Best of the Alto-Adige and Trentino

The Alto-Adige, a German-speaking enclave, is also known as the Südtirol. This province, previously part of Austria, was annexed to Italy after World War I. It is bordered on three sides by alpine ranges and, just to the south, by the Italian-speaking province of Trentino, which lies northeast of Italy’s largest lake, Garda. The common thread for the entire region is the Adige river, which flows southward from alpine lakes in the north, winding its way through both provinces and eventually past Verona farther south in the Veneto.

The best vineyards are planted on hillsides along the river valley at altitudes between 800 and 2,000 feet, with some even higher. The growing season is drawn out—warm by day with steady breezes blowing up from the south, and cooled by mountain winds at night. This cross between southern Mediterranean influence and a more alpine climate results in a slow and even ripening process. The moderate climate especially benefits the white wines of these regions, which are endowed with a firm acid structure that allows their varietal character to remain in focus. But even at the lower and generally warmer altitudes, where most of the red grapes are grown, the wines convey an impression of clarity.

The soils in Alto-Adige and the northern part of Trentino combine alluvial deposits from an era when the alpine ranges were thrust out of the sea, and glacial deposits from the recent ice ages. The strong overlay of mineral and chalk deposits, with loose quartz-like gravelly stones, provides many wines with a distinctive mineral backbone. The hallmark of the best of these wines is their uncommon freshness and aromatic complexity combined with wonderful delineation of flavor and a pervasive sense of varietal clarity.