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Laimburg Research Center and Winery by John Ducker
On arrival in a chilly Verona under zero-level raincloud any onward expectations we might have had of crisp alpine weather and gentian-blue skies seemed dashed. Misty glimpses of the wide vineyard-covered Valdadige valley and of the swollen fast-flowing Adige river itself appeared through the overcast as we headed up Superstrada A22 to Bolzano.
Revelation Our first tasting visit was a revelation. Founded in 1975 and set in imposing surroundings at the foot of a mountain crowned by a ruined 13th century castle, the Laimburg centre is the fountainhead of research across all the agricultural applications of the Alto Adige including (for viticulture) studies in vine diseases, microflora analysis in vineyards and cellars, work on yeast strains etc., plus targeted training for local wine farmers, few of whom can boast more than half a hectare under vines.
James Bond Given scarce usable ground space in this alpine region the tasting rooms and cellars of the institute had been blasted into the living rock of the mountain, finding us in an ‘Aladdin’s Cave’ winery worthy of a James Bond movie set!
Local dialect
Punctiliousness, cleanliness and precision seem to be the hallmarks of Laimburg where they even employ software critically to gauge the effectiveness of their tasters’ noses and palates. Now there’s a thing!
Text © John Ducker 2009 Photo © Brett Jones 2009
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Visit to Produttori Colterenzio Cooperative Winery at Cornaiano/Girlan by Claire Blackler
I was particularly looking forward to visiting Colterenzio. I know their wines well and use them regularly on my WSET courses, particularly the Pinot Grigio from the classic range (available from Enotria). It’s a fantastic example of what Pinot Grigio can do when treated properly and a welcome relief from some of the over-cropped, neutral Pinot Grigio that seems to be taking the UK by storm at the moment! Sadly, I was a little disappointed when I got out of the bus! Of course it was a beautiful area, all of the vineyards we visited were, but the winery itself was remarkably ordinary, concrete, angular and with a busy road pushing between it and its vineyards.
Ethos Wolfgang Raifer, the son of the founder took us into the vineyards and explained the ethos behind their co-operative. 290 members cultivate over 300 hectares of vineyards, carefully and naturally with as little intervention as possible. Yields are managed to ensure the vines productivity is balanced, training and pruning systems are chosen appropriately for the variety and pests and diseases are treated without synthetic chemicals. The result is a series of varietal wines that express the nature of the variety and of course their origins.
I wasn’t however disappointed by the wines! The tasting room itself was fabulous with a fantastic view over the road and down the vine covered hills. As was typical of the Alto Adige, a range of mountains dominated the background.
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We tasted several
of their wines but my favourite was the Gewürztraminer, a grape variety
that I’m not particularly fond of but this one was smashing - classic
Gewürztraminer structure, aromas and flavours of rose, spice and
grapes. It was really well put together with none of the oily
bitterness that I associate with Gewürztraminer. This would be a real
pleasure with spicy Thai food.
Care and attention Colterenzio is a great example of a co-operative that says the right things and does the right things and the results of the care and attention that they give to the vines in the vineyard and the grapes in the winery can be seen in the wines in the bottle. Photos & text © Claire Blackler 2009
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Trentino Manincor by Susan Hulme MW
This visit was in the most spectacular setting beside Largo di Caldero. The word ‘caldo’ means hot in Italian and this has always struck me as odd in what, geographically, would seem to be an alpine climate but as our host explained, Largo di Caldero is the warmest alpine lake in the country. The area is in fact a little sun trap and that day, those of us who are fair skinned were sheltering from the sun for the whole visit and the delicious lunch that followed in the restaurant beside the lake itself.
We descended from the coach in a blaze of brilliant sunlight to be met by our very congenial and knowledgeable host, sales manager, Matthias Jaeger, who gave us some of the key facts and figures.
Facts and figures The company started in 1996 but the site has a history dating back to the 17th century. The owner is Count Michael Goëss-Enzenburg and the winery manager is Hemuth Zozin, previously the winemaker at the Cantina di Caldero and who is on the same wave-length as Goëss-Enzenburg in their belief in biodynamic viticulture.
The total production at Manicor is 200,000 bottles and they have 48 ha under vine. The main black grape varieties grown here are: Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Lagrein and Tempranillo among others. White varieties include: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc and Viognier among others.
We were told that in this particular mesoclimate the climate is Mediterranean but with an Alpine influence which gives them hot days with cool nights and huge diurnal differences. In summer this is occasionally as much as 40 degrees difference between day and night time temperatures but they regularly have as much as 20 degrees difference.
'Respect' Manincor adopted a biodynamic viticultural system 5 years ago to get more individual identity in the wines. At the time this increased costs by 25% for the first two years but now the costs are evening out and they will be officially certified as biodynamic by Demeter by 2009. They are part of a group of winemakers called ‘Respect’ which comprises 12 Austrian winemakers, including famous names like Alois Lageder and four wineries who are biodynamic. Here at Manincor, in the winery they use gravity, not pumps to move the wine and the smart new oak fermentation vats are arranged in a circle in a similar system to that used by Jacques Lardière at Louis Jadot.
Manincor tasting notes: Moscato Giallo 2008 12% (50hl/ha, 5.6-5.7 ta, 1g/l r/s) Bright lemon yellow in appearance with honey, rose petals, spice and yellow rose on the nose. On the palate, surprisingly dry while being richly aromatic at the same time with mouthfilling flavours of rose petals, crystalline ginger, exotic fragrance and spice. This wine has great flavour intensity with a fresh balancing acidity and a long, lingering ginger finish.
It is 100% wood-fermented but you’d never know it. Wonderful flavour intensity and concentration and so well balanced at 12 abv rather than the usual heavyweight alcoholic versions one usually finds - the best Yellow Muscat I’ve tasted and a memorable wine.
By an interesting little moment of serendiptity, after this trip I went on to Venice for a few days holiday and did a wonderful tour of Murano glass jewellery shops in Venice. When I came home my neighbour told me about a restaurant in London she’d recently been to called Murano, run by Angela Hartnett - so I had to look it up and found this wine was on their wine list priced at £38 in the restaurant. What an interesting an exciting food wine it would make.
Sophie 2007 13% 1 g/l r/s.
Yellow gold, nose muted, minerally, chalky nose, closed down at present. Palate creamy, leesy, lovely creamy texture. Hint of honey but dry, incisive and quite linear, assertive wine. Little closed at present but lots of potential just needs a little more time.
Mason Pinot Noir 2007 - Bottled for only two weeks at the time of tasting. The Pinot Noir is grown on chalky, calcareous and red porphyry soils. Very pale garnet/ruby, nose closed (bottle shock?), but some spice and delicate red fruits, raspberries, cherries peeping through. On the palate light, red fruits some delicate wood spice and creamy oak balancing bright cherry flavours. Smooth finish. Light, delicate and quite fine.
Mason di Mason Pinot Noir 2007 13%. This wine is made from a selection of the topmost parts of the vertical rows of vines i.e. the parts that get the most sunlight. Much deeper ruby, sweet cherry & violet riper fruits on the nose. Lots of juicy refreshing acidity and fine, chalky tannins. Nicely balanced on the mid-palate by sweet cherry, red fruits and spice and nutmeg of judiciously balanced oak.
Lagrein 2007 12.5% - Grown in the vineyard on the right side of the lake. Deep dark ruby with a narrow violet rim. The nose is closed with spicy, farmyardy, vegetal notes and a hint of brett. The palate has some initial sweetness and fruit with dark, bitter cherry notes and vibrant acidity. Lighter more rustic, gravelly tannins.
Text © Susan Hulme 2009 Photos © Brett Jones 2009
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A visit to Muri-Gries Winery and Abbey by Michelle Cherutti-Kowal
Located in Bolzano (Bozen), the Abbey of Gries can trace its foundations back to an 11th century fortress that was given to an order of Augustinian monks who developed the property into a monastery. Abandoned in the early 19th century, it was once again given to monks from the Order of St Benedict from Muri, Switzerland and in 1845, became the Abbey of Muri-Gries.
Still a working monastery with 14 monks, the Abbey is self-sufficient with over 230ha of working land and income is provided from the winery, fruit farming, livestock and timber. Winemaking flourished under the church and the cellar built in 1788 is still in use today. Throughout its history, wine was sold in bulk but all was changed in 1968 when the first estate-bottled wines were produced, establishing what is today the Winery of Muri-Gries.
Lagrein The winery produces 80% red wine of which the majority is from Lagrein, an indigenous Italian varietal from Trentino-Alto Adige related to Marzemino and Teroldego. The grape has been recorded as far back as the 14th century and has been grown at Muri-Gries since the 17th century where its spiritual home is the exclusive 2.7ha walled vineyard, Anger, a clos surrounding the Abbey (pictured right).
As a grape, Lagrein is deeply coloured, high in acid as well as tannins so the word ‘rustic’ is frequently used to describe the wine. Traditional pergola training has not controlled the vine’s natural vigorous tendency (the root of its vegetal characteristics and unripe tannins) and its reductive tendencies during winemaking have not enhanced its reputation either.
However, recent clonal selection made possible by older Lagrein at Muri-Gries, combined with the higher density, guyot planting has shown that the potential of this grape has yet to be tapped as evidenced by our vertical tasting.
Vintage tasting We sampled Lagrein Riserva “Abtei Muri”, a selection of the best grapes from 3 vineyards in Gries, including the Anger clos. The wine is aged for 3 years before release, 16 months in oak, 35% new. The vintages were as follows:
Under the guidance of winemaker Christian Werth (who is given the nickname “Pope of Lagrein”) and vineyard manager Walter Bernard, with help from above, the future of this indigenous grape is bright.
Text and Photo © Michelle Cherutti-Kowal 2009
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Bolzano Wine Tasting Festival & Dinner at Wirtshaus Vögele by Brian Wheaton MW
After our visit to the Abbey Muri-Gries, the group came back into the middle of Bolzano and visited the Bolzano Wine Tasting Festival at Castel Mareccio. It was a walk-around tasting on several floors (and steep staircases!), where some sixty producers showed more than three hundred wines. The place was hot, airless and crammed with people, and several of us left early – although I personally stayed long enough to consider that, en masse, the white wines of the area were, in my opinion, still better on the whole than the reds.
That said, long before the end I called it a day and went back to the hotel with several others, guided by the ever-efficient Michele Shah, the Deus ex Machina of the whole trip. Later, fortified en route by a cold beer at a pub known to Anthony Stockbridge (who else?), a small group of us ambled down in the gathering twilight to the Wirtshaus Vögele, situated in the Old Quarter, where we had yet another beer outside whilst waiting for the main body to arrive.
Historic Feeling more human now, we went into the historic little restaurant, and trooped upstairs to where a long table had already been laid for us. The meal was absolutely superb, starting with asparagus strudel on marinated salad, followed by braised beef cheek in a red wine sauce ‘St. Magdalena’ with polenta and spinach.
As if this wasn’t enough, we finished with cottage nougat praline with strawberry ragout. Two growers had joined us, Zeno Staffler from H. Lun Estate, and Hannes Durnwalder from E & N Estate, not forgetting Judith from Cantina Terlano. Judith only worked part time for the Cantina, but provided a running translation at our end of the table.
Both of the men kindly provided the wines for the meal. We were really off-duty now, but some members were still heroically making notes between courses. Rising to thank our hosts at the end, I also included Michele Shah, whose work behind the scenes had done so much to make our visit a success.
© Brian Wheaton MW 2009
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‘Trentino wine growing region’ - seminar at Enoteca Provinciale del Trentino by Lena Inger
On Sunday, May 17th we left the Süd-Tirol and drove south, following the valley of the River Adige, into the Trentino region, still surrounded on both sides by the magnificent Dolomites.
On arrival in Trento, which is a fascinating, rich and historic city, we found the annual 3-day Wine Exhibition in full swing. Once we had checked into our (very central) hotel, we walked through the streets to the Trentino Vinotheque, or wine centre, which is housed in the elegant Palazzo Roccabruna.
In an area of around 10,000 ha, (production accounting for 2% of the national total), there are three indigenous grape varieties, many international ones, a spirit - the Trentino Grappa and, very importantly for the region, the sparkling wine known as Trentodoc.
There are many small growers - 69% still work with vineyards of not more than one hectare. Not surprisingly, there are 14 wine co-operatives, responsible for around 85% of production.
Nosiola The white grape, Nosiola, grows mainly in the Valle dei Laghi, a zone characterised by a sub-continental climate and the presence of numerous lakes, and kept constantly fresh by the Ora, a breeze which blows from nearby Lake Garda (allegedly between 4 pm and 7 pm!)
Marzemino The red grape, Marzemino, (yes, it does sound like a Mozart/Da Ponte character, and the reason it seems familiar is that the grape is mentioned in Don Giovanni) prefers the southern part of the Trentino, particularly the basaltic soils of Vallagarina, an area dotted with castles and centred on the town of Rovereto.
Teroldego The other indigenous red grape, the Teroldego, prefers the alluvial deposits of the lush Piana Rotaliana, situated to the north of Trento, where the rivers Adige and Noce meet, in what Goethe described as “the most beautiful garden of vines in Europe”.
Trentodoc The feather in the cap of the region is the D.O.C. Trentino known as Trentodoc. This accounts for 40% of all traditional method sparkling wine made in Italy. It is based on Chardonnay and grown on the calcareous slopes of the Dolomites at altitudes of between 200 and 800 metres so that the grapes can ripen slowly. It may contain Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir.
The international varieties grown are the usual suspects, notably Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines put on for us to taste showed great expressiveness, as well as being very fresh and clean. I was surprised by the quality of the Pinot Blancs.
Müller-Thurgau Müller-Thurgau (which they are convinced is a cross of Riesling and Madeleine Royale) is especially prized, and it does seem to perform well in the hot days and cool nights of the growing season here. In the Valle di Cembra, in particular, it seems to have found its ideal habitat where its best features are brought out to the full, and we certainly tasted some good examples.
There is also a D.O.C. Vino Santo, made from the Nosiola grape, and a D.O.C. Moscato Rosa which is similar to that found in the Süd Tirol.
This was an excellent introduction to the wines of Trentino.
Text © Lena Inger 2009 Photo © Brett Jones 2009
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Cavit by Anthony Stockbridge
The prospect of a visit to a co-operative does not always fill the wine educator with joy. An early morning flight of thin, acid, earthy wines produced by small, parochial groups has the potential to spoil one’s palate for the rest of the morning.
What joy it was to visit Cavit in Trentino. This is a huge, outward looking company where research, innovation and high standards are tightly woven into the group’s whole philosophy.
Unique Trentino has a unique microclimate in which wine grapes, Mediterranean olives and fragrant apples grow side by side. The fertile valley floor is home to Italy’s main apple production while vineyards cling to the steep rocky slopes, where the pink porphyritic limestone features, to an altitude of 1,500 metres
Grand scale Formed in 1950, Cavit has grown to be the largest co-operative in the Southern Tyrol and the second largest in Italy. It manages 55% of the region’s wine production with 5,700 hectares of vines worked by 4.500 associated growers. This is wine production on the grand scale.
Excellence and quantity Cavit has a large team of specialists in every aspect of the production all of whom have been pursuing excellence and quality down to the last detail by training growers, protecting local production, preserving the local winegrowing heritage and culture and respecting tradition.
The huge winery in Trento is a monument to all that is best in winemaking technology. Stainless steel sparkled as far as the eye could see. Here we also experienced one example of Cavit’s high standards. Hygiene is so good that the acute noses of the AWE visitors could not detect a trace of wine aromas anywhere outside the tasting room.
Il Maso A major innovation by Cavit has been its collaboration with the San Michele All’ Adige Institute of Agriculture. Together they have established a state-of-the-art experimental research centre at Maso Toresella, Cavit’s imposing Villa at the head of Lake Toblino. In particular the ‘Il Maso’ project is being developed here. By matching specific grape varieties to the best possible terroir they have produced a range of eleven wines that express Trentino and its grape varieties, both indigenous and imported.
We tasted ‘Il Maso’ full-bodied red wines from the local Marzemino Gentile and the Teroldego Rotaliano, the quality of which came as a most pleasant surprise after tastings of Lagrein at earlier visits. Surprisingly good Pinot Noir and Bordeaux-style blends also surpassed expectation.
Other Maso DOC wines included a Chardonnay, a Sauvignon Blanc, an interesting rosé 100% Moscato Rosa, and a Nosiola Vino Santo. A perfect match for blue cheese was Rupere Trentino Superiore DOC late harvest made from a blend of Traminer Aromatico, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Nosiola…Hmmm.
Sparkling Not only does Cavit produce light, still wines but also a range of sparkling wines. One million bottles are produced using the traditional method and a further 4 million bottles by the Charmat process. Of the former, the elegant Altemasi Riserva Graal was outstanding. Made from Chardonnay (80%) and Pinot Noir (20%) grown on the highest slopes, it ages on the lees for a minimum of 36 months.
Il Maso is positioned at the top of a range of Cavit brands designed to fill every market sector from the fresh and fruity value-for-money labels to those sold in the expensive restaurants of the region and all between.
A perfect end This was our final visit of the day. From Trento, the coach took us south to Maso Toresella where, beneath the awnings of a terrace overlooking Lago di Toblino, we were treated to a wonderful buffet dinner cooked for us by the highly regarded chef from Ristorante Prime Rose and all accompanied by wines that matched the food and expressed the high quality of Cavit’s range (photos below). A perfect end to an eye-opening visit.
Text © Anthony Stockbridge 2009 Photos © Brett Jones 2009
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Cantine Ferrari by Keith Grainger
Having been surprised and impressed by the quality of the Trento DOC sparkling wines we had tasted at the Enoteca Provinciale del Trento the previous afternoon, I was eagerly looking forward to our visit to Ferrari.
We were hosted by Vice Presidents Matteo and Marcello Lunelli together with our cellar guide Nicoletta. It is not widely known that Ferrari is not only the largest producer of Metodo Classico (traditional method) sparkling wines in Trentino, but indeed in the whole of Italy. Sales in 2008 amounted to 5 million bottles, are there are currently some 20 million bottles lying in the cellars. The cantine uses only Metodo Classico for its production.
History
Our visit began with a video about
Ferrari, its history and wines – although perhaps a little dated, this
included a well-structured section on the ‘traditional method’ of
sparkling wine production.
Ferrari Spumante was founded in 1902, the first sparkling wine producer in Trentino, which was then still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Incidentally, Giulio did not marry until he was 66, and then to a woman 32 years his younger. Now that’s what I call style! He had no children and in 1952, the business and brand was sold to Bruno Lunelli, a local wine shop owner who financed the purchases with loans and promissory notes. The production at the time of sales was just 8,800 bottles a year. The third generation Lunelli family members run Ferrari today with passion, style and acute business acumen.
The tour We toured the cellar and production facilities and, whilst Nicoletta wisely suggested we save our technical questions for later, there were still things we could learn. The company produces its own yeasts to ensure the second fermentation and subsequent maturation proceed according to design.
The bottles are sealed with a bidoule and crown cap, the colour of which changes each year – a simple way of seeing at a glance how long the wines have been on lees! The non-vintage wines undergo remuage in gyropalettes, but the vintage wines have a traditional hand-riddling in pupitres, aided by a fearsome looking metal device (as illustrated right)!
Style and class Our tasting was led by oenologist Marcello Lunelli (pictured below), who exuded style and class that somehow found its way into the bottles! He was warm, open and fielded questions with gusto and honesty. It is interesting to note that yields for the spumantes are typically in the region of 9 tonnes a hectare, which by my calculation is approximately 56 hl/ha, well below the average in the Champagne region.
The tasting began with a 2007 Villa Margon Trentino Bianco Superiore. This still wine is produced by Lunelli from their own tenuta (in another cellar), and is made up of 80% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Bianco and 10% Sauvignon Blanc and Incrocio Manzoni. This was eminently gluggable, with melon, grapefruit and soft peach tones.
The Ferrari Maximum Brut, and Maximum Rosé were both well structured, yet elegant.
These were followed by 2004 Ferrari Perlé, particularly delightful with is apple blossom nose and rich, bready palate.
However, it is perhaps no surprise that the star was the 1999 Giulio Ferrari Riserva – the palate again rich and full, a little honeyed and with intense autolytic tones - a fitting finale to out visit to Gruppo Lunelli’s Ferrari winery.
Text © Keith Grainger 2009 Photo of 'riddler' © Keith Grainger 2009 Photos of winery and Marcello Lunelli © Brett Jones 2009
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A guided tour of Villa Margon and lunch at Locanda Margon by Wink Lorch
From the Ferrari cellars on the outskirts of Trento, a short drive up narrow winding roads through the vineyards took us to the Villa Margon which sits high above the city in an area of preserved parkland. This historic estate, owned by the Lunelli family, is open to the public on certain days, but we were given a private viewing of the extraordinary country villa with a proud, passionate and knowledgeable guide, Franco Lunelli, father of Marcello Lunelli, Ferrari’s oenologist and son of Bruno Lunelli, who first purchased the Ferrari spumante company.
Summer retreat The situation and the collection of buildings including an 18th century chapel are simply beautiful in themselves, but it is the actual villa and the art that it contains that is the highlight of a visit here. The current villa was built in 1540, though there has been a house on this site since the 13th century as it was used as a pilgrims’ resting place. The Basso family, who had purchased the land from the Bishop of Trento, built the ‘new’ villa and it became a summer retreat for prestigious guests travelling through Europe, including cardinals and other church dignitaries; it is believed that Emperor Charles V was a guest too.
Frescoes Between 1540 and 1560 artists were invited to the villa from Belgium and from Venice to paint frescoes on the walls and these have never been restored. All the rooms of the villa are adorned with these frescoes, which remain in amazingly perfect condition with colours so bright that experts continue to debate what materials must have been used to paint them nearly 500 years ago. The floors and ceilings of the rooms are original too and period furniture (including a bed probably slept in by Charles V) adds to the splendour.
Not being trained in the history of art, I am not the person to describe these historical and allegorical frescoes in detail and I’ve found few detailed references on the internet. A recent blog post by a visitor gives some enlightenment and good photos – you can find it at http://citizen-europe.blogspot.com/2009/05/villa-margon.html.
In brief, the frescoes in one room illustrate the battles in which Charles V was involved; in another they are devoted to bible stories from the Old Testament and a further room has stories from the New Testament. It was amusing to listen to AWE members vying with each other to “name that bible story”. My favourite room had 12 frescoes each representing the typical activities occurring in one month of the year. At least three were wine related with March showing the pruning (that would generally be earlier these days, wouldn’t it?), August preparing the barrels for the new harvest and September illustrating the harvest itself. Two months that amused me were January showing the men playing cards whilst the women work in the kitchen and December which was the shopping month - prospecting for wood amongst other purchases.
Michelin star Our amazing guide, Signor Lunelli left us and we went on to the Lunelli/Ferrari owned restaurant very close by, on the same hill (all part of the land originally purchased by the Basso family). Before the Lunelli family purchased the land there had been a restaurant here, but it had been sold on and closed. They decided only to restore the building and open their own restaurant when they found the right chef, namely Walter Miori who came from a restaurant close to Lake Garda. The newly named Locanda Margon (www.locandamargon.it) quickly gained a Michelin star after opening a couple of years ago and during our meal we could see it was deserved.
Delicious We ate a wonderfully delicious and relatively simple country meal in a very relaxed atmosphere in the company of Matteo Lunelli. After a tomato soup and ricotta appetiser, the first course was braised oxtail and tomato lasagnetta accompanied by Ferrari Brut and the main course, rolled/stuffed guinea fowl (‘faraona’ in Italian, as John Ducker explained, this is the “bird of the pharaohs”) on a mousseline of potatoes and asparagus, matched with the Ferrari rosé.
Finally, we were served a Ferrari Demi-sec (which at 25-28 g/l dosage was not quite sweet enough) with three delicious desserts – mascarpone mousse, pistachio ice cream and coffee crème brûlée.
Matteo took the time over lunch to explain Cantine Ferrari’s relationship with Ferrari Marinello, the car makers. First he told us that Ferrari was, along with Rossi, one of the most common names in Italy – the equivalent of Smith or Jones, so it was crucial for both companies to protect the use of the name commercially. The two companies are good friends and Matteo explained that they were “two expressions of luxury lifestyle”.
Some years ago the two companies came to an agreement giving Cantine Ferrari the exclusivity of the name for the world of drinks while Ferrari Marinello has the exclusivity for all other products. When Ferrari wins at a Grand Prix race, the team always celebrate with Ferrari spumante.
Philosophy At our visit reported on by Keith above, we were told that Ferrari aimed to be a large company with a small company philosophy – I think this showed through with our glorious non-wine, art visit (which should be a compulsory part of any wine trip) and our relaxed, but classy lunch.
Text © Wink Lorch 2009 Photos © Brett Jones 2009
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Trentino Wine Show by Tim Syrad
Monday was trade-only day at the 73rd Annual Trentino Wine Show, held in the wonderful Teatro Sociale in the heart of Trentino. With only 60 stands to potentially visit, the occasion was calm and focused – an unusual pleasure in generic tastings.
The Trentino area covers 10,000 hectares and production accounts for 2% of the national total – 85% of which is DOC quality – one of the highest DOC percentages in Italy. Cooperatives account for around 85% of production. Furthermore, 40% of domestically consumed, traditional method sparkling wine is made within Trento DOC. Grappa is also an important aspect of the area accounting for 8% of national production.
Indigenous There are three grape varieties that claim an indigenous origin – the white Nosiola and two reds – Marzemino and Teroldego. It was these three that I decided to focus on – together with Müller-Thurgau which is widely planted and is believed to have great potential.
Nosiola and Müller-Thurgau can often be quite neutral so the highlights of the tasting were examples that expressed minerality and defined fruit character. The Müller-Thurgau 2008 from Riva del Garde Co-op was clean, spicy, aromatic and floral with white pepper notes. The Nosiola 2008 from Spagnolli Enrico was light and aromatic with clean citrus flavours.
Left: Teatro Sociale
Potential Marzemino was a surprise. I tasted many examples that were light, fruity, refreshing and spicy with my highlight being a particularly juicy 2007 wine from Albino Armani. As a summer red I feel Marzemino has great potential as well as its ability to partner a variety of light foods.
Teroldego Teroldego accounts for 8% of vineyards in Trento and is highly regarded. Grown exclusively in the alluvial terrain of the Piana Rotaliana it generally produces full bodied styles. The highlight of the tasting was a 2007 Armilo Teroldego 2007 which showed good balance and structure with a firmness and rich spicy fruit. I also tasted a grape called Rebo from Cantina Toblino – a crossing of Merlot and Teroldego that was initiated 15 years ago. Spicy and rich with smooth berry fruit – it seemed to reflect its two parent grapes.
Trentino is a very high quality producing region that deserves greater awareness in the world scene.
Text © Tim Syrad 2009 Photo © Brett Jones 2009
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Cantina La Vis e Valle di Cembra & dinner at Maso Franch by Brett Jones
When we arrived for our last visit of the second day in Trentino at the La Vis winery in downtown Trento we were joined on the coach by the General Director, Fausto Peratoner and two colleagues who then whisked us off for a trip into the vineyard - in fact, three vineyards!
Cantina La Vis was founded as a winery in 1858 and developed into a cooperative in 1948. The name La Vis is derived from the Avisio stream, one of the most important features of the area. The power of the Avisio is summarised in the Latin word Vis, meaning strength. Their vineyards sprawl across the Valle Dell’Adige, taking in the breathtaking hills of LaVis, Sorni, Meano and Valle di Cembra, as well as parts of Verona province.
It now has 1300 members and 1,400 hectares of vineyards which are at an altitude of between 250 and 800 metres above sea level, with 80% of vines being on hillside or mountain slopes as we were to find out.
Zoning project At the end of the 1980s La Vis was the first cooperative to be involved in the Zoning Project in Italy: “A study of climatic and agronomical conditions of winemaking areas, with the purpose of identifying the traits which allow cultivation to be optimized. Wines made according to these specifications, and coming from a very small and particular area have unique characteristics, which are a direct expression of their territory”. There is also continuous involvement with the Istituto Agrario di San Michele all’Adige, which has a high reputation for its work with viticulture and oenology.
Vine training Our first stop was in their Pinot Grigio vineyard on the flatter land on deep alluvial soil just above the river Adige at 200 metres. The vine training was recently changed from trellis to guyot, doubling the density, reducing the yield and thereby increasing the quality of the fruit. The cost of this conversion is in the order of €32,000 per hectare. The ‘Ora’, a regular afternoon wind, also helps with the quality as does the diurnal temperature difference of over 10°C (around 25°C in the day down to 14°C at night). In order to avoid the over-phenolic taste that Pinot Grigio is prone to, work must be done in the vineyard rather than in the winery.
We were cheerfully served delicious local salami from tables bedecked with white cloths (pictured right) as we tasted the Ritratti Pinot Grigio 2008: A touch of creamy apple on the nose; dry with good, crisp acidity this wine is a cut above many Pinot Grigios on the market.
Maso Sette Fontane The coach then took us on and up to the Maso Sette Fontane vineyard at 500 metres above sea level, near to their spumante winery, where we met Giorgia Brugnara the oenologist responsible for this area. This is where Giulio Ferrari planted the first Chardonnay vines in Trentino – indeed many of the co-op members still supply fruit to Ferrari! Specific Chardonnay clones for sparkling production were developed by the San Michele Research Institute, and they are once again using the pergola system because the extra shading is better for sparkling wine grapes.
Above and below: Members of the co-op.
Prestige The wind at this altitude is much cooler which gives a good balance between quantity and vigour. The soils are stony over water-retentive clay, and are rich in magnesium, poor in potassium. The particular vineyard we were in was geared to produce grapes for their prestige sparkler, Cesarini Sforza: there are only 1.5ha of vines 15-30 years old with another .5ha coming on stream. Production is 7.5 tonnes per ha, 1.5 kilos per vine.
The tables and the smiling ladies had followed us, this time offering us smoked salmon as we tasted the top cuvée Aquila Reale, vintage 2001: 100% Chardonnay, a dry, full bodied, elegant and very stylish bottle fermented sparkling wine. Even more enjoyable amongst the vineyards from whence it came!
Hard work Now our coach climbed even higher, indeed to the limit of vine growing in Trentino (as ever there are a few exceptions), over the brow of the mountain into the Valle di Cembra. We were greeted by a totally different view with vineyards tumbling to the left and right below us, most of which are planted on the right bank of the river Cembra.
Here the soil is very stony, full of porphyry, which is neither deep not fertile. Müller-Thurgau and Pinot Noir grow here where the manual work is very hard and difficult, but the wines produced have a fine purity.
Choice of clones The chief winemaker at Valle di Cembra, Massimo Tarter, told us that they increased the number of vines per ha to 6/7000 choosing clones that are rich in terpenes.
The aim of the vinification is to preserve all the aroma of Müller-Thurgau, avoiding oxidation. So there is no barrel ageing, no malolactic fermentation and the wine is left on the lees until the following April – they had just bottled the 2008 prior to our visit.
This time the cheerful camp followers served us lardo; pure fat from under the skin of the pig it is cured in such a way that it isn’t greasy but absolutely delicious, especially with the Dos Caslir Müller-Thurgau 2007: Dry, fresh and exotic on the nose with bright acidity and a very long finish.
Maso Franch We managed to clamber back up the steep path to the coach and we travelled on to Maso Franch, the one Michelin-starred restaurant owned by La Vis. An old farmhouse amongst the dramatic vineyards of Valle di Cembra it has been stylishly renovated into a 12 bedroomed Relais hotel.
Indeed when we returned to England we all received a bottle of their Müller-Thurgau which will provide a happy reminder of a very interesting visit to a modern and proactive wine company. Thank you.
Photos and text © Brett Jones 2009
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Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto - Futurismo 100 by Phil Cooke
On the morning of our last day in Trento our hosts arranged for us to have a cultural treat. We went to a spacious and well lit art museum in Rovereto to see an exhibition celebrating the centenary of the Futurism art movement.
On our arrival we were introduced to our guide Mirko Casagodale. Each of us was quickly equipped with headphones and communicator that enabled us to hear our guide clearly, even if we wandered or dawdled!
Celebration Mirko explained that the exhibition was celebrating an art movement that involved leading-edge artists across Europe, but which was centered on Italy. The artists were reacting to a rapid change from a rural and tranquil life to one of speed and industrial cities. Cars and trains were now commonplace, manufacturing had brought in new shapes and everything was more dynamic. They wanted to reflect this somehow in their paintings.
Mirko proved to be an eloquent, knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide. As we moved from picture to picture, and room to room we got to understand how this movement had changed the art world. Simultaneously we saw mould-breaking images that had led to the sort of pictures that were now commonplace: juxtaposed shapes, a feeling of movement, and abstract art with vibrant colours.
We are very grateful to our hosts for including this cultural opportunity in our visit. This was yet another factor that led to the whole group saying, “this is a region I want to return to”.
We would like to express a big thank you to our guide, Mirko Casagodale for helping to make the visit so memorable.
© Phil Cooke 2009
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Azienda Agricola Vallarom by Hazel Tattersall
Maso Valloram, wine farm, and family home to Barbara and Filippo Scienza was quite a gem to complete our visit to this breathtaking region. This farm, taking its title from a medieval name, sits 200 metres above sea level on the slopes of the Vallagrima Valley overlooking the River Adige. The steep 8ha vineyards surround the house and are cooled by morning winds from the valley and afternoon breezes from Lake Garda to the south (the wind from Lake Garda is called the Orla). The owners greeted us on the terrace of their delightful home, as warm breezes carried the scent of lemon blossom.
Organic On our vineyard walk with Barbara, we heard that organic practices were followed. The rocky soil is limestone-dolomitic with some volcanic content and so needs drilling for planting. No plastic is used for tying vines; interestingly, reeds from the river are dried and used instead (see photo in the side bar).
Chardonnay forms the largest part of the production for whites, but a wider range of reds is produced including Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc, Merlot, Pinot Nero and Marzemino.
Respect Returning to the house, a staircase from the hall leads to the winery below with its 2 small barrel cellars. Its solid stone walls ensure perfect temperature regulation. This truly is ‘home winemaking’! Filippo’s philosophy is ‘to respect the rhythm and nature of the land’ and ‘to let the grapes speak for themselves’. He stresses soft pressing for the whites, no remontage or micro-oxygenation for the reds - only hand-punching down.
Part of the family Back in the main house, cooking aromas of warm pasta, cheese and bread enticed us, a foretaste of the delicious lunch to come. We sat comfortably in the sitting room for the tasting, feeling part of the family.
From the range of wines tasted, I particularly enjoyed the Vadum Caesaris 2006, a blend of Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc with its fresh citrus and lime aromas which carried through to the palate with some white stone fruit. It had a refreshing crisp acidity and an elegant finish. The Pinot Nero 2005, deep-coloured, a little herbal and with some perfumed aromas and firm structure was reminiscent of a Pommard.
Filippo Scienza, pictured above,left.
All the wines were of IGT status. Filippo said he wanted his wines to remain in the IGT classification ‘as a statement’ giving him wider scope to experiment.
Our thanks go to our hosts for their most generous hospitality in providing a visit to remember with great pleasure.
Text © Hazel Tattersall 2009 Photos © Brett Jones 2009
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| Many thanks to Michèle Shah and to all in Trentino & Alto Adige who made us so welcome. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Laimburg ‘Estate’ and ‘Manor Selection’ wines encompass both
‘international classics’ and indigenous varietals ,the latter labelled
with local dialect names…so among others we saw “Rayèt” ‘07- a crisp,
balanced Pinot Bianco with 6 months lees ageing; “Oyèll” ‘07, an
understated Sauvignon Blanc – discreet perfumes of talcum on the finish
of the palate; then a delicately almond-scented Riesling and a
surprisingly crisp Gewürztraminer, leading to a clutch of finely
balanced reds and, arguably, the star wine of the evening: “Sass Roà”
’05, a Cabernet Sauvignon Riserva at a deceptive 14% abv. where a
vibrant colour and red fruit/violets nose led seamlessly to a palate
carrying even greater depth and detail. Our chance to have the wines
‘sing’ alongside the delicious buffet provided for us was greatly
appreciated. 
There were four main highlights of this
visit for me: 
Chardonnay (85%) Viognier (10%) rest
Sauvignon blanc. 100% malolactic fermentation.
A special presentation and tasting,
introduced by Roberto Anesi (pictured right), top Trentino sommelier for 2008, had been
laid on to introduce us to the wines and grappa of the region. We
learned about the major grape varieties and styles of wine, and some of
them were certainly new to me.
Over a hundred years ago, Giulio Ferrari
(b.1879), a graduate of San Michele went to study at Montpellier and
Geisenheim before travelling to Epernay. He was convinced that Trentino
was perfectly situated for the production of high quality traditional
method sparkling wines. Giuilio smuggled into the region the Chardonnay
variety, which became known as ‘el Borgogna zalt’ (yellow Burgundy). 
The other Ferrari
Preceding an excellent meal accompanied
with a selection of La Vis wines we enjoyed a small comparative tasting
of six different styles of Müller-Thurgau, introduced by Francesco
Polastri, the chief winemaker of Cantina la Vis. 
Filippo studied firstly at San Michele
all’Adige, followed by Beaune and California. He and his wife, with only
occasional help, undertake all work in the vineyard and the winery.
