Trentino & Alto Adige: The Sky’s the Limit

BY ERIC GUIDO | JUNE 02, 2022

The regions of Trentino and Alto Adige are quite divided, with a more Italian feel in the southern Trentino and, Austrian influences in the northern Alto Adige. In reality, you’d never notice any border or much of a difference while driving up from Veneto, passing Lake Garda and into the valley that takes you past Trento and onto Bolzano. For most of the trip, mountains line both sides of the canyons with sheer rock cliffs shadowing tiny villages that lay on their foothills. At each turn there seems to be another small castle or keep, an ancient watchtower or stronghold perched high above. It’s a dramatic sight to see, and it’s only when you leave your car, speak to a local or examine the grapes found throughout the vineyards that it becomes clear just how different this region, which is really two regions, actually is. 

The Amphora aging chamber at Foradori.

The Topography, Geology and Grape Matter

Looking at a map, the wine regions of Trentino and Alto Adige are spread out like a tuning fork or a blossoming flower that cuts deeply into three river valleys that flow down from the Alps and through the Dolomites. At its base there is Lake Garda, which provides warming currents that swell up to the north. This is hilly terrain but not quite mountainous yet, and the soils are alluvial, rich in sand and pebbles that have been deposited by glacial movements and the Adige River over the course of millennia. These surroundings are perfect for the bulk of the region's wine production, as forests mixed with apple orchards give way to Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco and Pinot Nero vineyards that feed the sparkling Trentodoc category. This is also where the Trentino DOC exists, a catchall of wines labeled by varietal and encompassing a menagerie of local and international grapes. It isn’t until we move further north that the slopes of Monte Baldo and the Lessini Mountains rise mightily above us, seeming to line the highway like a great wall on both sides. Here we find the Bordeaux-inspired wines and vineyards of San Leonardo, with vines that climb steadily up the slopes of the valley. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Carmenere have been growing here long enough that the inhabitants of the area consider them “local” varieties, even if we think of them as international. 

From here on out, it’s quite clear that Trentino is a mountainous region, especially moving further north into Campo Rotaliano and the limestone-rich sand-and-gravel mixed soils of the Noce River basin. Standing within the Teroldego vineyards on the valley floor and looking up at the surrounding peaks, really puts our tiny human size into perspective. The Foradori family has practically placed this section of Trentino on the map, having brought international renown to the Teroldego grape with a style that was once large-scaled and slightly intimidating. Those wines of decades past still inspire other winemakers of the region, even though today’s Foradori wines are now based on biodynamics, non-intervention and primarily aging in amphora.

It’s a short trip north to reach Bolzano, crossing the border into Alto Adige and driving past Mazon, one of the Grand Crus of the region's production of Pinot Noir. There was a time when Pinot Nero, as it’s called here, seemed of little importance, but there’s been a surge in quality and a quest for purity that now sets it apart. It doesn’t hurt that global warming now allows producers to reach optimal ripeness, and in some cases, beyond.

Arriving in Bolzano creates a total paradigm shift. From a precipitation standpoint, Bolzano is one of Italy’s warmest and also driest cities. When considering its pre-alpine location, one would never consider that this would be the perfect place to create big, dark and sometimes juicy red wines. However, it’s the city’s lower elevation at the confluence of three river valleys that creates its unique terroir. What’s more, Bolzano sits in a rain shadow created by the surrounding mountains, receiving warming currents from Lake Garda in the south while also being shielded from the extreme cold of the Alps to the north. During the day, the sun bears down hard on the city and the terraced vineyards that line the hills and soils of volcanic origins around it, but the moment it sets, refreshing cold air rushes in to balance the warmth of the day. This location is the perfect place for the indigenous Lagrein and Schiava grapes, as well as the St. Magdalener DOC that combines the two varieties to create some of the most deep and characterful, yet also fruity, wines imaginable. It's also the home of the traditional Nusserhof estate and their walled-in vineyard, which exists in spite of the city that grew up around it.