Wine region
South Tyrol
South Tyrol, Italy’s northernmost wine region: Pinot Bianco, Gewürztraminer from Tramin, Vernatsch and Lagrein between 200 and 1,000 metres.
- Vineyard area
- about 5,800 hectares, farmed by about 4,800 growers
- Main grapes
- white: Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, Sauvignon; red: Vernatsch, Lagrein, Pinot Noir
- White and red
- a little over two thirds white, a little under a third red; 97 per cent of the area under DOC
- Climate
- Alpine-Mediterranean; vines at 200 to 1,000 metres, the Eisacktal and Vinschgau are harsher
- Signature wines
- Pinot Bianco from Terlano, Gewürztraminer from Tramin, Lagrein from Bolzano, Kalterersee, St. Magdalener
- Landmark
- Tramin (Termeno), the wine village that gave Gewürztraminer its name
South Tyrol is Italy’s northernmost wine region and, together with Trentino, forms the region of Trentino-Alto Adige. Most of the population speaks German, the wines often carry German names, and to the west the province borders the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The roughly 5,800 hectares of vines lie in the Adige valley from Merano through Bolzano to Salorno, plus the Eisacktal near Brixen and the Vinschgau. Between 200 and 1,000 metres, Alpine altitude meets Mediterranean warmth; the Adige valley and the Bolzano basin are mild, the Eisacktal and Vinschgau harsher. A little over two thirds of the area is planted with white grapes, and 97 per cent is under DOC protection. About 4,800 growers farm mostly small plots, and about 70 per cent of the wine comes from cooperative cellars.
Among the whites, Pinot Bianco (Weissburgunder), Pinot Grigio (Ruländer), Chardonnay and Sauvignon lead. Terlano is known for its Pinot Bianco. Gewürztraminer owes its name to the wine village of Tramin (Termeno): a powerful, fragrant wine with notes of rose, lychee and spice. In the harsher Eisacktal, fresh, spicy whites are made from Sylvaner, Müller-Thurgau, Kerner or Grüner Veltliner; in the small Vinschgau, Riesling and Pinot Bianco matter most.
Among the reds, Vernatsch (Schiava in Italian) is the traditional variety: pale, fruity, with strawberry and a slightly bitter almond note, sold as Kalterersee or St. Magdalener. Lagrein is the dark, powerful speciality of the Bolzano area: deep colour, blackberry, violet, firm tannin; its best-known growing area is the Bolzano district of Gries. Blauburgunder, as Pinot Noir is called here as in German-speaking Switzerland, grows in the cooler uplands; Merlot and Cabernet occupy the warm sites.
A Swiss connection lies in Bolzano itself: Muri-Gries, a Benedictine abbey, has stood in Gries since 1845. Its monks come from the monastery of Muri in Aargau, which the canton had abolished in 1841; the abbey still owns vines and a cellar best known for its Lagrein. To the south lies Trentino, with over 10,000 hectares: Chardonnay, Teroldego Rotaliano from the Campo Rotaliano plain and Trentodoc, a DOC since 1993 reserved solely for traditional-method sparkling wine.
At the table: Vernatsch with South Tyrolean speck and cheese, in autumn at a Törggelen with chestnuts; Lagrein with goulash, game and aged cheese; Pinot Bianco with asparagus and fish; Gewürztraminer with spicy dishes and blue cheese.