What you need to Know About the Wines of the Trentino Alto Adige

The Trentino Alto Adige is a unique place: is a land of strong contrasts. The variety of climatic conditions and soil give rise to wines of excellent quality, characterised by remarkable personality.

It is all about quality. Wines are superb renditions of Alpine wine — always mineral, layered and expressive. The best wineries have been tending the same vines for generations, and you’ll find unique grapes not grown anywhere else on the planet.

This Alpine region is often considered one and the same with Trentino, yet, although similar, each has its personality. Neither might have any DOCGs, the highest quality tier in the country’s system, but the wines are as good as the best in the world.

Here’s all you need to know about the wines of Trentino Alto Adige. 

The Alto Adige, or Süd Tirol, is a series of valleys that follow the Adige and Isarco rivers coming down the mountains through the city of Bolzano and towards Trento, where the Trento region begins. Most of the 13,607sq km (5,254sqmi) that make the autonomous region are mountainous covered with forests, some of them are 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) tall!
The landscapes is hard to beat, we can tell you that.

Just over a million people call the Trentino Alto Adige home despite the average chilly temperatures of 12.2°C (54.0°F). The steep mountain slopes, the river bench, and the cold weather, though, makes grapevines feel right at home. 

The DOC (now DOP) system for Italian quality wine was set in place in 1963, and the region got its own in 1971 for Trentino and 1975 for Alto Adige. There are nine main DOP in the Alpine region, and the wines are incredibly diverse. 

The grapes and the wines.

Alto Adige’s three most planted varieties are Chardonnay (22%), Pinot Grigio (19%), and Schiava (9%), but the region is home for over 15 varieties including Gewürztraminer, Kerner, Lagrein, Pinot Noir, and Riesling.

The red Teroldego is a well-regarded autochthonous grape. Try the Fedrizzi Cipriano Teroldego Rotaliano “Due Vigneti” for an excellent example brimming of raspberries, cherries and oak spices.

Whites are very well represented with wines like Battistotti Trentino Gewürtztraminer that’s both flowery aromatic and mineral, and the Vallarom Vallagarina Chardonnay with an oaky, creamy and fruit-forward palate. 

For textural reds, sparkling wines and refreshing whites, the Trentino Alto Adige has something for every palate.