Wine Travels - Alto Adige

One of the many benefits of living in Verona is that you can reach Alto Adige (part of the larger Trentino Alto Adige region) relatively easily and, as such, it is something I do quite often.

Despite being a meeting point for the Italian and German cultures (the territory was annexed to Italy only after WWI) Alto Adige is a place with a strong identity. I particularly love the area just north of its main city, Bolzano.  For me it is the place that better embodies the spirit and soul of this insular corner of Italy. Its beautiful ruggedness permeates every single aspect of life—from the blunt manners of its inhabitants to the hearty cuisine, as well as, the intriguing wine scene. This sliver of land offers views that cannot be mistaken from any other place in Italy (or elsewhere). This is the home of the majestic Dolomites; and while these mountains are part of the Italian Alps, they have a marked singularity that makes them stand apart from the rest of the Alpine chain.

It seems that all of the best wine regions in the world are also incredibly beautiful and this one is no exception. The vine covered slopes are no less steep than their French counterparts in the much more famous Northern Rhône valley; some vineyards sit on vertiginous hillsides that seem to defy gravity. There is a plethora of indigenous varietals rarely grown outside the region (Lagrein, Schiava, Blatterle, Kerner, to name a few) grown by environmentally committed farmers who, in most cases, tend tiny (if not microscopic) plots - hence the dominant role of high quality cooperatives in the region. The climate is capricious and while Bolzano enjoys a warmer microclimate that allows for red grapes to ripen properly, the forbidding valley that develops just north of the city is characterized by a short growing season and rigid winters.  In this marginal climate every vine is planted at high altitude in order to get as much sun exposure as possible and promote photosynthesis.

I recently visited the church of Santa Maddalena, a tiny medieval building (documented since 1295) located just north of Bolzano, on an impervious hillside that opens up to the Isarco Valley to the north. This narrow and cold canyon (it only widens once it reaches the city of Bressanone) is the northernmost officially recognized wine region in Italy and takes its name from the river that runs through it (Alto Adige Valle Isarco DOC).  Some of the best Italian whites are made right here, especially with the Kerner and Sylvaner grapes.  The Isarco (Eisack in German) is a tributary of the Adige River which springs at the borders with Austria, and snakes through my hometown of Verona before emptying into the Adriatic Sea.

The above mentioned church of Santa Maddalena though, is part of the homonymous tiny hamlet, located just a mile and a half from the bustling Walther Square in the center of Bolzano. This is the heart of yet another distinct wine region, one that carries the same name of the village (Santa Maddalena Classico DOC) and it is home of the local Schiava grape. It’s here that the varietal achieves its fullest version due to its vicinity to the city and the subsequent warmer average temperature. The Church’s courtyard is planted with what appear to be centenarians vines; they are pergola trained but their gnarly trunks are so thick and heavy that the plants had been leaning against one another, creating a tunnel with their knotty branches – it gives you an eerie feeling to walk underneath them. From here the view is absolutely breathtaking, offering a glimpse over the jagged peaks of the Rosengarten Group (Gruppo del Catinaccio in Italian) and a bird’s eye view over an endless sea of vines. At dusk, the mountains take a distinctive pink hue that gradually turns into violet.  It is a spectacular sight, one that only lasts a minute or so - the locals call this unique phenomenon Enrosadira.

As soon as you take the autostrada southbound and leave Bolzano behind you, it’s like you crossed a gate as the landscape changes greatly. No more craggy ranges and V shaped valleys but a rather wide canyon carved by glaciers where the Adige River slowly makes its way to the sea. Here the valley floor is a fertile flatland, the climate much milder, and by the time you reach Verona the mountains have given way to low rolling hills and plains.  Quite a dramatic change in just an hour and half drive, but this is what makes Italy such a special place: a thin strip of land densely packed with much diversity.  

Stefano Zanoncello