Trentino-Alto Adige

Technically the same region but in reality they have little in common in terms of wine, culture and indigenous population. Alto Adige is a fiercely independent German speaking enclave with its own politics, economy, cuisine, DNA and just about everything else. Known by locals as Sudtirol or South Tyrol. Austrian up until 1919. Its breathtaking scenery is one of the most exciting winegrowing areas in Italy, where quality has exploded over the past 20 years and viticulture and winemaking have become an art. Trentino, Italian speaking, is the place for excellent value wines and spumante, Trentino, being further south than Alto Adige has warmer temperatures and although share some varieties such as the international one and Schiava also have very different ones such as Marzemino, Teroldego and Nosiola. Alto Adige has Lagrein. As one follows the Adige River north, veritable cru sites emerge for particular grapes such as Gewurztraminer on the left, Pinot Nero on the right, Lagrein around Bolzano, Pinot Bianco and Sauvignon on the left fork.

Surprisingly, being so far north, it is one of the sunniest places of Italy, with more sunshine days a year than any other region. Its summer average daytime temperature is on a par with Palermo as the hot Mediterranean air becomes trapped by the wall of the Alps. The quality determining factor, however, is the cool, fresh nights as cold air descends from the mountain tops.

One of the most dramatic and beautiful world wine areas as the Adige winds its way through the Dolomites to Verona. The area is blessed with various expositions where growers have been able to identify the best sites for individual varieties

Through millennia of tectonic upheaval and activity, the soils are very mixed. There are predominant areas of mainly calcareous soils or mainly porphory soils

1.162.000 HL