Crisp reds, whites with rare finesse, unforgettable bubbles, the wines of Trentino Alto Adige are today truly loved by experts and enthusiasts. Rightly. We have already asked ourselves the reasons for this success, while here we have collected 10 curiosities that you cannot fail to know about one of the most trending Italian wine regions.
Simple and short decalogue of curiosities that are really worth knowing about viticulture and the wines of Trentino Alto Adige.
1. Viticulture in the area of present-day Trentino Alto Adige has very ancient origins , dating back to the Etruscans.
2. The region is almost entirely mountainous , with the exception of the Piana Rotaliana. The vine is grown in the valley bottom and in the lower part of the best exposed slopes.
3. The region has massively exported its wines since the Middle Ages , especially to what is now Germany and Austria (in Mozart's Don Giovanni we read «pour wine, excellent Marzemino!»).
4. The region is the richest in scientific institutes applied to wine . Illustrious are the Agricultural Institute of San Michele all'Adige (also the destination of a stopover by Soldati on his first journey "in search of genuine wines" which merged into Vino al vino ) and the Agricultural and Forestry Experimentation Center of Laimburg.
5. The real turning point in quality occurred between the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s , with the discovery of the potential of native varieties such as Lagrein.
6. The DOCs of the region are: Alto Adige, Lago di Caldaro, Casteller, Teroldego Rotaliano, Trentino, Trentino Superiore, Trento, Valdadige, Valdadige Terradeiforti, Delle Venezie. And the main native vines: Lagrein, Teroldego, Schiava, Marzemino, yellow Moscato, pink Moscato, Müller-Thurgau, Nosiola, Rebo and aromatic Traminer.
7. Trentino and Alto Adige are considered, from an oenological point of view, as two distinct entities . Although there are only two provinces in the region, the territory is very varied.
8. Trentino Alto Adige has a traditional and important vocation for the production of red wines (which we offer in selection in January). Today the region is also rightly known for its excellent whites , which benefit greatly from the cool climate.
9. The legendary Metodo Classico Trento DOC deserves a separate mention, for years at the top of Italian sparkling wines, capable of combining complexity and fragrance, elegance and longevity. A bubble all based on finesse.
10. We close with a rare wine from the region, the Trentino Vino Santo , a Passito made from Nosiola grapes, which requires a very long natural drying (about 6 months), among the longest in the world, and a subsequent maturation of three years . A wine that points straight to the future and knows how to age for decades.
