As we were able to see during the tastings for the guide Wines of Italy 2024 by Gambero Rossothe productive fabric of the province of Bolzano in South Tyrol stands out for the awareness with which producers are facing the new challenges, which do not only concern climate change or the sudden volatility of the markets, but above all the management of the territory, the development of its potential and the transition from a production that satisfies the customer’s requests to one that enhances the link between the many cultivated vines and the exposures that best suit them.
This renewed awareness has led smaller companies to specialize in the vocation of their vineyards, as perfectly highlighted by the city companies or the more distant realities of the Isarco Valley and, equally, the cooperative structures to reserve the best selections only for the vines that are best suited to their territory.
Then the territory does the rest, allowing the development of vineyards from 220 meters at the bottom of the valley to over 1000 in the highest areas, offering territories such as the Oltradige, where many varieties find valuable habitats, with a climate that brings sunny and warm days followed by cool and breezy nights.
Here we focus on wines made from one of the best-known aromatic vinesThe traminer, which is most likely originating from the area of Tramin, Termeno in Italian, a small town in Alto Adige, although French ampelographers would like it to come from the Jura as a subvariety of the local savagnin. There are two species of this vine: the traminer and the aromatic traminerthe latter better known by the name of gewürztraminer which literally means aromatic wine (or spicy wine) from Termeno. The difference between the two, in fact, lies precisely in the “content” of aromas. The vine is cultivated, as is obvious, especially in South Tyrolto a lesser extent in Trentino and more rarely in Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia. Outside Italy it can be found especially in Alsace and the Rhine valley.
A good gewürztraminer is obtained from old vineyards located rather high up, in areas with marked temperature variations, one of its characteristics is that of being able to age for a long time. When fully ripe it develops aromas of fruit (fig), jam, spices (cinnamon, cloves, ginger) and has an intense aroma of dried rose.
The best Gewürztraminer awarded with Tre Bicchieri and Due Bicchieri Rossi
The Gewürztraminer Auratus ’22 once again it convinced our commissions, by virtue of an explosive aromatic framework, made up of citrus fruits, spices and floral notes. In the mouth, the typical fullness given by the vine is managed perfectly by the savory presence and delicate acidity. The Roner family, appreciated for the distillation activity that they have followed for generations, also runs the company Ritterhof, one of the most interesting realities of Oltradige. At the helm today is Eva Kaneppele who, with the precious collaboration of her father Ludwig, governs a reality that can count on around ten hectares of property and the precious collaboration of numerous local winemakers to complete the home production. Wines that alternate between the most immediate interpretations where the protagonist is the vine, and the more ambitious ones where the territory plays the role.
The Gewürztraminer Brenntal ’21 it presents itself with a more elegant and taut profile than the past, the result of the perfect 2021 harvest but also of the interpretation that looks more at finesse than power. The usual exotic and spicy flavor finds development in a rich palate but which maintains agility and savory thrust, for a result that is worth drinking. There Cortaccia winery, nestled on the side of the hills at the foot of the Mendola, is the center of gravity around which the activity of almost 200 families of winemakers operating in the Bassa Atesina area revolves. The vineyards, distributed between 200 and 900 meters above sea level, allow the best positioning for each vine, from the Bordeaux varieties that occupy the lower vineyards to the Müller Thurgau on the higher ones. In the cellar, kellermeister Erwin Carli took over the helm from Othmar Donà and today leads the company’s technical group.
The Nussbaumer ’21 it is a classy Gewürztraminer that offers notes of dried rose that blend perfectly with the fruity, spicy and floral sensations and anticipate a solid, enveloping but very tense palate. Today’s Cellar Tramin was born from the merger that took place fifty years ago between the historic cooperatives of Termeno and Egna and today it can count on the work of 160 families who cultivate vineyards that extend entirely over the territory of Bassa Atesina, from the lower areas of Ora where lagrein acquires wealth and acid tension at the higher ones of Glen and Mazzon, where the pinot noir matures fragrant and elegant. On the western side of the valley, however, the lower territories of Söll exalt the gewürztraminer and the higher ones are reserved for the more ambitious Chardonnays.
The Gewürztraminer Frauerigl ’22 debuts closed and then enchants with its aromas, a harmonious glass of good length. Peter Zemmer he leads the family business in the Bassa Atesina area, a large viticultural platform which includes both his own vineyards and those managed by local winemakers who deliver their harvest to the Cortina cellar. The vineyards extend not only across the valley floor near the winery but also explore the eastern and western slopes of the area, with the varieties that require a colder climate and which rise up to almost 1000 meters above sea level.
Explosive in aromatic expression the Kleinstein ’22The Bolzano winery it is the fulcrum around which the activity of more than 200 families revolves, passionate and attentive custodians of a territory that ranges from the Bolzano basin to the entrance of the Isarco Valley and the steepest and highest slopes of the Renon. Each vine thus finds its ideal positioning, being able to count on very different soils, exposures and climatic conditions, for a harvest that now comes from 350 hectares of vineyards. Ample space is dedicated to all the vines of the region, but the place of honor traditionally remains for Schiava and Lagrein.
The Gewürztraminer Passito Cresta 2020 is one of the wines presented this year by Hans Rottensteiner estate. We have to go back to the post-World War II period to find the origins of the Rottensteiner family company, when Hans began producing wines to sell them in the nearby Swiss market. If it was his son Toni who made the first leap in quality with his own bottling of the production in the 1980s, it was his nephew Hannes and his wife Judith who created the company profile that we know today, with a production that can rely on five estates managed directly and by the work of numerous winemakers in the Bolzano area who deliver the grapes to the company.
Christian Bellutti runs the family business just outside Termeno. Among the cultivated varieties, Gewürztraminer naturally stands out. the Plon ’22 smells intensely of exotic fruit and spices while in the mouth it is striking for its fullness and density, resulting long and fascinating.
The Gewürztraminer Kastelaz ’21 it is the usual white with an intense and stimulating aroma. The relationship between the family Walch and Atesina viticulture is centuries old, but it is with Elena’s arrival in the company in the 1980s that the company changes pace, quickly becoming a point of reference for all enthusiasts. Today at the helm are daughters Julia and Karoline who manage a viticultural platform that extends for approximately 90 hectares, distributed between 250 meters of the valley floor and up to 1000 meters where the vines that require greater freshness grow.
A very respectable range presented by Oscar and Andrea Zanini, sons of the company founder, Luigi. Two wines stood out during our tastings. The Traminer ’22 it is very aromatic, but dry and very fresh.
