white wine production in Friuli. In the same year, Terlano was recognised as a separate sub-zone of Alto Adige and granted its own denomination, specifying for the ‘cuvée’, or white blended wine, a minimum of 50% Pinot Bianco along with smaller proportions of other grapes, in practice usually Chardonnay and Sauvignon.

The ‘international’ white varieties were introduced in the latter half of the 19th century into both areas through their Dual Monarchy ancestry and the necessary replanting of vineyards following phylloxera. Nowadays, many wineries are following in the footsteps of Jermann and Cantina Terlano, and clear patterns of production are beginning to emerge.

In Alto Adige, producers have adopted the classic Terlano mix of Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay and Sauvignon, while Friuli has seen a major shift towards varieties considered as autochthonous: Friulano [Sauvignon Vert], Malvasia Istriana and Ribolla Gialla. They often form the backbone of Collio Bianco and Colli Orientali Bianco wines, and, alongside Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Pinot Bianco, are permitted constituent parts of Rosazzo, a former sub-zone of Colli Orientali that was granted its own DOCG in 2011.

Alto Adige

The vineyards of Alto Adige share a bewildering mixture of soil types, elevations, altitudes and microclimates, and understanding them is key to knowing which variety works best in each locale.

Pinot Bianco-Chardonnay-Sauvignon blends are mainly produced from vines planted on the limestone-based soils of the hillsides along the right bank of the Adige as it flows southwest (between Bolzano and the southern boundary with Trentino), much the largest expanse of vineyard in the province. They are often ‘personalised’ with the addition of smaller proportions of other grapes – for example, in the village of Tramin, local hero Gewürztraminer gives a real sense of place to Stoan, Cantina Tramin’s proprietary blend (2019, £23.95 Fintry Wines). A few kilometres up the road, Hans Terzer, oenologist at Cantina St Michael-Eppan, adds Pinot Grigio to his premium white blend Appius.

Pinot Bianco, the region’s iconic white grape, remains the heart and soul of Terlano, the village sitting on the left bank and higher up the Adige river, just to the northwest of Bolzano, in an area where the soils are of volcanic origin (mainly porphyry). Cantina Terlano’s superpremium Rarity leans heavily on the variety; the current vintage (2008) is a cuvée of 85% Pinot Bianco, 10% Chardonnay and just 5% Sauvignon Blanc. ‘Sauvignon can dominate if you’re not careful,’ maintains Terlano’s sales and marketing director Klaus Gasser. ‘In any case, Pinot Bianco is the variety we always come back to.’

Towards the more extreme limits of the vineyards, producers look to other varieties for their inspiration. Conrad Pixner’s Bergkellerei Passeier sits high up in the Passeier valley, north of Merano, at St Martin in Passeier. His Giovo blend is made from equal parts Chardonnay grown at Tirolo just above Merano, and Solaris from vineyards close to the winery, the highest of which sits at 1,100m. Solaris, a disease-resistant variety originally bred at the Freiburg Institute in Germany in the 1970s, is finding favour in this area as its short growing season enables it to flourish at high altitudes. ‘When it ripens fully up here,’ says Pixner, ‘Solaris can accumulate enough sugars to achieve about 14% alcohol and still maintain 10g/L of acidity.’

At the southern tip of the area, the Franz Haas winery sits on the left bank of the Adige, across from Tramin. Back in the mid1990s, Haas put together an eclectic blend of Riesling, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer and Sauvignon called Manna, from vineyards at up to 800m in nearby Aldino, Egna and Montagna. His idea was to create a wine versatile enough to match a wide range of foods. In recent vintages he has cut back on the proportions of Riesling and Gewürztraminer in favour of Kerner, sourced from the Valle Isarco where this Trollinger/ Riesling cross seems to perform at its best.

Andreas Huber, winemaker at Pacherhof, blends Kerner with Sylvaner and Riesling high up above Bressanone, northeast of Bolzano, where these more aromatic varieties come into their own. His Private Cuvée epitomises the fresh, fragrant, mineral-toned wines with racy acidity that the Valle Isarco excels at.

Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Almost 10% of Friuli’s registered vineyards are planted to Friulano, the main grape behind most of the region’s premium blends. Blending with Malvasia Istriana and Ribolla Gialla is the favoured option in the Collio and Colli Orientali DOC and Rosazzo DOCG areas, though Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco and Sauvignon Blanc are also frequently used. Ribolla is not, however, authorised for DOC wines in Isonzo and Carso.

Collio and the premium areas of Colli Orientali (including Rosazzo) are made up of low-lying hillside sites of marl and sandstone soils known locally as ponca, and growing conditions are much more homogenous than in Alto Adige. The varying proportions of grape varieties used and individual choices made by the winemaker thus have a more obvious bearing on style – for example, fermentation with extended skin contact is a popular way of maximising aroma, flavour and texture.

On his small family estate at Pradis between Cormons and Capriva, Roberto Picéch uses a relatively high proportion of Ribolla (40%), ferments Friulano on the skins and then ages his Collio Bianco Jelka in barrel, cement and bottle before release some five years after the harvest.

A little to the east, towards San Floriano del Collio, Robert Princic’s Gradis’ciutta blend is composed of 50% Friulano, 30% Malvasia and 20% Ribolla. He ferments in wood and the wine spends one year in barrel followed by 18 months in stainless steel before bottling; the extra ageing allows him to market Gradis’ciutta as an example of the rarely seen Collio Riserva.

Using that same mix and proportions of grapes, Ivan Muzic ferments his Collio Stare Brajde, a Decanter World Wine Awards Best in Show winner in 2021, in tonneaux followed by a year in bottle, for a style built on purity and freshness of fruit.

The legendary Picolit, the grape behind one of Italy’s rarest but very finest dessert wines thanks to its exceptional sugar/acid balance, also has a part to play here. A healthy percentage can transform a dry white blend into something really quite distinctive according to Marco Sara, one of a small group of producers at Savorgnano del Torre in the northern Colli Orientali, north of Udine, who have come up with the idea of creating a unique blend of Friulano and Picolit to best define their territory. ‘Using 30% of Picolit really sweetens up the slightly herbaceous fruit that can characterise Friulano in slightly cooler areas like ours,’ he notes. Usually playing more of a bit-part in blends (mostly at about 20%), Ribolla Gialla, as in Jermann’s Vinnae, can also perform extremely well as the dominant variety.

Best of the best

Though overshadowed by the rise in popularity of varietal wines over the past few decades, the blend is now back with a bang. Historically, vineyards throughout Italy were planted to an uvaggio, or a mix of grapes, and these ‘field blends’ are behind many of today’s premium blends.

However, another interpretation of the idea is designed to scale new heights. ‘With Nama, we wanted to create a wine that is the very essence of Nals Margreid,’ insists Gottfried Pollinger, CEO of Cantina Nals Margreid in Alto Adige. Homing in on vineyards from two of their top growers – a plot of Chardonnay at Magré, northeast of Trento, and small blocks of Pinot Bianco and Sauvignon at Nalles further north – oenologist Harald Schraffl came up with the Nama blend to express the character of their terroir in such a way as to appeal to international taste. The concept of ‘the best of the best’ allows the premium blend to take its place alongside the top varieties in a winery’s range. Nama captures that combination of ripe, succulent fruit, racy acidity and silky texture that represents the quintessential characteristics of the best Alto Adige wines.

Similarly, in Friuli, the premium blend typifies the white wine of real substance, majestically rich in aroma, flavour and texture that has earned the region its stripes. In both areas, these wines are built to last: a lifespan of 10 years or more in the best vintages is certainly realistic.

Garner’s selection: 10 white blends from Friuli and Alto Adige that demonstrate the best of the northeast

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If you can tear yourself away from the mountain views, and trips down to Lake Garda, then this boutique Italian wine estate could be a fascinating project in the Trentino-Alto Adige region.

Located near to Trento, it includes 13.9 hectares of vineyards and a three-floor, five-bedroom farmhouse and a winery with a barrel cellar, according to the listing by Christie’s International Real Estate and Romolini Immobiliare.

The location and facilities mean the property is at the higher end of the market, however, with a list price of €8.95m (nearly £8.1m).

While many prospective buyers of Italian vineyards may look towards the Sangiovese stronghold of Tuscany or dream of making Nebbiolo wines in Piedmont, Trentino-Alto Adige offers something different.

A range of wine styles can be made at this estate, from Gewürztraminer and Chardonnay to Pinot Noir and Merlot.

According to the listing, grape varieties planted at the estate include:

• Gewürztraminer, making up 24% of the vineyard;
• Chardonnay, 20%;
• Pinot Gris, 13%;
• Cabernet Sauvignon, 13%;
• Merlot, 11%;
• Moscato Rosa, 6%;
• Pinot Noir, 6%;
• Moscato Giallo, 6%;
• Cabernet Franc, 1%.

The estate’s vineyards are capable of yielding around 200,000 bottles of wine per year, but the winery could make up to 300,000 bottles if a buyer chose to purchase extra grapes, the listing says.

In the cellar, winemaking takes place on the ground floor, with an ageing and barrel cellar on the lower ground floor. There is an office on the first floor, but also a ‘ventilation’ room for drying grapes, according to the listing.

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The biennial Wine Summit in Bolzano is more than just another anteprima tasting. Seminars and winery tours form an integral part of the event, providing the background knowledge for a better-informed approach to the 200 or so new releases available to taste. The unique conditions of the Alto Adige’s jaw-dropping vineyard scenery – climate, topography and altitude – are the key feature.

An extraordinary turnaround since the 1980s has seen the area transformed from a supplier of anonymous, mainly red, bulk wine into Italy’s most exciting source of fine whites. While international grapes like Chardonnay and Sauvignon paved the way, nowadays the stunning cocktail of freshness, aroma and structure that varieties such as Gewürztraminer, Pinot Bianco and Riesling deliver with such grace takes centre stage. Even Pinot Grigio can produce something special.

Meanwhile, heading along the autostrada from Bolzano up the Isarco valley (or Eisacktal, as it is frequently called in this quintessentially bilingual area) towards the Brenner Pass, Italy’s northernmost vineyards produce outstanding examples of the less fashionable Müller-Thurgau, Sylvaner, Kerner and Grüner Veltliner at altitudes of up to 1,000 metres. Think ‘as clean and fresh as a mountain stream’.

While the higher vineyards clinging to the rocky slopes seem predestined to produce fine white wines, more surprising perhaps is the commendable surge in quality of the reds. Again, international grapes have played an important role. Mumelter Riserva, a Cabernet Sauvignon from excellent local cooperative Cantina Bolzano, even won a 2019 Decanter World Wine Awards Best in Show trophy. Similarly, the Alto Adige enjoys a burgeoning reputation for Italy’s finest Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir), primarily on the cooler, west-facing slopes of the Adige valley around the villages of Mazzon and Montagna.

As with the whites, attention is turning back towards the red grapes traditionally associated with the area. The variety behind those oceans of anonymous bulk red, Schiava (Vernatsch in German), is undergoing a radical shift in favour. Experiments with lower yields and vines grown in different types of terreno (the Italian word for terroir) are beginning to tease out unexpectedly impressive nuances from this working-class hero.

Preferring the lower altitudes around the area’s principal city of Bolzano, the other important indigenous red grape is Lagrein. Until just a few decades ago, the variety was mainly used to produce Kretzer (a rosé wine) but nowadays the pendulum has swung the other way and 80% of Lagrein is made into a full-bodied red that’s usually at its best by its 10th birthday.

Still, if the Alto Adige has an iconic wine, it has to be Pinot Bianco (Weissburgunder). Its unique combination of scintillating freshness and juicy ripeness seems to encapsulate the best of this remarkable area. Add in the wine’s undoubted ageing capacity, and its true potential becomes as clear as the alpine sky.

Michael Garner’s top 18 Alto Adige wines

Back in mid-1980s while restoring its winery in Alto Adige, Cantina Terlan made a chance discovery of some 18,000-20,000 bottles of wine hidden behind a wall.

Former winemaker Sebastian Stocker had hidden the bottles between 1955 and 1993, convinced that the wines were not receiving the consideration they deserved. Stocker, a farmer remembered for his open mindedness and his expertise in the vineyards of Alto Adige, passed away in 2017.He understood the extraordinary quality of the Vorberg hill and its ability to increase the reputation of Terlan’s wines based on their potential to age. Today the estate boasts reserves of 120,000 bottles from more than 70 different vintages. This is a defining feature for Terlan among Italian wineries and sits alongside its reputation for producing wines of incredible depth and consistency and one of the best Pinot Blancs in the world.

Founded in 1893, the estate is comprised of 145 member-suppliers spanning over 180 hectares, with an average of 0.7 ha per member. Since Terlan approved a merger with Andrian winery back in 2008, the members expanded to 230 in number covering over 260 ha. The two brands function separately, collectively producing 1.5 million bottles per year.

With experience in the cool continental climate of Alto Adige, the ability to receive grapes from several plots, and an undying passion for Champagne, Stocker had a strong desire to produce sparkling wines. The board members never agreed to his project, yet since 1967 the winemaker began to hide away stainless steel tanks to store “reserve wines” on the fine lees with the thought that one day, when the board would change their mind, he would be set for layered and complex sparkling wines.

Not by chance but almost by mistake, Stocker’s aged Pinot Blanc – tasted years later – came out extremely gracefully due to the golden balance between the weight of long ageing on the fine lees and the vibrancy of the steep volcanic hill of Vorberg. Since then, this prolonged winemaking became the ‘Stocker method’, defining the style of Terlano and their signature Rarity wines bottled only after eight years. With this a sophisticated Italian icon wine was born.

The Terlan estates rise around the village of Terlan, mostly around Vorberg, but also around the Kreuth and Winkl hills. The former is a group of steep vineyards with up to 50% gradient at 600 metres above sea level with a south east exposition. Worked only by hand grapes from here fetch seven euros per kilo, as in Champagne.

The soil is a red quartz porphyry with volcanic origin and sandy surface. Vines are up to 60 years old with the oldest trained in Pergola style and the younger vines trained with Guyot. The climate is cool and continental, frequently exposed to extreme weather. The growing season can be very hot and dry, while hailstorms from the north are a threat deterred by netting over the north side of the rows.

One of the main factors in producing such a layered Pinot Blanc is the altitude of Vorberg, where there are extremely high night and day temperature variations. Indeed, this grape suffers warm climate conditions more than Chardonnay considering its acidity.

‘We are used to warm vintages,’ says winemaker Rudi Kofler who is more worried about the autumnal anxiety of rain showers. That said, vintages such as 2008, a crazy season with exaggerated hailstorms, was surprisingly great, while some dry and warm years like 2012 or 2009 are hindered by a slight lack of tension. Overall Vorberg is extremely well suited to show its sophisticated character year after year with great potential.

The blends such as Nova Domus or Terlaner Gran Cuvée are always very consistent, while the Vorberg and Rarity pure Pinot Blanc wines are thrilling.

Aldo Fiordelli’s top Terlano Pinot Blancs

See also: Top Alto Adige wines to try

Exciting wines to seek out from this pocket of northern Italy, plus producers to watch...

Alto Adige is one of the smallest winegrowing regions in Italy, yet one of the most commercially appealing.

Between an Alpine and Mediterranean climate, Alto Adige’s winemaking area comprises just 5,400ha of vineyards. This has risen by approximately 400 to 500ha over the past 10 years, and has the potential to increase further. Vineyards range from 200 to 1,000 metres above sea level and the region boasts more than 300 days of sun per year.

Scroll down to see Aldo’s best wines from Alto Adige

Cool and warm influences

The Alps protect the region from the cold northerly winds and have been credited with playing a major role in helping vines to thrive, according to Barbara Raifer of the Laimburg Research Center.

That said, Alto Adige is also influenced by warmer temperatures flowing up through Lake Garda, especially in July and August when Bolzano often soars to temperatures as high as those in Florence, which are some of Italy’s hottest.

Some believe that this leaves Alto Adige exposed to the consequences of climate change. Grapes in the area are generally being harvested two to three weeks earlier (up until late August) than just 20 years ago, for example. Several producers have sought higher ground for their vineyards and this trend is perhaps most visible with Pinot Noir.

Approximately 30 years ago, this noble grape could be planted directly above Egna in the Bassa Atesina. But today that area is primarily planted to ancient red wine grape Lagrein, believed to be a native of South Tyrol.

Winemaking

Partly as a reaction to challenges posed by climate change, blending has become more popular, having been pioneered by the Counts Goëss-Enzenberg of Manincor.

One outstanding example is Appius, a DOC Alto Adige wine and the top selection of Hans Terzer at Sanct Valentin; its fourth vintage, the 2013, consisting of 55% Chardonnay and 25% Sauvignon Blanc, plus Pinot Bianco and Pinot Grigio.

New French oak is often favoured for premium wines in the area, while winemakers have put more energy into examining their top vineyard sites in recent years.

Best sites

Mazon is the most renowned ‘grand cru’-level site for Pinot Noir wines, with top examples including Trattmann from Girlan. It lies on the left bank of the Adige river in the southernmost Bassa Atesina sub-region, between 300-400 metres above sea level. Clay and dolomite limestone soils dominate.

The Isarco Valley, at between 400 and 800 metres, is home to white wines of a remarkable purity, such as those of Kofererhof, with vines planted on weathered, rocky soils composed of quartz and mica .

Producers to watch

In the challenge for complexity, Alois Lageder is the undeniable leader of organic and biodynamic viticulture. Meanwhile, Cantina Terlano is changing minds about whites, producing extraordinary age-worthy wines.

Several young producers, such as Martin Gojer of Campill, are adding complexity to Schiava, the most widely-planted grape and which usually produces a deliciously dry, fruity wine with a tremendously easy drinking style. It is vinified without destemming and has the potential to become a sort of ‘Italian Jura’.

From the archive: Alto Adige wine – Back to the future

Aldo’s best wines from Alto Adige:

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Top volcanic wines

Top Pinot Noir wines outside Burgundy

Soave revival: Producers to know

Christelle Guibert headed up into the Dolomites to visit Elisabetta Foradori, a key figure in Italian winemaking, who put Trentino and its native grapes on the map...

Now fifteen minutes late and my blood pressure rising, I’m driving up and down this steep, serpentine road sliced through the Dolomites mountain range, trying to find Elisabetta Foradori’s house. It was a chance encounter with her wines five years ago that first sparked my curiosity. Wines with such energy and purity, from unheard-of grape varieties; a visit was a must.

Meeting Foradori, one is immediately struck by her calm poise, her elegance, charm and intensity. She comes across as friendly with a bohemian chic look, oozing charisma as if straight out of a Jean-Luc Godard movie.

Today she is joined at the table by Emilio, her eldest son. While Foradori seems thoroughly Italian, Emilio’s Germanic accent betrays something of his origins, and the region of Trentino.

Neighbouring Alto-Adige is the historic land of South Tyrol, and an echo of the Austrian empire remains. Names of places are in both Italian and German, the Bayern Munich flag is flown, and spaezle (gnocchi-like dumplings) are regularly seen on menus.

Scroll down for Christelle’s top five wines from Foradori

Emilio is young but has been brought up thinking about wine. It was a different story for Elisabetta, thrown in at the deep end in sad circumstances. Aged 11 when her father passed away, she watched while her mother struggled on, in competition with the local cooperatives. ‘She wasn’t so connected to the vines, more to the bank account. A very pragmatic woman,’ Foradori recalls with an affectionate smile.Her grandfather, a lawyer also involved in local politics, had first bought the 15 hectare domaine in the 1920s and sold wine in bulk. Bottling the wine under the Foradori name would have to wait until 1960 when Elisabetta’s father Roberto learned oenology and injected more ambition into the winery.Throughout this time Trentino’s wines remained unknown to a wider public.‘I didn’t decide to make wine. I had to do what my father had done,’ she notes with a nonchalant shrug. She enrolled in the local oenology school aged 16 and before long was in charge. A passionate mountain climber, the greatest appeal of running a wine estate was to be working outdoors, and the space and freedom it allowed her.

‘I was alone, but I was completely free to do what I wanted, as my mother wasn’t involved,’ she says. ‘At 20 I had a lot of responsibility, but also a lot of space.’

Her passion for nature and the outdoors is clear. She looks wistful as she recalls hunting with her grandfather, and in the vineyard she skips around like a contented child, admiring her compost and pointing out with pride the quantity of worms with which it hums.

Foradori at a glance

• Area under vine 24ha, including 9ha leased
• Varieties planted 75% Teroldego (pergola- and trellis-grown), 15% Manzoni Bianco, 5% Nosiola, 5% Pinot Grigio
  (bought-in grapes)
• Average yields 45hl/ha on trellis, 65-70hl/ha on old pergolas, 35-40hl/ ha on old pergolas for Granato
• Average annual production 160,000 bottles, of which: 80,000 estate Teroldego; 20,000-25,000 Manzoni Bianco;
  20,000 Granato; 10,000 Morei (from 2.5ha); 10,000 Sgarzon (from 2.4ha); 8,000 Nosiola; 8,000 Pinot Grigio
• Soil Alluvial, limestone and sand
• Vine density 6,000/ha 
  

Love and innovation

The first major change, both in the vineyard and in her life, came with the arrival of Rainer Zierock, a biochemistry professor from Germany who was lecturing locally. As well as love, marriage and three children, he brought a boundless creativity which, if somewhat wayward, gave incentive to experimentation and ambition in the wines.

As she recalls: ‘The accepted wisdom at the time was that the local grape varieties weren’t capable of producing anything good. But Granato was born in 1986, thanks to Rainer.’ Made from old-vine Teroldego grown on traditional pergolas, Granato would go on to become Foradori’s flagship wine, helping to put the esate, the region and the grape variety firmly on the map.

Although they would ultimately divorce, and Zierock sadly pass away in 2009, his presence is still keenly felt. A quote of his continues to adorn the back label of the wines, his artwork is on the walls of the family house, and many innovations – such as massal selection and the focus on indigenous varieties – can be traced back to his time.

‘Emilio’s father was a crazy man but a special man, very clever and impulsive,’ recalls Foradori. ‘He was like an artist: very difficult on the one hand but with a lot of love on the other.’

The 1990s was a period of mixed fortunes. The business was flourishing, and Granato was gaining increased recognition among connoisseurs. Privately though, as well as the difficulties of divorce in 1993, Foradori felt an increasing sense of disconnection.

‘By the end of the 1990s, I was done,’ she says. ‘The money was good and the winery was very successful, but I was missing the intuition, the connection with the land.’

This existential crisis was only averted with the help of Alsatian winemaker friend Marc Kreydenweiss. On his recommendation, Foradori adopted biodynamic practices in the vineyard.

This, a ‘life or death move’ by her own admission, allowed the reconnection with the soil she had been craving. She started with 2ha in 2000, and by 2002 the entire domaine was being run biodynamically, and was fully certified by Demeter in 2009.

The next important chapter for the estate began after an exchange with Giusto Occhipinti, winemaker at COS in Sicily. Impressed with the results in his own wines, Occhipinti urged the use of clay amphorae or tinajas.

Foradori bought one 400-litre tinaja in 2008 and started experimenting with skin contact on the white wines. The vessels are left open and the grapes and juice fermented for 20 days, with the skins submerged by hand, then the tinajas are closed for six to eight months.

The biggest danger is fermentation stopping, and because of this two or three tinajas-worth of wine will be lost each vintage. ‘I remember when I opened them for the first time I was so afraid everything would oxidise,’ she recalls.

But in fact the results were so positive that tinajas were soon used for the red wines as well, and the winery now boasts 158 amphorae. Foradori insists on only using one craftsman, from Villarrobledo in Spain, sceptical of the quality to be found in others.

As we leave the cellar, she pauses to scan the room and reflects: ‘With this [the tinajas], the last bit of technology in my head died!’

Foradori – a timeline

• 1920 Vittorio Foradori, a Trentino lawyer, buys the estate and sells wine in bulk
• 1960 His son Roberto takes over and starts bottling wine under the Foradori name
• 1976 Roberto Foradori dies
• 1981 Roberto’s daughter, Elisabetta, starts studying oenology in Trentino, aged 16
• 1984 Elisabetta Foradori takes over the winery
• 1985 Massal selection started
• 1986 First vintage of signature wine, Granato, released
• 1987 Elisabetta meets Professor Rainer Zierock, a big influence and the father of her three children
• 2002 First biodynamic preparations used on advice from winemaker friend Marc Kreydenweiss
• 2007 Lease of 8ha vineyard, Fontanasanta, near Trento
• 2008 First tinajas bought and experiments begin on skin-contact white wine
• 2009 Certified biodynamic by Demeter; first skin-contact wine, Nosiola, launched
• 2013 Emilio Zierock, Elisabetta’s son, starts at the winery after work experience abroad
• 2015 Emilio is now in charge of the winemaking. His brother Theo Zierock joins to handle public relations and sales management for Foradori

The next generation

Today the work in the cellar has been passed on to Emilio, though his mother very much remains an active participant. As he wryly observes: ‘Now it is a collaboration. If there are any doubts – but there are never any doubts – mum decides!’ Having studied philosophy before oenology, followed by work experience as diverse as Bordeaux’s Château Cheval Blanc and Bodega Chacra in Patagonia, Emilio expresses continuity from both parents.

The main change in the winery has been shorter macerations and gentler extractions, now with up to 30% whole bunches in their fermentations. As he explains: ‘I make cakes and hamburgers,’ inserting whole bunches between berries (hamburgers) or building up layer upon layer of whole bunches with berries (cakes).

Emilio is keen to stress this is far from the hippy image of hands-off, natural wine- making. ‘You have to be present, you have to observe, and if things are going in the wrong direction you have to act. This means a lot of looking down a microscope. You never know exactly what’s happening in the tanks, but you use your judgement and guide it a bit. And some wines need to be guided.’

The effect has been to retain the wines’ distinctive freshness and complexity, but also to emphasise their softer side. ‘My mum says the wines are more floral now; ironically the wines I make have become more feminine.’ Seeing the two of them together, there is a clear mutual respect, even if both admit mixing work and home life has its challenges.

In her poise, charisma and energy, Elisabetta Foradori brings to mind the late Anne-Claude Leflaive of Burgundy, another woman whose wines reach the heights of individuality, precision and excellence.

As the evening meal draws to a close, a thunderstorm descends on the Dolomite hillside. Foradori perches on the windowsill, rolls a cigarette and gazes out. Just a flicker of melancholy crosses her face, illuminated by the dramatic light show outside. For a woman who so clearly puts her heart and soul into everything she does, stepping back cannot be easy.

Guibert’s selection: five great Foradori wines

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Gianni Brunelli: A Brunello vertical

Michaela Morris visits the Gianni Brunelli estate, a leading light for the Brunello di Montalcino appellation...

An absolutely stunning Müller-Thurgau, run through with class and charm, its minty, floral nose graced with clementine, yellow plum, spice, lavender and white pepper. It’s lithe, long and extraordinarily pure, with bracing acidity and penetrating flavours of green apples, thyme and a deliciously cleansing, vital finish (13%).

£23.99 Armit Wines

Yes, a Trophy for Müller-Thurgau. This is a grape that has largely fallen from favour in Germany and New Zealand, but grown on the Fennberg plateau at 1,000m, surrounded by the Alps, it has proven its quality.

The wine is named after Franz Philipp Freiherr von Fenner zu Fennberg, founder of the Austrian Kaiserjäger (the emperor’s soldiers), who used the Hofstatt estate on the Fennberg mountain as a summer residence.

Herbert Tiefenbrunner, father of current winery owner Christof, used to spend his summer holidays on the estate and, inspired by a vine growing along the wall of the house, decided to plant a vineyard on the site.

Why Müller-Thurgau? Herbert figured that its tendency to flower late and ripen early would protect it from bad weather at either end of the growing season. The vineyard, a steep 15km drive from the Tiefenbrunner winery, enjoys a thermal advantage from being planted on a plateau, rather than steep slopes – all the more so because the vines are south-facing. Meanwhile, the Alps offer protection from the harsh northerly wind, and there is an additional warming effect from the Ora wind from Lake Garda.

Herbert died at the age of 87 in April this year – before he could see his beloved wine win this International Trophy.

Christof Tiefenbrunner and his wife Sabine; Christof’s late father Herbert founded the estate

Tasted against

Argyros, Assyrtiko, Santorini, Aegean Islands, Greece 2014 • Grace, Koshu Private Reserve, Yamanashi, Chubu, Japan 2014 • Gross, Furmint, Stajerska, Podravje, Slovenia 2013 • Pazo Señorans, Selección de Añada, Rías Baixas, Spain 2007 • Rabl, Käferberg Alte Reben, Kamptal, Niederösterreich, Austria 2013 • Soalheiro, Alvarinho, Monção e Melgaço, Vinho Verde, Portugal 2014 • Szent Tamás, Dongó, Tokaj, Hungary 2013 • Tempus Two, Zenith Semillon, Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia 2007.

Richard Baudains attended the Alto Adige Pinot Bianco Symposium with low expectations and memories of watery, characterless whites. Totally wowed by the wines, he explains here what lies behind the transformation.

Pinot Blanc is very much the Cinderella of the Pinot family. Its noble lineage (it descends directly from Pinot Noir) is not recognised in the widely used German name ‘Weissburgunder’ and, to make matters worse, it has often been confused with Chardonnay. Though it is capable of making wines of sensual elegance and refinement, it is incapable of seducing international markets, which continue to be dominated by the vastly inferior Pinot Grigio.

In most parts of the world, Pinot Blanc is relegated to the category of ‘minor variety’. In Germany, the world’s biggest grower of Pinot Blanc/ Weissburgunder, it is condemned to live in the shadow of Riesling; and in Alsace, its place in the pecking order is several places below that of Riesling and Gewürztraminer. Probably the only region anywhere with a passionate belief in this beautiful, misunderstood variety, and a vision for its future, is Alto Adige.

It was not always thus. When I lived in the regional capital of Bolzano in the 1980s, Pinot Bianco was the default setting for card players in the local bars, and it was watery and totally characterless. Sporadic, subsequent tastings had not changed my perception much, so when I signed up for the recent Alto Adige Pinot Bianco Symposium, it was without particularly high expectations. But in the event I was totally wowed by the wines – and I am hard to impress when it comes to white wines.

Aim high

Pinot Bianco has been recorded along the upper valley of the Adige since the mid-19th century, although it was only granted its own DOC in Alto Adige in 1985. At that time yields were generous and the wines were light, dry and very simple. Since then profound changes have taken place. Alto Adige has shaken off its insularity to become one of Italy’s top white wine regions – some would argue the top region. Sauvignon Blanc and Gewürztraminer were the first grape varieties to make an impact here, but today the wine which is setting the wires humming is Pinot Bianco.

Several things are behind the huge improvement in quality. One has been a drastic reduction in yields, another the replacement of the traditional pergola with the guyot training system, which is much better suited to Pinot Bianco. Producers all agree, however, that the critical factor is terroir. And that means heading for the hills.

Official figures show that the planting of Pinot Bianco is increasing, but in selected areas. Essentially the variety is migrating from the lower slopes where it was heavily planted in the past, to higher sites, in particular in the villages around Appiano, on the right bank of the Adige river. To realise its amazing potential, Pinot Bianco needs to look down on the valley from a height of at least 400m. At Terlano, the area’s historic cooperative makes its prodigiously long-ageing Pinot Bianco riservas from vineyards which stretch up to 700m.

Snow-capped mountains form the backdrop of other great sites above Merano (Cantina Merano Burggräfler), in the valley of the Isarco River (Gumphof) and even in the northern, Rieslingfriendly Venosta valley (Hofgut Falkenstein). Soils also play a major role. Wines from the calcareous right bank of the Adige are generally fleshier, while the sandy-volcanic soils of the area between Bolzano and Merano, especially the DOC sub-zone of Terlano, are steelier and more minerally.

Wide choice

Alto Adige’s extremely savvy cooperatives produce over two-thirds of the region’s wine. They set the standards (high) and the prices (highly competitive), and have a massive influence on trends. A co-op will typically bottle three levels, an entry-level Pinot Bianco in the ‘drink youngest available’ style, possibly a mid-range cellar selection, and a top single-vineyard cru. Terlaner’s Vorberg is the archetype of the latter, but other names abound.

Second in terms of the share of production are the privately owned, negociant-style wineries which buy in grapes but may also own esteemed vineyards. Standards are high here, too. Alois Lageder, for example, produces the complex, delicately floral Haberle from his organic estate, but also makes impressive quantities of an excellent generic varietal wine, sourced from contract growers.

Independent grower-bottlers account for a mere 5% of the output, but their number is growing and they count among their ranks a new generation of producers who are young, qualified, committed, may be organic/biodynamic, own small plots and have distinctive winemaking styles. Names to look for in this category include the organic estate of Thomas Niedermayr at Appiano, the microproduction of Andreas Sölva from Caldaro, and Weingut Stroblhof at St Michele.

Ageing gracefully

A typical, young Alto Adige Pinot Bianco will be fresh and refined on the nose; there is none of the blowsy aromatic blast that you get from Sauvignon Blanc. The fruit is apples and pears, but picked late it can veer towards a more tropical character. There will be floral aromas, perhaps a hint of camomile or dandelion, and the fingerprint note of orange blossom. The palate will have body but also firm, reassuring acidity and it will be bone dry, or almost.

Top wines can develop a marvellous herby complexity over four to five years, without ever losing their freshness and zip. Pinot Bianco offers the winemaker many options. Vinification in stainless steel brings out its crunchy apple and citrus character. Oak treatment – generally tonneaux or traditional larger barrels, which work better than barriques – gives depth and complexity to the riserva category, which ages for two years before release.

The put-down on Alto Adige whites used to be ‘technically impeccable, but winemaking by numbers, with no personality’. At one time this was probably true, but it no longer applies. The Pinot Bianco revolution in Alto Adige showcases the talents of the region’s winemakers, but more than that, it unfolds the terroir map of this beautiful region. As Hans Terzer, director/winemaker at St Michael-Eppan and one of the region’s most authoritative figures says, ‘Alto Adige has passed out of the era of technological winemaking and into the era of terroir. The future lies in the search for top quality and personality through the matching of sites and varieties.’ As a mission statement, you cannot fault that.

Written by Richard Baudains

Next page

Richard Baudains attended the Alto Adige Pinot Bianco Symposium with low expectations and memories of watery, characterless whites. Totally wowed by the wines, he explains here what lies behind the transformation.

Baudains’ top Pinot Biancos from the hills of Alto Adige

Girlan, Plattenriegl Pinot Bianco 2013

18.5pts/20 (95/100pts)

Sweet, ripe fruit nose with notes of butter biscuits. Rich, fleshy entry on the palate, with concentrated nectarine and candied peel fruit. Firm underlying structure, bags of energy and a long, punchy finish with salted lime character. Young.

Price: £11.81 Enoteca Hukin

Drink 2015-2020

Alc 14%

Gumphof, Südtiroler Weissburgunder 2013

18.5pts/20 (95/100pts)

Fragrant, complex, sweet floral nose with a hint of violets and at the back a faint chalkiness. Lovely mid-weight, balanced, fluid palate with crisp green apple character and a long complex finish with a touch of orange peel to balance the tangy mineral flavours.

Price: N/A UK gumphof.it

Drink 2015-2018

Alc 13.5%

Lageder, Haberle Pinot Bianco 2012

18.5pts/20 (95/100pts)

Elegant, refined nose with delicate complexity. Floral, herby and zesty, with touches of fennel and beeswax. Floats gracefully on the palate towards a lovely, fresh, grapey finish with bright fruit and savoury mineral contrast. Perfect to drink now.

Price: £12.50 Exel Wines, Winedirect

Drink 2015-2016

Alc 13.5 %

Nals Margreid, Sirmian Pinot Bianco, 2013

18.5pts/20 (95/100pts)

Intense, juicy fruit on the nose with a hint of flintiness at the back. Palate is concentrated, tight, linear and long, with passion fruit and mango woven into the tangy mineral flavours plus a touch of bitters in the finish. Great structure and huge length. Very young, great promise.

Price: £10 Lay & Wheeler

Drink 2015-2020

Alc 14%

Terlan, Vorberg Pinot Bianco Riserva 2011

18.5pts/20 (95/100pts)

Intense and focused on the nose, with hawthorn and citrus, a touch of sweet spice and an intriguing smokiness. Mid-weight body, firm structure, great crisp, mouthwatering intensity and huge length. Huge personality. Still very young.

Price: £22.50 AG Wines, Astrum Wine Cellars, Field & Fawcett

Drink 2015-2020

Alc 13.5%

Kaltern, Solos Pinot Bianco 2013

18pts/20 (93/100pts)

Fresh and delicate on the nose with floral, herby complexity, plus touches of peppermint, barley sugar, bread crust and lemon pith. Crisp Granny Smith apple on the palate, with a hint of white peach. Long, fluid, very natural palate. Still quite closed on the finish, but will open out with time.

Price: N/A UK kellereikaltern.com

Drink 2015-2018

Alc 13.5%

Thomas Niedermayr, TN 76 Südtirol Weissburgunder 2013

18pts/20 (93/100pts)

Concentrated, but still quite closed on the nose, with an intriguing mix of sweet ripe fruit and bitter herbs. Round, fleshy start on the palate with a ripe grapey character and lots of concentration. Fresh lemon zest on the finish with a touch of flintiness. Will open up. From biodynamic growers.

Price: N/A UK Thomas-Niedermayr.com

Drink 2015-2018

Alc 14.5%

Franz Gojer, Karneid Südtirol Weissburgunder 2013

17.5pts/20 (91/100pts)

Complex, with a nose of savoury herbs and sweet spices, plus a touch of dried apricot. Great structure and volume on the palate. Big, direct, punchy and concentrated; bone-dry finish with notes of marzipan and peach kernels.

Price: N/A UK gojer.it

Drink 2015-2018

Alc 13.5%

Kellerei St Pauls, Passion Pinot Bianco Riserva 2012

17.5pts/20 (91/100pts)

Sweet tropical fruit nose, with pineapple, peach and a slight whiff of smokiness. Ripe fruit palate with refreshing, zesty acidity, delicate structure but great intensity and a long, crisp finish with notes of lime and orange peel.

Price: N/A UK kellereistpauls.it

Drink 2015-2018

Alc 13.5%

St Michael-Eppan, WeissburWhite gunder, Schulthauser, Südtirol 2013

17pts/20 (90/100pts)

Fresh, bittersweet floral nose, with classic dandelion and orange blossom. Substance on the palate with cheerful yellow apple and citrus flavours, good balance, medium length and dry finish. Impeccable, from a historic producer.

Price: £13.99 Eurowines

Drink 2015-2018

Alc 13.5%

Note: In the bilingual Alto Adige/Südtirol, labels may show Italian and/or German wine names.

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It's not just the mountains that reach heady heights in north-eastern Italy – the local wines from terraced lands are also worth exploring, writes Michèle Shah. Read her Trentino-Alto Adige travel guide here.

FACT FILE

Planted area: 13,137ha

Main grapes: White: Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Bianco, Riesling, Müller- Thurgau, Moscato, Sylvaner, Riesling, Gewürztraminer Red: Lagrein, Teroldego, Marzemino, Schiava, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc

Production: 958,000 hectolitres a year: 55% red, 45% white

Quick links:

• My perfect day in the Dolomites
• Alto-Adige and Trentino: where to stay, eat and shop

The soaring peaks of the Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage site, rise to more than 3,000m and feature breathtaking vertical walls, sheer cliffs and deep, long valleys. No surprise, then, that this majestic mountain range is a popular attraction for skiing in winter and alpine trekking in summer. But even if you’re not the outdoors type, the region is worth a visit for its wonderful food and wine alone.

There are three Michelin-starred restaurants, all within a 15km radius, each annexed to gemütlich (cosy) hotels, plus spectacular vineyards producing outstanding mountain wines.

• See more Decanter travel guides to Italy

Northern highlights

Situated in northeastern Italy, the Dolomites are easily reached from the city of Bolzano in the region of Trentino-Alto Adige. Trentino (whose capital is Trento) and Alto Adige (also known as Südtirol or South Tyrol and whose capital is Bolzano) border Austria. The region was annexed to Italy in 1919, after World War I, but the Austrian/German influences are many, not least its range of fragrant white wines and German-accented syllables.

Both Trentino and Alto Adige produce notable amounts of Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, as well as Pinot Bianco and Riesling. The more aromatic Müller-Thurgau, Moscato, Sylvaner and Gewürztraminer (which is said to take its name from the Alto Adige village of Tramin) can be enticingly perfumed and unexpectedly ageworthy.

Production in Alto Adige comes mainly from small, family-owned estates that sell their wines locally with limited exports to Germany and Austria. By comparison, Trentino counts on a large number of growers, members of large cooperatives, such as Cavit and Mezzacorona. These popular wines have found their niche, both in Italy and abroad, among wine drinkers who look for good and affordable wines for daily enjoyment.

Exploring Alto Adige

Alto Adige is divided by the Adige and Isarco Rivers, with vineyards dotted around the banks of the two valleys, rising from 200m to 1,000m into the hills. Bolzano to Trento is an easy 60km drive, and is well signposted with good hotels, restaurants and excellent wineries on the way.

If you are a keen skier, take a few days off to hit the slopes at San Cassiano, which is a picturesque 70km drive northeast of Bolzano. Afterwards, as you descend from the Dolomites, make your first stop at Abbazia di Novacella (kloster-neustift.it/en/wine-cellar/wine-cellar.html), one of the most northerly vineyards in Italy. This 12th-century Augustinian Abbey, which is a fascinating mix of vineyards and monastery, produces classy Sylvaner, Riesling and Gewürztraminer, with zesty acidity due to the altitude of the vines at 870m.

Cooperatives in Trentino-Alto Adige date as far back as the Hapsburg Empire and are common in this area, representing the lion’s share of production. Their success stems from the need to create an effective economic system for the region’s fragmented farming industry, including viticulture – the average grape grower here owns little more than 1ha, and most vines rise up the mountainsides in spectacular, steep-terraced vineyards, some still using the pergola system.

Cantina Terlano (kellerei-terlan.com), a cooperative founded in 1893 just above Bolzano at Terlan, is one of the best expressions of ‘heroic vineyards’ in Alto Adige, producing exquisite white wines, in particular Pinot Blanc from the terraced Vorberg vineyards. Cantina Caldaro (kellereikaltern.com), another model cooperative with vineyards overlooking Lake Caldaro, is the perfect place to sample the region’s local red varieties such as Lagrein, a deep garnet red with round soft tannins, a lighter Schiava, or the Sta Maddalena, which is 90% Schiava and 10% Lagrein. In the area of Lake Caldaro you will find Count Michael Graf Goéss-Enzenberg’s ‘eco-sensitive’ Manincor winery (manincor.com), which produces excellent Pinot Noir, Moscato Giallo and Moscato Rosa.

A short drive south brings you to the village of Magré and Alois Lageder’s picturesque Löwengang winery (aloislageder.eu), built in 1995 to strict environmental and ecological criteria. Here you can relax at Vineria Paradeis, on the old village square, with a glass of wine and a light meal.

Between Caldaro and Magré be sure to visit Martin Foradori’s Hofstätter (hofstatter.com), one of Alto Adige’s historic estates established in 1907 in Tramin (also known as Termeno). Taste his zesty aromatic Gewürztraminer, his majestic single- vineyard Pinot Noir Barthenau Vigna San Urbano and his local Lagrein.

Bolzano is one of Alto Adige’s top areas for red wines. The surrounding mountains create a perfect microclimate, characterised by warm summers protecting the vines and giving good ripeness.

Trentino stars

As you reach Trentino, the wineries Endrizzi (endrizzi.it) at San Michele all’Adige and Elisabetta Foradori’s (elisabettaforadori.com) biodynamic estate at Mezzolombardo, are a good introduction to the area’s distinctive red grape, the indigenous Teroldego, which has a deep granite hue alongside its soft tannins. Trentino, which pioneered sparkling winemaking by the classic method early in the century, has retained its leading position and these sparklers are now grouped under the Trento DOC appellation. Predominantly Chardonnay- based, the extensive amount of this grape in the local vineyards reflects the importance of this category. Pay a visit to Ferrari (cantineferrari.it), one of the oldest sparkling estates, and one of Italy’s premium sparkling wines.

South of Trento, two very different estates are notable for the quality of their wines. The first, near Volano, is home to Eugenio Rosi, a controversial yet authentic producer who works with the indigenous red grape Marzemino. Slightly further south, near Avis, is the San Leonardo estate (sanleonardo.it), home to one of northern Italy’s most famous Bordeaux-style blends.

Before visiting any of these vineyards, telephone or email first, just to check they are open. If they’re closed, it’s still worth the drive – the views are spectacular and you’ll be staggered by the beauty of the vineyards.

How to get there

There are several options: fly direct to Bolzano and hire a car; fly to Verona, hire a car and drive to Trento, 98km north; or fly Ryanair to Treviso, near Venice, hire a car and drive 134km to Trento.

Written by Michèle Shah

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It's not just the mountains that reach heady heights in north-eastern Italy – the local wines from terraced lands are also worth exploring, writes Michèle Shah. Read her Trentino-Alto Adige travel guide here.

My perfect day in the Dolomites

Morning

Stay and breakfast at Hotel PacherHof in Novacella, before visiting the town’s Augustinian abbey, a working winery best known for its Praepositus range of wines. Drive 65km south to Cantina Terlano, in Terlan, renowned for its complex, mineral white wines. Its shop offers both current and back-dated vintages. Then go for a drive above Terlan to the terraced Vorberg vineyards.

Lunch

Drive 10km south to Appiano and enjoy a light lunch at Enoteca Pillhof. If the weather is good, you can dine al fresco in the courtyard. The wine list is extensive and features a good range of local wines, many by the glass. The cuisine is local and changes according to the season.

Afternoon

Drive a short 8km to Lake Caldaro and visit the picturesque vineyards around the lake, including the Manincor Estate. If you wish to stock up on wines, call in at Cantina Caldaro’s Winecenter, a large shop and tasting room on several floors, where you can explore its entire range including red wines, such as Lagrain, Pinot Noir and the lighter Schiava. A further 5km south, visit Hofstätter in Tramin, one of Alto Adige’s premium wineries but also with a good range of entry-level wines. Be sure to taste the Gewürztraminer, said to originate from Tramin, and the excellent Barthenau and Meczan Pinot Noirs.

Evening and overnight

Drive 5km to Entiklar, a hamlet of Cortaccia, to visit Tiefenbrunner Castel Turmhof – the highest-altitude wine estate in South Tyrol (1,050m). The nearby chapel of St Georg at Graun is also a historical and cultural treasure. For dinner, book a table at Gasthaus Zur Rose, for traditional cooking and a good local wine list. Finally, rest your head (and your body in the spa) at Schwarz Adler Turmhotel.

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It's not just the mountains that reach heady heights in north-eastern Italy – the local wines from terraced lands are also worth exploring, writes Michèle Shah. Read her Trentino-Alto Adige travel guide here.

Alto-Adige & Trentino: where to stay, eat, shop and relax

Hotels

Hotel Ros Alpina, San Cassiano

A Relais & Châteaux hotel and spa with individually styled rooms, plenty of pinewood and balconies, with views of the Dolomites. Great for relaxing and skiing, with excellent food at the Wine Bar & Grill and the two-Michelin-starred St Hubertus. The hotel is in the Alta Badia tourist region, which hosts events such as an annual gourmet ski safari and a wine ski safari. rosalpina.it, altabadia.org

Schwarz Adler Turmhotel, Cortaccia

Cosy Tyrolean-style hotel with a spa and gourmet restaurant. The 24 rooms have good mountain views and there are excellent walking trails – including the Cortaccia Wine Trail. turmhotel.it

PacherHof, Novacella

This friendly Tyrolean-style hotel has an excellent spa, and an outdoor infinity pool with great views over vineyards, the Dolomites and the Abbey of Novacella. Comfortable, with the attraction of dining in the old stube (tavern). PacherHof also has its own winery and wines. pacherhof.com

Hotel America, Trento

Nothing spectacular, but a good choice that is centrally located for sightseeing. The Piazza del Duomo is a must and Trento is great for shopping. hotelamerica.it

Restaurants

La Siriola, Hotel Ciasa Salares, San Cassiano

A Michelin one-star restaurant just 2km outside San Cassiano. Matteo Metullio, 25, is Italy’s youngest star-studded chef. La Siriola offers four tasting menus, each one themed to local traditional fare or to a more daring intermingling of flavours and ingredients. Metullio’s creative streak is well balanced in texture and flavours, which is what makes his cuisine so tantalising. ciasasalares.it/en/restaurant-la-siriola.html

St Hubertus, Hotel Ros Alpina, San Cassiano

Superb two-Michelin-starred restaurant with chef Norbert Niederkofler at the helm. Head sommelier Christian Rainer oversees a magnificent wine list featuring 1,900 labels. Niederkofler’s culinary style is rooted in the use of seasonal, high-quality products sourced from local organic farmers who farm according to his specifications. The essence of his cooking, he says, is ‘back to roots and pure flavours’. rosalpina.it/restaurant-st-hubertus.htm

Gasthaus Zur Rose, Cortaccia

Cosy wood-panelled two-room restaurant from another era, where one can relax and dine by candlelight, savouring traditional Alto Adige dishes interpreted in a modern, lighter fashion by chef Arno Baldo. Good wine list and romantic atmosphere. Good value, but you will need to book in advance. baldoarno.com

Enoteca Pillhof, Appiano

Pleasant atmosphere, whether eating al fresco or in the inviting wine bar, with its smaller areas for more intimate dining. Impressive wine list and tasty dishes, including an excellent selection of cheeses and local cured meats. You can also buy wine, cheese, olives and a vaiety of condiments to take away. pillhof.com

Ristorante La Cacciatora, Mezzocorona, Trento

Always busy, but the food and service are always excellent. Main dishes are the local cured meats, followed by risotto or pasta, hearty meats and home-made desserts. Menus change often. Good value. lacacciatora.net

Scrigno del Duomo, Trento

Fantastic location on the main Piazza del Duomo in Trento. Creative gourmet food prepared with fresh, seasonal ingredients. A perfect place to stop for everything from a light bite to a romantic dinner. Good value for lunch. scrignodelduomo.com

Shops

Vinum Alto Adige, Bolzano

Right in the centre of town, this has a great assortment of wines that can be shipped to a number of countries. vinum.it

Enoteca Grado 12, Trento

In the centre of town, on Largo Carducci, this wine shop stocks a selection of 1,500 labels and a wide variety of olive oils. Tel: +39 0461 98 24 96

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Italian sparkling producer Ferrari Fratelli Lunelli is actively encouraging its growers to plant vines higher in Trentino to avoid the effects of climate change.

‘Nothing below 300m’: Ferrari [pic: enotourtrento.it]

Ferrari buys grapes from 500 independent growers for its production of 4-5m bottles of Ferrari Perlé, and in recent years it has favoured grapes from growers with higher vineyards and stopped buying fruit grown below 300m, winemaker Marcello Lunelli said at the recent Bollicine du Trento event in the northern Italian province.

‘We pay higher prices for higher quality grapes, and we see most of the time that higher altitude means higher quality,’ Ferrari publicist Camilla Lunelli added.

‘In Trentino the climate has changed very quickly,’ Marcello Lunelli said. ‘The average temperature in our vineyards over the past 30 years has increased by 1°C; more than in the previous 2000 years. To have the same conditions in the future as we’ve had, we need to move the vines 150m higher.’

According to Lunelli, this will guarantee cooler summer temperatures which help preserve the acidity in the grapes necessary to maintain the standard of their sparkling wines. ‘We are lucky because Trentino is a mountain region so we have the space and the altitude,’ he said.

While 61% of Trentino’s vineyards are already planted on elevated hill and mountain sites, Lunelli feels the unique sub-Alpine terrain provides Ferrari with an opportunity.

The producer owns 120ha which are all ideally located between 300-700m, and which are being planted. ‘We’ll have planted 10ha in the next two years, all at 600-750m,’ Lunelli said. ‘But we have to wait ten years to obtain the right quality for a Riserva like Giulio Ferrari.’

Written by Anne Krebiehl

Trentino

Putting fork to mouth in a comfortable Trentino osteria, the dumplings on your plate are a reminder of the legacy of occupying empires. The most recent, the Austro-Hungarians; before them, Romans, with their northern wine production, made sure they were countrymen – if not friends – to the dwellers of the Valle dell’Adige, when they were pinpointing trade routes on their imperial map. Why such outsider interest? The valley, in the foothills of the Alps, forms a natural mountain pass between Italy, the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.

The Romans – or, namely, Emperor Probus – may have kick-started vine cultivation, but the wines of this Alpine region, which is just 90km down the autostrada from Verona, lean more to the Germanic. The locals would passionately disagree, even though the founding president of the local wine institute of San Michele was an Austrian experimental viticulturist. Yet, pure-fruited, restrained and highly aromatic, with a decent weight and length; the wines have none of the abandon or heat of wines from further south. They are, to a certain extent, bilingual, like the wine courses at the local institute.Now, through wine, invasion has been reversed. While Trentino’s wines were hardly heard of even by the most avid Italophile in the UK, neighbouring southern Germany, Switzerland and Austria, have historically been demanding more than their fair share.

The closest site to these neighbouring devotees is also the most lauded. As the River Adige enters Trentino from the north, it bends to the left, heading south at the villages of San Michele All’Adige, Mezzocorona and Mezzolombardo, and there the steep slopes give way to an expanse of vines in the Piana Rotaliana.

It is on this plain, carved by the glaciers that created the Valle dell’Adige, that the uniquely Trentino, red variety, Teroldego earns its own DOC (Teroldego Rotaliano). ‘It is the deep, ground-rich substances deposited by the Noce river that gives the grapes their character,’ says Alessandro Fusi of Ca’Vit. Teroldego Rotilianos can vary from the quite Beaujolais Villages style of Casa Girelli’s I Mesi, with its forward hedgerow fruit, to the round, richly fruited 1997 Endrizzi Riserva Superiore. Outside the area, plantings of Teroldego become sparse; Conti Bossi Fedrigotti are among the outsiders.

In Trentino myth, the Teroldego’s name is said to come from ‘Tirolean gold’. However, its most valuable property is that it supposedly contains one of the highest quotas of resveratrol – the heart-strengthening property – of any grape. It has always been the ‘prince’ of Trentino wines, but opera lovers may be drawn to Trentino’s other characteristic red, Marzemino, which is ordered with great vehemence in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. This fruity red should not be confused with its namesake in the Veneto, which is slightly sweet and sparkling, a bit like Lambrusco.

Lucia Letrari

At the family-run Letrari estate, Marzemino is the favourite of winemaker Lucia Letrari. She is following in the footsteps of her father Leonello who has just celebrated his 50th harvest. Why the favouritism for this operatic red, when she has 17 other varieties at her disposal – especially when the grape’s delicateness make it notoriously difficult? In the historic cellar buildings in Nogaredo – once scene of a 17th-century witch hunt of the locals – Letrari is on tenter- hooks for the first 20 days of fermentation. In the initial stages, the must should not be left in contact with the sediment for more than two hours, in case a tainted smell or overtly tannic taste develops (to compare, Cabernet Sauvignon can be in contact for two whole days). Yet, it is Letrari says, worth it for the satisfaction when the wine complies to her wishes.

Exploring the region

Leaving the walled village of Nogaredo, heading south, down the Adige to the Val Lagarina, we find the natural habitat for Marzemino. The poor, rocky soils of the valley floors of this southern Trentino region make ideal conditions for the grape. Here around Lake Garda, the Mediterranean is closer than the mountainous terrain suggests. Scattered on the hilly slopes are the providers of the Italian table’s staple, the olive tree. They grow in this northern Italian region for the same reason wines in this particular area gain a fuller body: the lake retains its summer heat through to the autumn, prolonging the growing season and giving an extra ripeness to the fruit.In these southern climes, Roberto Grossi, when not rearing trout, is producing some of Trentino’s richly ripe whites at the Madonna dell Vittorie estate. The effects of its lake-centric positioning is augmented by his 40-year old vines, helping to create a rich, concentrated yellow-fruited Pinot Bianco in the 1998, with a lemony tang.

Heading up the Valle dei Laghi from the northeast tip of Lake Garda, in early spring, the powerful Ora del Garda wind rushes through the vineyards like Dante’s harpies. This is when the other effect of the Lake comes into play – these cooling winds push back budbreak, so the vines will only start sprouting new growth when harmful spring frosts have cleared. Nowhere is this more marked than in the experimental sites of cooperative Ca’Vit, perched on Laga di Sia Massenza, surrounding a princely lodge.

The Northern wines

Whether the wines are fully rounded, or crisp and freshly fruited, it is the sheer power of aromas that exude from the glass that characterise this northern region. It’s that mountainous temperature fluctuation between day and night again that brings the fresh, crunchy fruit of the reds alive. And on the white side, there is proof that choosing your Italian region carefully can yield whites of character, often with a persistent minerally streak. Whites range from the peachy Nosiola fruit found in Ca’Vit’s Bottega Vinae 1999 to white blossom, pear and brazil nutty Pinot Grigios of the likes of Casa Girelli’s I Mesi range.

Cooperatives like Gruppo Mezzacorona and Ca’Vit are a force behind the province’s wine production. There are hundreds of small holders in the region – averaging 1.5 hectares (ha) each – so winemaking is only truly feasible through a cooperative. It is often said that you have to wait for a grower to pass away before you can expand. But, it is thanks to these animators that the UK supermarket buyer can garnish their trolley with good-value Trentino varietals and sparklers. La Vis produces an exceptionally good Pinot Grigio Vignetti delle Dolamiti IGT for Asda: the 1998 is well rounded, with good body and ripe, fleshy pear fruit.

But, if the likes of the big players Rotari and Ferrari are anything to go by, with the enthusiasm and investment in metodo classico wines, the future of Trentino could, quite literally, be sparkling. Giulio Ferrari, founder of the most famous Talento producers in Italy, brought Chardonnay vines and large scale production of sparkling wine to the region on his return from Champagne at the turn of the 20th century. His vision that Trentino’s climate and soil could lift its sparklers to the fizzy heights of its French counterparts is still firmly followed today.

Dominating the Rotaliana plain is the ultra-industrial winery that turns out Mezzacorona’s varietals and bubbling Rotari. Here, inside, there is a constant reminder of the roots of their fermenting activities – kaleidoscopic pains of glass project the far-reaching vineyards inward. It’s heartening to see such a modern, large-scale operation – which should belong in a Bond film – has not lost touch.The location of this sparkling winemaking ‘village’ may be slightly confusing to the touring wine lover. The grapes with the highest acidity, which are, therefore, most suited to bubbles are actually generally to be found in the middle mountains: the Cembra Valley, and Valle dei Laghi. Well-fruited, minerally, ripe wines with a persistent mousse are to be expected from the Talento of the region (a mostly northeastern Italian ‘branding’ of predominantly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir metodo classico wine). Like the Prince Bishops, who held court at Trento’s Buonconsiglio Castle, helped lead the Catholic Counter Reformation in the 1500s, sparkling wine producers are upholding the qualities and image of metodo classico in the face of the widespread popularist spumantes.

Rotari’s Brut has the classic mineral streak of the region, along with ripe apricot fruit – more dominant than in other examples – and a good lasting tanginess. Maso Martis’ 1994 Brut Riserva has a more delicate nose, and a round, ripe-fruited, mouthwatering palate of tangy grapefruit and hints of nuts. Trentino is also taking well to organic cultivation, thanks to the low humidity and winds driving moisture and, therefore, rot away from the vines. Paolo Endrici’s Endrizzi is a case in point, with its prominent bird boxes attracting pest-eating birds. He keeps a strict eye on yields, maintaining half the local average and is keen on green harvesting, picking out a third of grapes in August. Endrizzi is Trentino at its most corpulent. He also produces a single-vineyard Masetto Biano, a historic blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc and Traminer, which is a complex, creamy aromatic wine with clover and honey hints and ripe pear notes. A couple of other Trentino quirks are the white Incrocio Manzoni and red Rebo. Both are projects for the wine-producing San Michele intstitute, headed by winemaker Enrico Paternoster. Incrocio Manzoni has little following in the region. The vine produces fruit of high quality, but yields are modest. The institute’s 1999 offering is sweetly aromatic, with strong pear characteristics. On the red side, the 1999 vintage Rebo (a 40-year old cross of Merlot and Teroldego) is freshly fruity, with hedgerow berry characters and a touch of leather.

No visit to the region would be complete without sipping into a bottle of the hedonistic Moscato Rosa – named after the flower, not the colour (pink). And what better enticement than it’s reputation, than an evening with that certain someone. An idea for a future for a Decanter tasting challenge?