Trentino-South Tyrol

A double region with huge diversity.

South Tyrol and Trentino form a common region with the autonomous provinces of Trento (Trient) in the south and Bolzano (Bozen) in the north. While Italian is spoken predominantly in Trentino, German is the main language in South Tyrol. Trentino is warmer and drier than South Tyrol, with Lake Garda providing a milder climate. Small family businesses dominate in South Tyrol, while large cooperatives dominate in Trenino. There are also clear differences in the grape varieties. In Trentino, red grape varieties dominate, in South Tyrol the white ones.

In Trentino - mainly in the Adige and Sarca valleys - almost 10,000 hectares are under vines, about 70% of which are DOC wines. Around the picturesque city of Trento, fruity wines thrive from the Schiava grape (Vernatsch), Müller-Thurgau, Riesling Italico (Welschriesling), Pinot Grigio, Pinot Bianco and Chardonnay, which - as in South Tyrol and part of Veneto - are labelled under the collective designation Valdadige DOC. Other DOC areas are Trentino DOC, Teroldego Rotaliano (for the excellent red wines made from the Teroldego grape), the Caldaro/Kalterersee DOC, in which Trentino also holds a share, and the Castell DOC (primarily for red wines made from Vernatsch, Merlot and Lambrusco).

Not only sparkling wines in the Trento DOC.

A northern Italian speciality (also in the Veneto) is the red grape variety Marzemino, praised in Mozart's Don Giovanni, which produces a red wine full of character, velvety and full-bodied. A rarity are the elegant white wines made from the Nosiola grape, which is only grown in Trentino (e.g. by Elisabetta Foradori or Pojer & Sandri).

In addition to these still wines, the Trento DOC also produces numerous noble sparkling wines according to the traditional method of bottle fermentation (Spumante Metodo Classico). Very fine mousseaux and mineral spiciness make the Trento DOC, as it is called, very expressive. A separate institute monitors the qualities of the now 45 producers, first and foremost the Lunellis, successors of Giulio Ferrari, who began producing sparkling wines from Chardonnay in 1902, following the models in Champagne. Ferrari's noble spumanti are among the best Italian sparkling wines and are also highly successful internationally.

However, some of the best wines from Trentino are virtually unknown to us because they come from small family wineries with only a few hectares of vineyards in the side valleys, such as the bizarrely beautiful Val di Cembra. Probably one of the next DOC or DOCG regions with fabulous mineral and elegant wines.

South Tyrol: Vine diversity on steep slopes. Berg and Pergl.

In South Tyrol, the approximately 5,500 hectares of vineyards are almost without exception located at an altitude of over 500 metres, in some areas even up to almost 1,000 metres above sea level. Almost all of the vineyards are on steep slopes and hills in the Etschtal valley between Meran and Salurn, as well as in the Eisacktal valley between Bozen and Brixen, with smaller areas under cultivation in the Vinschgau valley. The climate is quite varied, as are the soils. Alpine growing regions with extreme temperature differences in the north alternate with an almost temperate climate with a Mediterranean influence. Rocky, barren primary rock soils, volcanic porphyry soils, calcareous plateaus and alluvial soil of the wide river valleys, where almost all rock formations have been mixed by constant erosion over the centuries, make the cultivation of a variety of grape varieties possible. Many vineyards are planted in the traditional pergola (in South Tyrolean dialect: pergl) style. 98% of all South Tyrolean wines have DOC status. This makes South Tyrol by far the region with the highest DOC percentage in Italy.

The number one grape variety in South Tyrol, with around 1,300 hectares, is Vernatsch (Schiava), which has experienced a true renaissance in recent years. North of Bolzano it is also called "St. Magdalener", around Kaltern it is often called "Kalterer See". It is identical to the German Trollinger, which presumably originated from "Tirolinger", and thus actually included the origin Tyrol. Next in line, with about 500 hectares each, are Traminer (Gewürztraminer) - the South Tyrolean town of Tramin, located between Trento and Bolzano, is considered the home of Gewürztraminer (Traminer Aromatico) - and Lagrein, which is cultivated around Bolzano. It is used to produce the Lagrein Kretzer, a sparkling rosé wine, and the warm and velvety Lagrein Dunkel.

The DOC varietal wines also include full-bodied Chardonnays, fine Rieslings and occasionally even Grüner Veltliner, as well as excellent red wines made from Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir) but also Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Pinot Blanc (Pinot Bianco), Pinot Gris (Pinot Grigio) and Sauvignon Bianco are also widespread - some of them are among the best white wines in Italy - some even compete internationally, as they are extremely storable. Even the Müller-Thurgau variety, which we tend to regard as boring, produces racy, mineral white wines here that are on the menu in almost every good restaurant throughout Italy.

The classic geographical DOC wines must be distinguished from these DOC varietal wines. The best-known DOC to be mentioned here is Kalterersee (Lago di Caldaro). Here, as in the DOC areas of Bozner Leiten (Colli di Bolzano), Meraner Hügel (Meranese di Collina) and Sankt Magdalener (Santa Maddalena), almost only Vernatsch is cultivated. The red wines are popular because of their freshness, lightness and uncomplicatedness. Many growththat do not want to lay claim to DOC designations - as in Trentino - are marketed under the common DOC Etschtaler (Italian: Valdadige). SUPERIORE.DE