ABBATEGGIO – For the Pink Panel, an Abruzzo group of women wine lovers and foodies, the month of March opened with the tasting dedicated to the South Tyrolean Elfenberg project, high altitude wines. The name derives from the path “Weg der Elfen” (The way of the elves), in San Vigilio di Marebbe in Val Badia. The idea is to Roberto Di Toro – born in Milan to parents from Abruzzo, father from Abbateggio (Pescara) – after returning to Abruzzo, having concluded a period in the fashion sector, he dedicated himself to consultancy and marketing in the wine sector before making the choice to create a project in own, with the advice of the expert oenologist Paolo Ulpiani.
To allow the Pink Panel to be able to taste the wines in a context rich in nature and combine both native Abruzzo and South Tyrolean dishes, such as speck, the tasting session took place at the Agriturismo Borgo San Martino in Abbateggio. The structure is the result of the meticulous recovery of an old building immersed in the Majella Park. It boasts a rating of 9.2 from Booking, Traveler Review Award 2020.
During the interesting tasting, led by the owner of Elfenberg with the logistical support of Jessica Simone, it was possible to appreciate the entire range of native South Tyrolean wines, which he called “collections”; the story of the project was also told. Initially the Merano area was chosen to mature and refine the wines in the mountains. Precisely the town of Verano becomes the location of the steel, cement and wooden barrels. At the sixth harvest and the fifth year of creation of the “collections” the choice is to move even further into the high mountains: to San Vigilio di Marebbe. An enchanting village in the Mareo Valley, located in a valley between Plan de Corones and Pizzo delle Pietre. Almost 1,300 meters above sea level.
The location turns out to be extreme from a logistical and management point of view, but on the other hand it is favorable to the concentration of aromas and the overall enrichment of the organoleptic profile of the wines, and this is the added value of Elfenberg.
During the tasting, the classic method sparkling wine Rosé from Pinot noir and 4 versions of Vassal were tasted: Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, Pinot noir and Lagrein. Also previewing a new blend that will soon be on the market. As a distinctive feature, in all the tastings, each sip is a journey that evokes mountain pastures, hay bales, medicinal herbs, smoky hints, juniper, wild fruits and flowers. The South Tyrolean imprint is in every glass because “a wine from Alto Adige cannot fail to taste like Alto Adige”.
They took part in this session of the Pink Panel Jenny Viant Gómez, founding journalist of the Pink Panel, Sandra Pantalone, Enca Polidoro, Norma Claudia Torrieri, Anna Solini, Antonella Teodori and the aspiring new entries Iolanda Civitarese And Stefania Custodero.
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