Italy’s mountainous Alto Adige wine region stretches approximately 135km from just north of Trento in the south up to the Brenner Pass and the Austrian border in the north, with Bolzano as its capital city. It is a great lifestyle and gastronomic destination, containing many of Italy’s most famous ski resorts, top Michelin-starred restaurants, and wonderful wellness hotels. As well as its thriving wine industry, it is one of Europe’s most important apple producers, with apple orchards spread across vast swathes of its valley floor.

The climate in Alto Adige can best be described as Alpine-Mediterranean, a land where north meets south. The Alps to the north protect the region from excessive rainfall, so it is surprisingly dry, with only 500mm-600mm rainfall per annum in the Valle Isarco district in the far north. It is also very sunny, receiving around 300 days of sunshine per year; in the summer Bolzano is often one of the warmest cities in Italy! But it is also windy, cooled by cold northerly winds from the Alps overnight and in the mornings, then warmed up in the afternoons by a warm wind known as the Ora, which blows up from Lake Garda in the south. These cause significant day-night temperature swings in the summer; temperatures often reach 35C in July and August in the heat of the afternoon, but at night they rarely rise above 15C. This gives the region’s wines an extra intensity of aromas and flavours and accentuates their acidity.

In general, the further south towards Trento you go, the warmer the climate, and the further north towards the Brenner, the cooler it gets. But different altitudes and exposures create a multitude of unique microclimates. East facing vineyards are cooler than west facing, as they are shaded from the warm late afternoon sun in the summer, and the higher the vineyard, the cooler its climate. Vineyards are planted from around 300m up to above 1200m in some areas!

Alto Adige has the most – and the best quality – cooperatives of any of the world’s wine regions; around 70% of the region’s wines are produced by cooperatives. Vineyards in this steep and mountainous area tend to be very small because space is so limited, meaning that most grape farmers don’t have the financial means to produce and bottle wines themselves. Instead, historically they have sold their grapes to cooperatives. These cooperatives are extremely well managed and produce some of the best quality wines in the region. The Cantina Valle di Isarco is a perfect example!

The Valle Isarco wine commune is the most northerly in Alto Adige and the closest to the beautiful Dolomite mountains. It is a place of extremes; steep terraces, ancient farms and castles, and vineyards up to 1,000m high – one of the highest grape cultivation areas in Europe. Wine culture in the area dates back to the fifth century BC, and by the Middle Ages its white wines were celebrated by the famous Germanic poets of the day.

Cantina Valle Isarco is the youngest and smallest cooperative in Alto Adige, founded in 1961, uniting 121 winemaking families who cultivate their vines on steep, mountainside vineyards between Bolzano and Brixen. Its focus is on producing high quality white wines with an unmistakable taste of their unique mountain terroirs; 95% of its production is white wine from classic cool climate grapes such as Kerner, Sylvaner and Grüner Veltliner as well as international white grapes like Pinot Bianco and Pinot Grigio. Conditions for the grape growers here are severely challenging, but the wines are absolutely worth the effort; these are white wines of great purity, elegance, minerality and finesse and potentially some of the most interesting white wines in Europe!