Alto Adige: 24 expert-rated wines to try

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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