Alto-Adige

The Alto-Adige wine region is the second smallest in Italy, just bigger than the Aosta Valley and is located in the northeastern part, just south of the Austrian border. Alto-Adige is often divided into what is called the northern South Tyrol, which was part of Austria until the end of the First World War, but was then linked to Italy only in 1919. then, there is also the Trentino that is the southern part of Alto-Adige. Wine has been grown in the region since ancient times and was introduced by the Illyrians, a population who lived between the Adriatic coast and the Danube The Romans then, just like in many other areas, developed the wine production. In Trentino’s southern vineyard area, the local Schiava vine is grown and in the northern South Tyrol, it is mainly the Lagrein grape that is cultivated. Chardonnay is the very common white grape variety, used to produce sparkling wine according to the classic method.

A total of 40 million bottles are produced per year in the Alto-Adige wine region. 2/3 of the wine produced is white (64%) and the rest red (34%). Sparkling wine is produced to a lesser extent and does not represent more than about 1% of the total production. The red wines are mainly produced from the local Schiva grape, but also from Pinot noir, Lagrein, Merlot, Cabernet, Zweigelt and Moscato rosa. The white wines that represent the major part of production are produced from significantly more grape varieties than the reds, but it is the 5 varieties Pinot grigio, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, Pinot bianco and Sauvignon blanc that make up more than 50% of the total production. In addition to these varieties, also Müller-Thurgau, Kerner, Moscato giallo, Riesling, Sylvaner, Veltliner, Bronner and Solaris are grown in Alto-Adige.

The terroir in the Alto-Adige wine region is quite versetile, not least due to the height difference in the region. Wine is produced at different altitudes from 200 meters above sea level to a more alpine 1000 meters above sea level. 85% of the wine is produced up to a height of 500 meters above sea level and it is mainly more northern grape varieties such as Sylvaner, Riesling, Müller Thurgau, but also Kerner and Vetliner that are grown at more than 500 meter’s altitude.