South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous province , image_skyline = , image_alt ...

(called in Italian ''Alto Adige'') is an

autonomous province Autonomous province is a term for a type of province that has administrative autonomy.Collins Dictionar ...

located in north-east

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

producing wine. This

Austro Austro may refer to: * Austro-, a prefix denoting Austria * Austro (automobile), an Austrian cyclecar manufactured 1913–1914 * Austro Engine, an aircraft engine manufacturer * Ēostre () is a West Germanic spring goddess. The name is ref ...

Italian wine Italian wine is produced in every region of Italy. Italy is the world's largest producer of wine, with an area of under vineyard cultivation, and contributing a 2013–2017 annual average of 48.3 million hl of wine. In 2018 Italy accounted for ...

region is noted for the distinct

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

influences on the wine industry due to the region's long history under the rule of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

and

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

s.M. Ewing-Mulligan & E. McCarthy ''Italian Wines for Dummies'', pp. 109-118. Hungry Minds 2001 . Because of its unique history and location within the southern

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

and

Dolomites The Dolomites ( it, Dolomiti ; Ladin: ''Dolomites''; german: Dolomiten ; vec, Dołomiti : fur, Dolomitis), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. They form par ...

, in this region grows a wide range of

grape varieties This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...

that are not usually seen in other parts of Italy. These include

Müller-Thurgau Müller-Thurgau is a white grape variety (sp. ''Vitis vinifera'') which was created by Hermann Müller from the Swiss Canton of Thurgau in 1882 at the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute in Germany. It is a crossing of Riesling with Madeleine R ...

Vernatsch Trollinger, Schiava, or Vernatsch, is a red German/Italian wine grape variety that was likely first originally cultivated in the wine regions of South Tyrol and Trentino, but today is almost exclusively cultivated on steep, sunny locations in t ...

Lagrein Lagrein (pronounced lah-GRAH’EEN, lah-GRINE or lah-GRI’NE) is a red wine grape variety native to the valleys of South Tyrol, northern Italy. Along with Marzemino, it is a descendant of Teroldego, and related to Syrah, Pinot noir and Dureza. ...

Sylvaner Sylvaner or Silvaner is a variety of white wine grape grown primarily in Alsace and Germany, where its official name is Grüner Silvaner. While the Alsatian versions have primarily been considered simpler wines, it was included among the vari ...

Riesling Riesling (, ; ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling wh ...

(known in Italian as ''Riesling Renano''),

Gewürztraminer Gewürztraminer () is an aromatic wine grape variety, used in white wines, and performs best in cooler climates. In English, it is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz (; although this is never the case in German, because "Gewürz" me ...

(known in Italian as ''Traminer Aromatico'')P. Saunders ''Wine Label Language'' pp. 120–212 Firefly Books 2004 and Blatterle.

Winemaking

Winemaking Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. The science of wine and ...

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

has a long tradition: the first evidence dates back to the period before the Romans. The South Tyrolean winegrowing area is highly influenced by the

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

, which in the Adige valley (

Überetsch-Unterland Überetsch-Unterland ( it, Oltradige-Bassa Atesina ; german: Überetsch-Unterland) is a district ( it, comprensorio; german: Bezirksgemeinschaft) in the southern part of the Italian province of South Tyrol. It comprises the valley of the Adige rive ...

Überetsch The Überetsch (german: Überetsch; it, Oltradige) is a hilly section of the Etschtal in South Tyrol, northern Italy. It lies south-west of Bolzano and is a known tourist destination, famous for its wines, castles and lakes ( Kalterer See, Monti ...

Bozen Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third la ...

Terlan Terlan (; it, Terlano ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy. Geography The municipal area is situated within the Adige Valley, about northwest of the city of Bolzano. Terlan is famous for its wine and asparagus produ ...

Burggrafenamt The Burggrafenamt ( it, Burgraviato , german: Burggrafenamt) is a district ( it, comprensorio, german: Bezirksgemeinschaft) in the western part of the Italian province of South Tyrol. It comprises the part of the Adige river valley between Naturns ...

) arrives up to

Meran Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and ''comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier ...

. This allows a very versatile winemaking, which includes almost all the red grape varieties and a lot of white grape wines. The

Vinschgau The Vinschgau, Vintschgau () or Vinschgau Valley ( it, Val Venosta ; rm, Vnuost ; lld, Val Venuesta; medieval toponym: ''Finsgowe'') is the upper part of the Adige or Etsch river valley, in the western part of the province of South Tyrol, Italy. ...

and the

Eisacktal Eisack Valley ( it, Valle Isarco ; german: Eisacktal) is a district ( it, comprensorio; german: Bezirksgemeinschaft) in South Tyrol, Italy. It comprises the middle part of the valley of the Eisack, from Franzensfeste in the north to Waidbruck in t ...

have a harsher climate and thus they're specialized in white wines. In South Tyrol there are three

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

varieties:

Schiava Trollinger, Schiava, or Vernatsch, is a red German/Italian wine grape variety that was likely first originally cultivated in the wine regions of South Tyrol and Trentino, but today is almost exclusively cultivated on steep, sunny locations in t ...

and

. A similar winegrowing region is

Trentino wine Trentino is the southern part of the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol autonomous region of Italy. Wine is produced in Trentino from several grape varieties, including the native Nosiola, Teroldego, and Marzemino varieties. There are six wine Denomina ...

in the south.

History

Findings of seeds dating back to the Iron Age (Stufels near

Brixen Brixen (, ; it, Bressanone ; lld, Porsenù or ) is a town in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano. Geography First mentioned in 901, Brixen is the third largest city and oldest town in the province, and the artistic and ...

) and archaeological findings dating back to 400 BC witness that winegrowing was practised in South Tyrol already 3,000 years ago. Probably the earliest sources date back to before the Romans and to the wine produced by the Rhaetian.

Cato the Elder Marcus Porcius Cato (; 234–149 BC), also known as Cato the Censor ( la, Censorius), the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, senator, and historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He was the first to write histo ...

in his ''De agri cultura'' highlighted the Rhaetian wine, before the territory was conquered by the Romans. During roman centuries flourished the wine production in what is now southern Alto Adige and were created the

and

Teroldego Teroldego is a red Italian grape variety grown primarily in the northeastern region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy. Description Wine has been produced since ancient times in "Campo Rotaliano", an alluvial plain between the rivers Adige ...

grape varieties. In 720 AD, under the commissioner Corbinio, first bishop of Freising, vineyards landed in

. From the twelfth century the monasteries in southern

Germania Germania ( ; ), also called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman province of the same name, was a large historical region in north- ...

and the aristocrats incentive the winemaking. In the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and during the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

the production of wine in the south Tyrolean wineries flourished. The wine production and sale developed thanks to the activity of the families of winemakers from the nineteenth century and thanks to the cooperatives since the twentieth century. In the twentieth century there were several critical periods: first due to the

phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belong to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs ...

and then in the First Post-war with the breakdown of the traditional markets (

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

) with the initial fascist repression (as well as during the Second Post-war). In the 1930s there was a huge development of the wine industry in Alto Adige, but it was blocked by

WW2 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. However with the mass production, the Italian wine industry consolidated from the 1950s until the 1980s. In the 1980s there was a deep crisis of the sales channels most common at the times, especially the sale of wine in tanks in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Cellars changed their sales strategy. More quality wines were produced; quantity moved to the background and nowadays it hasn't value any longer. Decisive for the winemaking in South Tyrol was 1971, when people returned to the division and classification of wine zones according to the PDO rules. The quality production, pursued up until now since 20 years, as well as the spread of the bottling in bottles of 0,75 litres have earned this small wine area an excellent reputation. This is especially true for white wines in Italy, but also for the wine experts in the international markets. Th
South Tyrolean Wine Museum
in Kaltern offers an overview of the history and the traditional grape cultivation methods in South Tyrol. Since 1964 has been created the ''Wine way'', a famous tourism attraction that stretches from

Merano Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and ''comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier V ...

Salorno Salorno sulla Strada del Vino (; german: Salurn ) is the southernmost ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about southwest of the city of Bolzano. It is one of only five mainly Italian-speaking municipalities in S ...

in southern Alto Adige.

Cultivation zones

Cantina Tramin - Alto Adige Sauvignon 2005

South Tyrol (''Alto Adige'' in Italian) is a small but faceted

winegrowing Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

region. Unique in its field in Italy, it is a region where 20 different grape varieties are cultivated on a land of , which yields 3.9 million cases (50,000 hectoliters) of wine. With its geographical position, between an Alpine climatic zone and a

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

one and with vineyards growing at only above sea level, South Tyrol is Italy's smallest wine growing area. It has a high density of PDO wines (

Protected Designation of Origin The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union and the United Kingdom aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main ...

). The South Tyrolean wine growing zone is divided into 7 PDO sub-regions: *“Alto Adige

”, around Merano; *“Alto Adige

Val Venosta The Vinschgau, Vintschgau () or Vinschgau Valley ( it, Val Venosta ; rm, Vnuost ; lld, Val Venuesta; medieval toponym: ''Finsgowe'') is the upper part of the Adige or Etsch river valley, in the western part of the province of South Tyrol, Italy. ...

”, whose vineyards are located west of Merano and south of

Adige The Adige (; german: Etsch ; vec, Àdexe ; rm, Adisch ; lld, Adesc; la, Athesis; grc, Ἄθεσις, Áthesis, or , ''Átagis'') is the second-longest river in Italy, after the Po. It rises near the Reschen Pass in the Vinschgau in the prov ...

; *“Alto Adige Oltradige”, located west of the

Eisack The Eisack (german: Eisack, ; it, Isarco ; Latin: ''Isarus'' or ''Isarcus'') is a river in Northern Italy, the second largest river in South Tyrol. Its source is near the Brenner Pass, at an altitude of about 1990 m above sea level. The river draw ...

river into the Adige, and north of Lake Kaltern near Terlan; *“Alto Adige Valle Isarco”, between

Vahrn Vahrn (; it, Varna ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about northeast of the city of Bolzano. Geography Vahrn borders the following municipalities: Brixen, Klausen, Franzensfeste, Natz-Schabs, Sarntal an ...

and

Völs am Schlern Völs am Schlern (; it, Fiè allo Sciliar ; lld, Fíe or ), often abbreviated to Völs, is a municipality in South Tyrol in northern Italy. It is located at the foot of the Schlern mountain, about east of Bolzano. Geography As of November 30, 2 ...

; *“Alto Adige Colli di Bolzano” south west of

Bolzano Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third la ...

; *“Alto Adige Santa Maddalena” north west of the previous one. Among these zones and beyond, there are regions, which produce wines called simply “ Alto Adige/Südtirol DOC”. The protected designations of origin rule the labeling of the south Tyrolean wines, according to the origin and guarantee to consumers, resellers and sommelier the source of wine. Approximately 5,000 wine producers deliver their grapes to the 160 wineries, which produce a great variety of wine, red and sparkling wines, despite of their small dimensions. Almost 70% of the south Tyrolean wine is produced in wineries run by social cooperatives, the remaining 25% comes from the association “''Alto Adige Estate Wineries''”, and the remaining 5% is produced by “''Alto Adige Independent Winegrowers''”.

Winemaking

Winemaking in South Tyrol is particularly intensive: often involving handwork, on steep terraced slopes, with environment-friendly techniques. Thanks to the so-called “integrated winegrowing”, South Tyrolean farmers strengthen the natural defences of the vineyards, protecting beneficial insects and supporting their spread. Strict limitations of yields and the consistent conversion of the classical

pergola A pergola is most commonly an outdoor garden feature forming a shaded walkway, passageway, or sitting area of vertical posts or pillars that usually support cross-beams and a sturdy open lattice, often upon which woody vines are trained. The ...

to the modern wire frame (Guyot) improved the quality of the grapes.

Varieties

58% of the Alto Adige's wines are made with white grape varieties:

Pinot Grigio Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio (, ) or Grauburgunder is a white wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot Noir variety, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name, but the grap ...

Pinot bianco Pinot blanc is a white wine grape. It is a point genetic mutation of Pinot noir. Pinot noir is genetically unstable and will occasionally experience a point mutation in which a vine bears all black fruit except for one cane which produces whit ...

and

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...

are the most common. Also Sauvignon, Müller Thurgau,

, Kerner,

and Veltliner are produced. As regards the red grape varieties, in South Tyrol along with the two

varieties of

and

all other classic grape varieties have been produced for far more than one hundred years:

Pinot nero Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French words for ''pine'' and ''black.'' The word ''pin ...

Merlot Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the ...

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon' ...

and

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire's Chinon. In addition to being us ...

. Nearly 42% of the grape-growing area is planted with red wine varieties. Varieties produced: *Pinot bianco (Weißburgunder) *Sauvignon *Gewürztraminer *Chardonnay *Pinot Grigio (Grauburgunder) *Riesling *Sylvaner *Veltliner *Kerner *Müller Thurgau *Moscato *Vernatsch (Schiava) *Pinot nero (Blauburgunder) *Lagrein *Merlot *Cabernet *Moscato rosa

Literature

*Gosetti Fernanda, Righi Parenti Giovanni. ''Il vino a tavola e in cucina. Vini e ricette regionali di: Val d’Aosta, Piemonte, Liguria, Lombardia, Veneto, Trentino, Alto Adige, Friuli Venezia Giulia''. Milano, AMZ, 1980. *Matthias Ladurner-Parthanes: Vom Perglwerk zur Torggl. Athesia, Bozen 1972 *Stocker, Barbara: Der Wein und seine Geschichte. Thaur/Bozen: deleatur, Südtirol in Wort und Bild, 49. Jg., 3. Quartal/2005 *Andergassen, Gotthard: Südtiroler Weinbau und Weinwirtschaft um Mittelalter. Thaur/Bozen: deleatur, Südtirol in Wort und Bild, 49. Jg., 3. Quartal/2005 *Zwerger, Roland: Vom Weißen Lagrein über den „Weißterlinger“ zum Gewürztraminer. Kleine Südtiroler Sortengeschichte mit besonderer Berücksichtigung von Tramin. Bozen: Athesiadruck, Der Schlern 79/2005, Heft 8/9 *Nössing, Josef: Bozens Weinhandel im Mittelalter und in der Neuzeit. Linz: Druckerei R. Trauner, Stadt und Wein, 1996 *Freie Weinbauern Südtirol

15. Juni 2007 *Jens Priewe unter Mitarbeit von Christoph Tscholl: Die Weine von Südtirol. Der Guide für Kenner und Geniesser. Collection Rolf Heyne, Ausgabe 2006, *Kilchmann, Martin: Weine aus Südtirol. Müller Rüschlikon, 1995, *Meininger Einkaufsführer: Weine und Winzer aus Südtirol. Meininger Verlag, 2005, (PDF) *Busche Infoguide: Winzer & Weingüter. Deutschland, Elsass, Luxemburg, Österreich und Südtirol. 4. Auflage. Busche Verlag, 2006, *Peter Moser: Falstaff Weinguide Österreich Südtirol. 2005/2006. Falstaff-Verlag, *Andreas Otto Weber: Studien zum Weinbau der altbayerischen Klöster im Mittelalter. Steiner, 1999,

References

External links

Consortium of Alto Adige Wine

"Wine way" in Alto Adige (in Italian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trentino-Alto Adige Sudtirol wine Wine regions of Italy

Wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

South Tyrol de:Südtirol (Weinbaugebiet) es:Alto Adige (region vinicola) it:Alto Adige (zona vitivinicola)