By Igor Ryjenkov MW
Alto Adige is a cool spot, in all the senses of the word. Landlocked in the north of Italy, the province sits atop of the country and nearly atop the world, thanks to its proximity to and its share of the Dolomite Alps. All this makes its climate one of the coolest in the country, rivaled only by its close neighbours to the East and the West. It is also a bit more of an outlier – all parts of Italy are different from each other and the rest of the country, but Alto Adige is a bit more different than all the rest.

Its other name is not an English translation of its Italian one, like “Tuscany” vs “Toscana”, but a reference to its heritage, location and history – Sud Tyrol, German for “South Tyrol”. Already populated even before Egypt’s pyramids were built, it was under Rhaetians’ and Romans’ influence between 400BC and 5thC AD, still seen today in Ladin, the third official local language, spoken in a couple of valleys. It became a part of Habsburg Empire in 1363, which explains the 800 castles and palaces the region still has today, and was annexed by Italy only in 1919, post WWI. So, it had been Austrian for much longer (about 550 years) than it has been Italian. It suffered a contentious and tense relationship with Rome for a number of decades early on which impacted its language and demographic mix, but became an autonomous region in 1972, allowing for independence in a number of matters – education, transport, etc.
Along with Ladin, Italian and German coexist today as the other main official languages with Italian spoken as often in the urban centers and more so in the south, but German and its dialects dominating in the countryside. The province has a population of only over 1 million, and is a very sparsely populated part of the country.
The Alps define the climate, the topography and the agriculture of the region – it has a Mediterranean climate in the valleys, but cool alpine climate in the foothills. It enjoys a lot of sun hours and just enough precipitation. Visually, it is deceptive how high parts of the region are, as unlike the Rockies or the mountain ranges along the BC coast, it is a series of rolling hill plateaus at the increasing altitudes. The arable land is scarce and the best plots are given over to the most prized crops – like apple trees on the valley floors that can be mistaken for vines from a distance. The grapes are planted on the slopes and in the foothills where little else can be cultivated. Viticulture was practiced here as early as 5c BC. Alto Adige is one of the smallest wine producing regions in Italy: it has only 5,700 ha planted with 20 different varieties, 5,000 grape growing operations but 98% of the region’s wine are of DOC level.
Given the number of small-holders that would otherwise struggle to make ends meet on their own, co-ops play a big role here and are responsible for 70% of all wine production. The quality of the co-ops’ output is very high, with many wines submitted to competitions and publications and many receiving awards and glowing reviews. Because the labor and farmland are more expensive here than in other parts of the country – mountains, again – the wine prices are usually higher even for an entry level, but the wine quality is also pretty high across the board.
The wine color split skews towards whites – 65% of the production. The signature grapes are Pinot Grigio (12% of planted area), Traminer Aromatico, aka Gewurztraminer (11%), Chardonnay (10.6%), Sauvignon Blanc (8.2%), Muller-Thurgau, Kerner and Riesling. The whites tend to have pure, crystalline expressions, refreshing acidity, but with a nice weight and fully developed aromatic profiles. A Gewurz here shows a textbook intensity and range of aromas, but unlike elsewhere, offers a nice acidity thanks to the length of hang time and cool growing season. For the most part, fruit character retention is at the fore of the winemaking decisions, with only an occasional barrel use for an ambitious Chardonnay.
Reds are based on local Lagrein (9%) and Vernatsch/Schiava (8%), along with Pinot Noir (10%), Merlot and Cabs. Their styles – cool climate, sometimes alpine reds. Pinot here is quite promising, if at almost Burgundian prices. The Cabs and Merlot ripen well in the valleys but carry a stamp of their provenance with fresh acidity, cooler climate fruit, at times with a clear bell pepper note. These three at times see some oak-ageing. Lagrein and Schiava grapes, usually unoaked, are responsible for lighter, summer-time geared reds, that in the past were hard to explain to consumers – not dear but not cheap either, they tend to have good acidity, lighter body and uncomplicated fruit, which was antithetic to the preferred styles of the day until recently. However, now this is the very style that the markets are shifting towards and everyone, including some producers of naturally big wines like Amarone, is trying to emulate. These wines are really best understood not only in the context of where they are from, but also of the regional cuisine.
Like the region itself, the food tradition here is a cocktail of Italian, Germanic and Alpine influences – rich dairy from the cows pastured on the Alpine meadows, cheeses, cured meats, rich, cream-enforced dishes to warm and nourish you in the winter and on the cool summer nights. Among the region’s specialties are speck, apples, apricot dumplings, spätzle, alpine herbs, local grey Alpine cattle and sheep. The local reds are tailor-made for this spread, cutting through the richness of the food, and yet light and refreshing enough to work well in the sun-drenched summer days, as if made for that unusual combination when it is cold enough to downhill ski, but with the sun out the air is warm enough to do it in a t-shirt or a swimsuit. While this is not exactly the circumstance we encounter in our backyards here in Canada, served chilled on the mid-summer afternoon puts these wine in their element and the brightness these wines can add to the plate of charcuterie is super refreshing.
Alto Adige is arguably lesser known abroad than the rest of Italy and its main wine-making regions. Partly this is due to its smaller production. Partly, it is probably because of a “step-brother” syndrome until recently, with its one foot firmly in Germanic tradition. Partly, because it was not one of the key sources of diaspora during late 19th and early 20th centuries, certainly not of Italian diaspora, so it did not have a ready market in the New World. Also, it does not quite have an emblematic wine or grape to anchor its storyline to, like Nebbiolo, Chianti or Amarone. But on the flip side, all of that makes it a very cool, under-the-radar part of Italy to discover and explore. Cool in all the senses of the word.
Note from the editor: This is a full version of the edited copy that was published in the magazine.
Toronto-based IGOR RYJENKOV MW was the first in Canada to earn the prestigious Master of Wine credential in 2003. His wine business expertise has been informed by 24 year in the Ontario trade, first in retail, then in key buying positions, and lastly, in projects, most notably, developing the new 5-dot wine style matrix. Igor is one of Opimian’s Masters of Wines.