The wines of Trentino…..the world must take notice!
On Monday, after I spent time in Trento, Vin Italy and Venezia, we started our tour of the amazing vineyards in an area north of Trento high in the Dolomite’s called Valle di Cembra. Cembra is one of the many small communes that dot the mountains in this area that has to be seen to believe anything can be this beautiful.
We started at the large cooperative, that was gracious enough to have flown me across the globe to witness the grandeur, called La-Vis. This cooperative is comprised of over 1300 growers that grow and harvest and then sell to La-Vis. What is so cool is that many of these growers have been there for generations and have possibly less that a hectare on their property. But it is part of what they do and their immense pride shows through. This co-op happens to be in a city called Lavis and is surrounded by mountains that soar to over 2000 meters.
There was one peak that stood proudly by itself that reminded me of the mountain that the Grinch lived on with his only friend Max. Well that was before Cindy Loo Who, who taught him the meaning of Christmas, made his heart grow three sizes that day. The pinnacle of this mountain looked as if it could puncture heaven and make every angel fall to the earth. Possibly that is what happened that made this part of the world so breathtaking!
There are varietals that are indigenous to Trentino - Alto Aldige and we were lucky enough to have tasted them. Nosiola is a white grape that makes a dry white that was delicate by itself but is also used for blending in a smaller DOC near by called Sorni. It had interesting sweet pea shoot freshness on the nose and a bit of bean, peach and apricot skin on the palate. Very fun to taste. Somehow it was being characterized as smelling like cat pee, a hugely over used term used by tasters that don’t know how to break things down. Terms like snap peas and chopped basil would be way more appropriate for this wine. It is also the grape of the region’s Vino Santo. ( Remember that for your test!) Lagrein and Teroldego are also from this area and reminded me of Zwiegelt and Blaufrankish, but then again Austria is a mere train ride away. Both had bright red fruit flavors, cherry and plum, a full palate swell and a velevty finish. Nothing to complicated here, just wines that are awesome with or with out food but I would defintely opt for food with these. Many tasters bobbed heads in agreement with the conclusion that they would be perfect a bit chilled and served with BBQ.
A star of the lineup was Traminer Aromatico. This area is considered to be it’s birthplace. It had the same waxy, lanolin, orange blossom nose that is so common in Alsace but was way more ladylike on the palate. All of the heavier notes you find in Alsacian Gewurztraniner were there but with more restraint, elegance and higher acidity. But then again Alsace is quite a bit warmer that this area of the world. No emerald smaragd here. Would Traminer Aromatico fly in the US? Gruner did, all it possibly needs is some great P. R. How about that e-trade baby in the commercials that you see on all of the sports channels…..brilliant!
But this article can’t be complete with out a rant out for the Muller Thurgau that is produced in this region. This is a wine that can have searing acidity, bright stone fruit and melon flavors and has to be tasted. I think it could easily become the new Gruner Veltliner…… like orange is the new black, ( have you seen how much orange there is out there?) . They are bone dry, have lovely elegance and a silky teture from sur lie and batonnage for about four months and will go with so many foods. But if you go out looking for this wine, make sure it is from this region. Muller Thurgau somehow has gotten a rap for being sweeter flabby wines, not so!!!!!
Well more to come….. I shot 552 pictures and by the time we got to Tuscany my lenses were so covered with dust. I have a lot of editing to do.
Ciao Ciao Ciao Ciao Caio Ciao
Tags: Alsace, Alto aldige, gruner veltliner, Milwaukee wine, Milwaukee wine events, Muller Thurgau, Nosiola, Toni johnson, Trentino, Trento, wine events milwaukee, wine tasting milwaukee
