Bolzano – Bozen in German – is a different world from the rest of Italy. The principal language is German, the surrounding terrain alpine, the cooking a mélange of Italian and Germanic influences, the people reserved. The region, Alto Adige or Südtirol, has been tossed back and forth between empires and countries before settling – a tad uncomfortably - into Italy after the First World War. For me, the Germanic vibe makes me feel instantly at home: it has a familiar rhythm and the language was my second, from going through first and second grade in Switzerland. We have left pasta country! (Pasta here is practically inedible after the glories of the past week – though still better than in the US. In the Alto Adige, knödel or spatzle are the side of choice.)
A note about wineries in the Alto Adige (also called the Südtirol). White wines rule, though reds are gaining in importance. Aromatic whites are the best known of the region, led by Gewurztraminer, which takes its name from the village of Tramin, about 20km south of Bolzano. Typically, a winery will have a lot of different selections: up to 25 or 30 in some cases. Most production (70%) is operated by village cooperatives, then negociant houses (25%); only 5% of the production is by small grower-producers. Quality is generally high: the co-ops are, for the most part, well-run and put out big quantities of admirably high-quality product. Many larger producers organize their wines into three tiers of quality. At some wineries we taste 25 wines – so only the standouts are mentioned.
One of the interesting aspects of the region’s viticulture is the use of the pergola (also called "tendone") training system – an ancient method of training the vines that works great for quantity production but tends to leave the quality side wanting (the Romans used this system extensively). Plants were typically widely spaced and carried far too much fruit per vine. A number of forward-looking growers were experimenting with guyot and cordon spur training to get better results in the vineyards, now some have gone back to pergola in modified form. (Pergola is just like the name implies: the vines are trained high into a roof of leaves and hanging fruit, the vine work and harvest being done from below.) 
New pergola plantings are typically much denser than before, almost to the density of guyot plantings, and far less fruit per vine is allowed to ripen. Many producers have found that a vine that may be great on guyot at 450 meters does better on pergola at 300. So finding the right training method is a part of a larger puzzle of which vine to plant in which microclimate. No one said it was easy.
First visit, Thursday morning: Lageder. The visit is conducted by an office intern who is frequently consulting his handwritten notes but who can’t answer basic questions about winemaking. Ugh. There’s lots of stuff about the architecture of the winery, the importance of biodynamic farming (but nothing about how it affects the quality of the final product in the bottle), and the artwork - some are site-specific commissions - that decorate some of the rooms. (It’s Stephano’s voice that echoes eerily in my head: “Do these make the wine taste any better?”) Luckily the headwaiter Walter at the tasting room/café has all the answers to our wine-related questions and soon we are in his capable hands. Alois Lageder himself stops by to say hello, and there are some standout wines.
2008 Lageder, Muller-Thurgau. Classic. Peachy and apple nose, with white grape aromas. Slightly sweet peach and grape flavors, golden apples, mineral, good acid. Lovely and drinks very well, nice sweet but clean finish. 3.0-
2008 Lageder, B-D (beta-delta; bio-dynamic) Chardonnay-Pinot Gris. New label part of classic series. Thick and viscous nose, but very sexy and deep. On the palate, lovely peach, lemon, pear and minerals galore - this only sees steel. Really lovely. I like it a lot, has good length, a balanced and refreshing finish, good structure. Lovely. Hints of sweetness, but this is dry – the fruit is just lovely. 3.0+
2008 Lageder, Moscato Giallo “Vogelmaier” SV. Classic sweet grapey moscato nose, with flowers, exotic white fruits and peaches. Lovely, classic nose of great typicity. Lovely in the mouth, I like it colder, but this is a beauty, nothing complex, but delicious! Lovely long orange/peach finish. Good acid, very fresh, lovely and long. Delicious. 3.0-
2006 Lageder, “Krafuss” Estate, Pinot Noir, Estate. Barrique aged, rule of thirds. Lovely nose of black cherry, vanilla, dark chocolate, dark stone aspects, earth. Really nice nose. The wood works well here and is well-integrated. Palate, sweet fruit, milk chocolate, lovely earthy and vanilla aspects, this is a modern wine but really well-integrated. It needs 2 years or so to knit together, and is delicious now. A lovely pinot, in the lighter Germanic style. 3.5-
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From Lageder, we head north toward Terlan, where the cooperative Cantina Terlano is located. This is a fabulously well-run cooperative, where incentives abound for the member growers to provide better and better quality grapes. And the quality in the bottle is amazing. Last year, we happened to visit on the day after a group of wine professionals; the bottle of 1959 Pinot Blanc was only half-consumed, and what a wine! It had been sitting on the lees in an inox tank for 49 years … still fresh and vibrant. The 1971 was equally brilliant.
This year, we’re taken around by Judith, who is knowledgeable and full of info and facts. The wines are all vinified for varietal typicity and yields are generally low. They also are awesome values and available all over the US.
2009 Cantina Terlano, Terlano Classico. 60% Pinot Bianco, 30% Chard, 10% Sauvignon Blanc. Historical blend of whites. Lovely peach. Apricot, apple nose. Lovely bright floral elements. On the palate, fresh and lively, great fruit and citrus, good length, structure, crisp, simple lovely. 3.0- really drinkable. Not complex in the least but lovely.
2007 Cantina Terlano, Pinot Blanc “Vorberg” Riserva – after steel fermentation, 12 months in large oak casks; neutral. On the nose, lovely ripe pear and apple, some stonefruit and flowers, great minerality. In the mouth, very well balanced, good fruit and structure, lovely minerality, nectarine, white peach and flowers. Nice length and finish. This is a reference point for the Pinot Blanc grape. This is one of the wines that in great years is left in steel on the lees for ages – it has longevity and structure galore. 3.5-
2008 Cantina Terlano, Sauvignon “Quartz” – selection line. (60quintiles per hectare limit of production.) Still young and shy, with just a touch of wood, more ripe yellow fruit, pears, peaches in nose and palate, the minerals are integrated in a whole different way, very long in the mouth, the acids are still a bit awkward but not lacking in any way. Quite lovely and life ahead of it – wait 1-2 years and enjoy for 5-10, possibly more. The wood is admirably restrained – I think of a Pouilly-Fume styled with restraint. Very nice. 3.5- fabulous length.
1996 Cantina Terlano, Chardonnay “Rarity” – 12 months in the big neutral casks, then stays in steel (25hl tanks) on the lees for 11.5 years. Rarities are made in quantities of 3350 bottles. The lees give it remarkable depth and complexity on the nose. Apricots, bread yeast, peaches, flowers. Lovely nose. In the mouth, lovely depth and complexity – this is remarkably fresh for a 13yr old wine. Ageing in tank helps, but the lees effect gives remarkable complexity without any extra weight. Good minerality and structure and the acid is sufficient to keep it fresh without being tart. Really successful. 4.0-
2008 Cantina Terlano, Gewurztraminer “Lunare”. Very spicy nose, honeysuckle and melons, on the palate very fresh ad not too heavy but has too much of the unctuousness of the grape for my taste. Cantelope melon and sweet mango, flowers galore. Not my taste but a beautifully made wine. 3.0+
2007 Cantina Terlano, Lagrein “Gries” Riserva. Black cherry, dark plum and stonefruit, some of the charcoal and pencil lead elements of Lagrein, very good tannic grip in the mouth, with a good sweet finish and a long dark aftertaste. Hints of bitter charcoal on the finish, great color, long length. I like this but it is a unique wine not for everyone. 3.0+
2007 Cantina Terlano, Lagrein “Porphyr” Riserva, (selection line.). From three vineyards sites where the vineyards are all over 50 years old – natural selection – 1 kilo grapes per plant, so no green harvest necessary. 18 months in barrique, part new. Cranberry rhubarb nose, with super-dark plums and mineral aspects. The charcoal and pencil lead is full throttle, really great grip but tight as a drum and full of dry, dusty, chalky tannins. Good black stone fruit, not berries, some licorice and pepper. Big and bold, like a baby Thackrey Taurus or Orion. 3.5-
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Last stop for the day is at Colterenzio/Schreckbichl (those are the German and Italian names for this little village, from which the cantina, a cooperative of about 300 growers, takes its name). We are taken around by Letizia and Martin, the Export Manager and Oenologist, respectively, who are both great and helpful. The cantina produces a dizzying array of wines of three tiers of quality and is in the middle of an expansion and modernization project. From what I hear from other producers, this is an enviably well-run cooperative. However, that the president of the cooperative’s son is succeeding his father seems antithetical to the idea of a cooperative; isn’t a cooperative owned by the member farmers? It just seems odd to me.
The wines, though, are of generally high quality and seem to be priced really well. The logo is very cool - a tower with a wedge - that is reproduced on two glass doors in the cellar. They have an export agent and importers for the USA, but not all states are covered. Too bad, as this would be a natural winery to turn to for good quality wines of great value. For a winery of this size – big – they are doing an admirable job of keeping the quality up. Martin, amazingly, is able to keep all the lots of grapes – everything is fermented separately – organized in his head and can reel off the particulars of any wine; an amazing feat of mental organization and agility. Great guy; he’s very excited about his wines. Hopefully they find importers all over the US, as I think this is a winery to keep track of.
2008 Colterenzio/Schreckbichl, Pinot Biano, Praedium “Weisshaus” Part in steel and 20% in large neutral botti. Pears galore, white mica, some nectarine and white fruits, with floral notes. Kept very fresh, some rounding from the wood and air, but still lots of brightness and no discernable wood. Fresh and lively. This is a year in bottle, round and rich but still light – it goes through malo, there are slightly creamy notes and shows some potential for ageing. This is so delicious now I don’t think I could keep it for too long – but a bit more knitting together and this could easily match with more substantial dishes. Very nice. 3.0-
2008 Colterenzio/Schreckbichl, LaFoa Sauvignon Blanc. This is a particular vineyard in the village of Schreckbichl/Colterenzio. For one the top wines of the cooperative. A big shout-out to the owner, who, against popular opinion, said this could be done from this site. This is a more serious wine, deeper flavors, more like a pouilly fume, 50% in wood fermentation and ageing – some of the wood is barrique, some is big botti – the effects of a particular size and type of wood are dissipated by using many different types of wood and barrel sizes. The label is a bit of an ego trip – a picture of a statue from the president’s villa, representing the earth’s energy moving upwards – this is a bit much (Stefano’s voice, again ….), but the wine is lovely, has good minerality and length, and has much to say for it. 3.5+ Interestingly, I have had this wine before – I was given a bottle by Giorgio Schiopetto in Friuli, who said it was “just crazy” how great it was. I took it back to Colorado and drank it with my girlfriend Karen, but neither of us could decipher the name or the producer on the label – La Foa is written in a cursive that I found impossible to read. So for the last 8 months I’ve wondered what that wine was – and here it is!
2007 Colterenzio/Schreckbichl, Gewurztraminer, “Atisis” Corenll series. Old name of the Etsch/Adige. Very spicy nose, full of flowers, honeysuckle, ripe citrus, very rich, aromatic, full-bodied, but not overly heavy in the mouth. Nuts and lychee, white cassis, white grapes, all steel still fresh and with 7 g residual sugar, but the sweetness is well-balanced by the acidity. Nice, not heavy, well-balanced, aromatic and flowery. 3.0- a really nice wine.
2007 Colterenzio/Schreckbichl, “St. Daniel,” Pinot Noir, Riserva, Praedium line. Nice black cherry and earth notes, with some red cherry and berries, especially strawberry, notes of vanilla and spice, lovely balance, good depth. A nice mid-range pinot noir, drinks well, really lovely acids. IN the mouth, it has good balance, some earthy notes, fresh and lively, nice muted and integrated oak flavors and aromas. Very good. I like the sense of dirt and minerals. 2.5+ Very very drinkable and delicious.
2006 Colterenzio/Schreckbichl, Lagrein “Sigismundus” Cornell line. Comes from the Gries area near Bolzano. Lovely nose – less of the charcoal and pencil lead. Good black fruits, mineral, berries, some wood elements vanilla, very nice nose. On the palate, very rich and dark, and the tannins are under control, if still unevolved and deep and tight. Good fruit, even on the long finish, balanced with good acid and freshness, ripe tannins, black plums, and anise/pepper/meat. Really nice. 3.5+
2007 Colterenzio/Schreckbichl, Moscato Rosa “Rosatum” Corenll line. Small production, very berried nose, good minerals, red flowers. Jasmine and roses. Red licorice, fun, concentrated, still decent acids, sweet, only in steel, no wood, really lovely match for milk chocolate – pot de crème would be great or a dark fruit pie. Very nice 3.5+
