Thinking about the future means looking up. They are convinced of this in Alto Adige, which is increasingly trying to plan a mountain viticulture that, in an absolutely natural way, can face climate change.
The president of the Alto Adige Wine Consortium, Andreas Kofler, believes that this is the right choice, to produce wines at altitude. «Climate change is undeniable – he confirms – The vineyards of Alto Adige are located between 200 and 1,000 meters above sea level. But it is expected that the increase in temperatures in our area will be double the average.”
A worrying situation: «The vines sprout earlier and the ripening period is also warmer» he explains Koflerwho is also president of Kellerei Kurtatsch.
«Altitude thus becomes an answer. Every 100 meters of altitude we have a difference of approximately 0.6 degrees. The varieties we have available adapt very well to our soils, and we also have reds, in the warmer areas, which resist very well.”
For whites we always look for freshness
In short, Alto Adige has a great resource, which is called mountains. For this reason, those who produce wine must now ask themselves how to continue to maintain their own identity. «We must already think today about what it will be like in 20 years – he reiterates Kofler – The altitude is certainly an added weapon, but there won’t even be thousands of hectares of vineyards available.”
The demonstration already comes from a small selection of wines from those who have already begun to aim high. A first example comes from Pinot Bianco from Val Venosta 2021 of Castel Juval, on morainic sediment land at approximately 750 meters above sea level. A very fresh and vertical wine, but with excellent depth.
Rethinking the vineyard: «We must think today about what will happen in 20 years»
The flavor is instead the peculiar characteristic of the Sylvaner old vines from Pacherhof, 2021 vintage, altitude 650 meters in the Isarco Valley. The third wine is from the Valle Isarco winery, Aristoswith a Kerner which resists even extreme situations and is not “afraid” of winter. In this case it is grown above 800 meters above sea level, 2022 vintage, with very complex but elegant aromas.
The one in Thurnhof, however, is a Sauvignon which expresses itself very much in terms of typicality and finesse: the vintage is a 2022 and also in this case we find ourselves around 800 metres.
Finally we pass the “threshold” of a thousand. Peter Zemmer, in fact, for the Pinot Noir Riserva Vigna Kofl 2021, uses a vineyard at 1,030 meters above sea level in Aldino. The Pinot Noir it loves the cold and does not suffer from “dizziness” due to high altitudes, and so it is an extremely elegant wine.
Aiming high, evidently, has brought benefits: none of these wines are excessive, too structured or excessively alcoholic, but the focus is more on freshness and ease of drinking. Altitude is an added weapon, it’s true, but here the skill and experience of the winemakers also counts.
