Valle Isarco: Mountain Wines from Italy

Cantina Valle Isarco is Alto Adige’s youngest cooperative winery. Founded in 1961 by 24 individual grape growers, membership has now grown to 130 vignerons cultivating 150 hectares on what is the northernmost territory of Italian viticulture.

The Isarco Valley provides ideal growing conditions for white grapes, which make up 97 per cent of the production at Cantina Valle Isarco. The winery specialises in varietals such as Kerner, Sylvaner, Grüner Veltliner, Riesling and Gewürztraminer. Cool nights and warm days during harvest time produce fresh, fruity white wines with excellent minerality.

The vineyards are on steep slopes at high altitudes of up to 1000 metres above sea level. The vines’ roots stretch deep into the soil to absorb precious nutrients. Here, where mountain tops meet Mediterranean hills, Cantina Valle Isarco produces wines that are full of energy and personality, thanks to different soils, terrains, exposures and microclimates.

Cantina Valle Isarco’s 130 farmers are proud of the elegance and personality of their wines.

Kerner Aristos was awarded the Decanter World Wine Awards 2020 “Best in Show Medal” and is one of the best 50 wines of the competition.

The Kerner grape varietal originates from a cross of Riesling and Schiava (Trollinger) first created in 1929; it’s named after the German poet and medical doctor Justinus Kerner.

Kerner has been cultivated in Valle Isarco since the 1990s. Thanks to its resistance to frost, it is ideally suited to being grown on sun-filled sites between 600 and 1000 metres above sea level. Light sandy-gravelly soils provide ideal growing conditions to make wines with excellent fruit and body. The higher altitudes result in moderate vine growth, a longer maturation period and lower yields. This in turn leads to high levels of concentration in the grapes. Valle Isarco’s Kerner Aristos is full of minerality, rich in primary fruit and is impressively aromatic.

Sylvaner Aristos – awarded the Decanter World Wine Awards 2020 Platinum Medal

Sylvaner has been cultivated in Alto Adige since the turn of the last century, mostly in Valle Isarco. It thrives on well-aerated and warm slopes at medium altitudes. Careful selection, low yields and maturation in acacia wood give Sylvaner Aristos its unparalleled finesse and elegance.