ITALIAN WINE CLUB
JANUARY 2022
THERE’S SNOW IN THEM THAR HILLS
Deep and seemingly endless dumps of snow, like what’s just been experienced in Tahoe, are worthy of celebration for so many reasons. Clearly, any moisture in the state of California this year is an incredibly welcome sight, but when it comes in the form of snowpack that can more slowly feed our aquifers come spring melt it is far more fabulous.
Secondly, just the sheer excitement deep snow evokes in the middle of a winter where there is so much distraction and apprehension can only be seen as extremely cathartic. Get out and play in the snow, whenever you have the chance.
These four fabulous alpine wines come from the Dolomite Mountain range in the Isarco Valley (or Eisacktaler) in the Alto-Adige (or Sudtirol.) Languages and culture may be a skosh confusing here, but there’s no questioning the level of straight forward delicious achieved.
– Kevin Wardell, January 2022
KOFERERHOF
Isarco, Alto-Adige, Italy 2019
SYLVANER [sihl-vah-ner]
An Austrian native grape that shows incredible ageability… but also very rarely considered to produce great quality wines. It shares the distinction with Mŭller-Thurgau (a more popular cross between Riesling and Sylvaner) as being the most widely planted grape in the Isarco Valley and there are many small vineyards peppered throughout these mountains that were planted post World War II. So the potential in these old-vine Sylvaner vineyards are most certainly there – it just seems to take producers like Günther Kershbaumer who think outside the local traditions to coax the potential out of them.
If you can imagine the narrow Isarco Valley bookended by terraced vineyards, it is really easy to understand that land ownership is a complicated subject at best. What little developable space there is lies between steep inclined terrain, pointed straight up into the Alps. So it is no wonder that Günther Kershbaumer runs out of wine, he just doesn’t have enough vines. His white wines are sought after and gobbled up quickly as there are many that consider them to be some of the best in Italy. His white wines are powerful and precise, coming from maticiculsy tended vines at 700-800 meters. The Sylvaner grape does not get any better than this in Italy.
Sylvaner does not always follow suit with the typical Alto-Adige white grape profile when it comes to their distinct floral aromatics, however, minerality and vibrancy level-up this expected comparison. Spicy on the nose and in the mouth, like coriander and white pepper with a herbal lemon thyme and lime leaf backbone. The mid-palate is like a bag of dried apple chips and salted almonds and it displays an edge that is more than just crisp acid; more like a green limestone switchblade cutting through fresh granny smith apples.
Like many other estates in the Valle Isarco, the family previously sold their grapes to the Abbazia di Novacella and only began bottling their own wine in 1995.
ABBAZIA DI NOVACELLA
Isarco, Alto-Adige, Italy 2020
KERNER [KER-nur]
A white grape variety that is actually a cross breed between Riesling (yum!) and a very light skinned red grape called Vernatsch (or Schiava, also yum!) Kerner is one of a few successful Riesling hybrids from Germany and, as you might imagine, is easily recognized by it’s delightfully floral aromatics. But beyond the nose, what makes this grape truly unique is the slightly textured finishing grip (from the Schiava side of the family tree, of course.)
The Abbazia (Abbey) was founded in the village of Novacella in 1142 by the Augustinian Order of Canons Regular. Yes, we’re talking Mountain Monks. They have taken all the traditional vows that most monks do, but their primary goal and foundation is to support the local community as stewards of the land. They grow grapes (and make incredible wines) as well as farming other local staples like apples and vegetables, to help feed the community. They are also the local historians and run a viticultural focused school. This vital resource has grown to be such an important part of the region’s growth in regards to producing high quality wines – so much so that the Abbey’s enologist Celestino Lucin was recognized by Gambero Rosso as Winemaker of the year in 2009.
Sometimes it’s those “easy drinkers” that bring the most joy to people’s palates, and oftentimes Kerner can fit gently into that category. This wine, although super easy to love, is more of a mineral forward karate kick Kerner where Sancerre faces off with Kamptall. Think of a mountain spring in a blooming wildflower meadow, rolling over broken granite and topped up with lemongrass and microplaned grapefruit skins and beeswax. Ripping crunchy acidity works over the salivary glands, but with just enough of a sweet kiss of guava on the finish to make it all say AAAaaaaaah.
The hybrid Kerner was created in 1969 in Württemberg and named after a local poet, Justinius Kerner.
FERRUCCIO CARLOTTO
Bolzano, Alto-Adige, Italy 2020
SCHIAVA [ski-YAva] / (aka VERNATSCH, aka TROLLINGER)
This is actually the most widely planted grape in Alto Adige, despite the fact that the overall percent produced favors white over red 65:35 (I would have guessed even higher.) Schiava is Italian for ‘slave,’ so named from the high yields that the vines carry, or perhaps due to the specific way the aggressive vines were tied to the trullising to keep them from overgrowth. Either way it is not the most pleasant moniker. Many producers use the local Tyrol vernacular ‘Vernatsch’ and Germans call it ‘Tyrolinger’ (officially classified Trollinger) confirming its native roots.
Ferruccio Carlotto and his daughter Michela farm a tiny estate of several hectares in the Alto Adige town of Ora, just south of Bolzano. As with many other producers here, the focus is more on what is considered their more powerfully expressive grape, Lagrien. That said, it seems you can always measure a Tyrolean winemaker’s skill level by how delicious their Schiava is… almost like judging a pizza place by it’s Margarita. Carlotto is always focussed on his soils, an enviable mix of igneous porphyry rock and complemented by limestone subsoil and a wide range of alluvial sediments, giving distinctive mineral expressions in the delicious juice he creates.
It is zero wonder why it has taken so long for Americans to start seeing how delicious Schiava is. Firstly, the Balzano locals have long assumed, based on our best selling California wine profile, that we’d never want or understand a wine like this and secondly those same locals have been content to keep it all for themselves. Full spring bloom floral backed by a distinctive varietal characteristic of alpine je-ne-sais-café scent of lightly roasted coffee beans. Gamay-like crunch, Pinot-like fruit and a peppered meatiness that seems to have no business in this wine, yet equally seems to work oh-so perfectly.
While your first thought of Alto Adige may be mountains and snow, it turns out that Bolzano is in fact one of Italy’s warmest cities, due to its location at the focal point of three alpine valleys. Huh. Wild.
ANSITZ WALDGRIES
Bolzano, Alto-Adige, Italy 2019
LAGREIN [la-GRAIN] or [lah-GRINE]
In 1526 there was a revolt led by local farmers against the nobles and the church in order to expand their rights, most importantly, to be allowed to drink Lagrein. Lagrein is an exception to many alpine reds which can run pale and lean- Lagrein takes on much darker coloring but still maintains light body, high tannin and pronounced acidity. It is a grape that loves as much sunshine as possible- although that sounds like it’s perhaps in the wrong place, Lagrein is a native at home in the mountains and tends to get finicky when grown elsewhere. Truly, a grape variety worth fighting for.
Christian Plattner’s tiny Waldgries estate is located in the St Magdalener hills just outside the town of Bolzano. His family’s winemaking history goes back to when this area was much simpler, but despite growth and modernization still not much has changed too much. One thing you can still rely on is that any restaurant, be it a mountain chalet at a local ski resort or a 3 star Michelin establishment, they all feature Christian’s wines with great local pride. He makes just only about 5,000 cases all told of his wines and it’s easy to see why they are well sought after.
Deep saturated purple color, smells like blackberry jam on warm toast next to a really fragrant fresh brew of coffee. Seriously, I love this about Lagrein, rich coffee is a staple in it’s flavor wheel. Ripe with blueberries and pomegranate, it goes down so easy and has a real warming effect . Cue the team of St. Bernards with mini barrels of Lagrein around their necks. Black plums, pencil shavings, violet gum ( if you know, you know) and whole black peppercorns. That’s right, not fresh ground pepper, but whole. Is that too geeky? I think not only because there is a bitter quality to peppercorns before their essence is released and, well… I digress. Yum.
The cellars at Waldgries are a sight to behold with their ancient walls punctuated by modern art – the perfect juxtaposition of old and new.