The northern part of the Italian dual region of Trentino-South Tyrol; the southern part is Trentino. The Italian name is Alto Adige. It corresponds geographically to the Autonomous Province of Bolzano (Italian: Bolzano). The Rhaeto-Romans planted the first vineyards here as early as 1,000 BC, making South Tyrol one of the oldest German-speaking wine-growing regions. Here the Romans learnt from the Celts how to use wooden wine barrels for storage and transport. Viticulture reached its peak in the Middle Ages.
The German emperors who travelled to Rome for their coronation became acquainted with and appreciated South Tyrolean wine on their journeys. As in many other wine-growing regions, phylloxera and mildew led to a decline from the end of the 19th century. South Tyrol's annexation to Italy after the First World War in 1919 meant that the northern sales markets were lost. After the loss of quality in the 1980s due to the marketing of mass-produced wines, the region has now regained access to top quality.
The vineyards cover 5,500 hectares of vines, mainly at an altitude of 500 to 1,000 metres above sea level. These often extend on terraced slopes and hills in the Adige Valley (Valdadige) between Merano (Meran) and Salorno (Salurn) and in the Isarco Valley between Bolzano (Bolzano) and Bressanone (Brixen), with smaller areas under cultivation in the Venosta Valley (Vinschgau), formerly also known as the Venosta Valley (Valle Venosta). Only the Lagrein area of Gries (San Quierino) and the white wine area of Salurn are located at the bottom of the valley. The traditional vine training Pergola is still widespread here. In the Adige Valley, the soils consist of gravelly alluvial gravel, on the slopes of weathered scree with a high lime content. The climate is continental with warm summers and cold winters with relatively large temperature fluctuations. There are two DOC areas:
The DOC area includes the municipalities around the eponymous Lake Caldaro, with some villages from the Trentino area also belonging to it.
The DOC area covers the entire region of South Tyrol. There are also six sub-zones, which may be labelled in German and/or Italian:
There are two IGT areas. The Mitterberg area is located in South Tyrol (Alto Adige); the cross-provincial Dolomites vineyard area or Vigneti delle Dolomiti consists of vineyards in the provinces of Bolzano (Bozen) and Trento (Trient).
There are many small winegrowers and grape growers, most of whom are organised in one of the many winegrowers' cooperatives, which account for around two thirds of production and supply grapes. Well-known wineries include Ansitz Waldgries, Arunda, Baron Di Pauli, Baron Longo, Bergmannhof, Bessererhof, Brigl, Brunnenhof Mazzon, Cantina Kaltern (Kaltern Winery), Carlotto, Castelfeder, Castel Sallegg, Dipoli Peter, Ebnerhof, Egger-Ramer, Eichenstein, Eisacktaler Kellerei, Elena Walch - Castel Ringberg & Castelaz, Erbhof Unterganzner, Garlider, Glögglhof, Griesbauerhof, Gummerhof, Gump Hof, Haas Franz, Haderburg, Happacherhof, Kandlerhof, Kellerei an der Salurner Klause, Kellerei Andrian, Kellerei Bozen, Kellerei Girlan, Kellerei Kurtatsch, Kellerei Meran, Kellerei Terlan, Kellerei Tramin, K. Martini & Sohn, Kobler Armin, Köfelgut - Martin Pohl, Kornell, Kössler, Lageder Alois, Larcherhof - Familie Spögler, Laimburg, Lieselehof, Loacker Schwarhof, H. Lun, Manincor, Maso Thaler, Messnerhof, Muri-Gries, Nals Margreid, Niedermayr Josef, Niedermayr Thomas Hof Gandberg, Niklaserhof, Obermoser - Thomas Rottensteiner, Pfannenstielhof, Pichler Thomas, Plonerhof - Erhard & Herta Tutzer, Popphof, Pranzegg - Martin Gojer, Peter Sölva & Söhne, Pfitscher, Reyter, Ritterhof, Rottensteiner Hans, Schloss Englar, Schmid-Oberrautner, Schreckbichl, Sektmanufaktur Winkler, Stachlburg, St. Michael-Eppan, St. Paul. Michael-Eppan, St. Pauls Kellerei, Tiefenbrunner, Tröpfltalhof, Unterhofer, Unterortl, Weger Josef, Zöhlhof - Josef Unterfrauner and Zollweghof - Franz Pfeifhofer. Many of them are members of the winegrowers' association Freie Weinbauern Südtirol.
Bolzano: By User:Mattes - Own work, Public domain, Link
Cermes: By Benreis - Own work, CC BY 3.0, Link
Tramin: By Plentn - Own work, CC0, Link
I have great respect for the scope and quality of the wein.plus encyclopaedia. It is a unique place to go for crisp, sound information on terms from the world of wine.
Dr. Edgar Müller
Dozent, Önologe und Weinbauberater, Bad Kreuznach