a beautiful view of val di cembra in the autumn, with yellow … · 2015-10-19 · different...

64 AUTUMN 2015 GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE

A beautiful view of Val di Cembra in the autumn, with yellow leaves on the canopy, grass cover and

snow-capped mountains in the background

AUTUMN 2015 GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE 65

Mountain VITICULTURE

ITS CHALLENGES AND REWARDS IN TRENTINO

Driving up from Lake Garda, you arrive in Trento, the capital city of the autonomous province of Trentino, bordered in the north by the Dolomites and the South Tyrol. The region is sandwiched between mountains (2,000m high)

and the Adige River north of Verona. It is home to an ancient tradition of wine and boasts extensive diversity for such a relatively small area.

By Isabel Ferran

Photographs All Rights Rserved


ITALYTERRITORY

The total vineyard area of 10,000 ha has remained unchanged over the last decade due to the limits of mountain viticulture and the agricultural equilibrium with apple production. Vineyards are planted at the foot of the mountains along the Adige

River. One third of them have technical limits (height, steepness, terraces, small plots) that translate to higher investment costs (bespoke technology) and many hours of labour/ha. One tenth of the total area lies at over 500 m above sea level with vineyards rising to as much as 870 m above sea level.Vintage 2014 produced a total of one million hectolitres of wine which was lower than the average of the last decade, due to a cold, rainy season. This was overcome through manual berry selection by each family of grape growers, a legacy of the traditional fragmented land ownership. White varieties Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay (still and sparkling wine) represent one third of total production each, followed by Müller Thurgau and red varieties Teroldego (6.4%) and Merlot (6%). 20 years ago, red and white grape production were on a par, but this has evolved due to demand for Pinot Grigio from the American market and the development of the Trento DOC sparkling wine, accounting for 8% of total production today. Trentino DOC embraces different areas with specific soil types and microclimates that deserve to be explored separately: the Lakes Valley for Nosiola, the Vallagarina area for Marzemino (with a Mediterranean climate due to the Ora wind from Garda), the Cembra Valley for Müller Thurgau and Piana Rotaliana for Teroldego Rotaliano.85% of Trentino wines are produced by 15 cooperatives, mainly CAVIT and Gruppo Mezzacorona, followed by 10% of medium-sized family producers (Ferrari, Endrizzi) and the remaining 5% of independent winegrowers (70 in total). Last July, the association of independent winegrowers became an independent consortium seeking to speak with its own voice, promote its philosophy and safeguard minor grape varieties.

Budburst at Rovereto vineyards


Teroldego grapes grown in Piana Rotaliana, whose name is supposed to mean gold from the Tyrol, trained

using the double pergola system

Castel Pietra, a beautiful castle in Vallagarina, where grapes are sourced by the co-operative, ranging from 160 to 700 m above sea level

Walter Webber, director, and Alessandro Bertagnoli, president of

Cantina Aldeno


ITALYTERRITORY

Even though these three types of players have different marketing strategies, the entire region came together to commit to an environmentally sustainable protocol, defined with experts from the Edmund Mach Foundation research centre and the Trentino Green Network. This unique protocol seeks to permanently ban herbicides by 2017 and is already authorizing very few products; it has placed restrictions on spraying of agri-chemicals, especially near urban areas, and implemented a coordinated insect trap strategy for phytophagous (since 2003) and management of toxic residue.As regards training techniques, the Trentin pergola and Guyot VSP systems are used due to the cost of switching over to new systems and also preferences depending on grape variety. Grass cover is used primarily in all vineyards to improve organic matter in poor soils and to promote biodiversity; irrigation is allowed and necessary.

CAnTInA Aldeno (Aldeno, VAllAgARInA e VAl d’AdIge)

A 100-year-old co-operative, the first one to be certified organic in Italy, Cantina Aldeno also produces vegan wines. Its range is extensive and includes premium sparkling wines: Altinum Trento DOC. For the Brut, the absence of malolactic fermentation ensures a clean palate and aromatic precision (Gala apple, fresh apricot and a smoky note). The Riserva offers lots of volume on the palate in the 2009 with honey and nut scents along with lime tree and a fresh citrus finish; 2011 is still dominated by brioche and creamy notes but also emerging balsam fir and fruity apricot aromas; 2010 reveals a warmer, more oxidative vintage. Their symphony of Moscato Giallo wines deserves a special mention, not only for the notes of orange blossom but also the complexity of sweet spices (curry), yellow plum and hydrocarbons, especially the unique growth of Castel Beseno.

MAso WAllenBuRg (TRenTo)Founded in the 80s and a part of the Venetian group Cantine Giacomo Montresor, bottle ageing has taken place since 2000 in a modern underground winery under an eighteenth century rural house surrounded by 6 ha of vineyards and formal gardens which welcomes visitors to bed and breakfast facilities. Although Wallenburg Corte Imperiale is their flagship wine, we were impressed by their Trento DOC Rosé with its intense salmon pink colour, pomegranate and hibiscus aromas on the nose supported by a structured palate and strawberry flavour. Festive with a dry finish, its character makes it a suitable partner for paella or cold cuts.

A plot of Müller Thurgau planted using the traditional Trentina pergola system on terraces above the village of Aldeno at altitude (850 m high)

Bruna Montresor, chairman of Cantina Giacomo Montresor and manager of Maso Wallenburg Estate in Trentino


ITALYTERRITORY

Two generations of the Lunelli family, from left to right: Alessandro, Franco, Gino, Camilla, Matteo Bruno, Mauro and Marcello Lunelli toasting with the Giulio Ferrari cuvée

‘Alto Margon’, a new growth at the foot of Monte Bondone. It is a beautiful plot and an example of mountain viticulture


ITALYTERRITORY

leTRARI (RoVeReTo)Leonello Letrari, a pioneer of the ‘Equipe 5’ sparkling wine in Trentino, founded the estate in 1976. He boasts long-standing experience in the wine sector and passed over the role of winemaker to his daughter Lucia in 1987. The family owns 20 ha of vineyards although they also purchase grapes to offer an interesting range of both sparkling and still wines, particularly the native grapes Marzemino and Teroldego. Leonello is a living testimony of the wine revolution in Trentino and Lucia is an innovative winemaker who created a zero dosage cuvée, Quore Blanc des blancs cuvée and an over matured Marzemino. The 2013 Marzemino selection offers cherry and black fruit jam combined with spicy black pepper aromas and a silky, profound mouthfeel – it is an outstanding red wine.

FeRRARI - FRATellI lunellI (TRenTo)The third generation of the Lunelli family is now heading up the group famed for its sparkling Ferrari wines which also produces premium still wines in Trentino: Villa Margon Chardonnay and Maso Montalto Pinot Noir. Tenuta Margon’s most recent vineyard is Alto Margon planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to ensure outstanding grapes for sparkling wine. Located on the right bank of the Adige River, a cooler area that avoids exposure to the afternoon sun, it is 600 m above sea level, surrounded by forests and has a planting density of 6,000 vines/ha. Every care has been taken to guarantee its longevity, from pruning techniques to the selection of experimental rootstocks “M” from project Winegraft.

PojeR & sAndRI (FAedo And VAl dI CeMBRA)

The intellectually restless Mario Pojer is an independent wine producer. Established in 1975, the company now owns 32ha of vineyards and has broadened its range of grape and fruit-based products (vinegars and distillates). Mario Pojer used his winemaking experience to improve cellar technology (inert balloon for Bucher Vaslin press) and was a prime mover in planting PIWI vines which guarantee zero agri-chemical treatments. Pojer & Sandri try to take an holistic approach to their different cellar activities – for example, the energy derived from distillation is used to warm up wine tanks. Among their wide range of excellent wines, our picks are Filii 2014, Faye 1993 and Merlino (Banyuls style).

Mario Pojer presenting the bottle of “Zero infinito”; a 100% Solaris (a fungus-resistant grape variety) sparkling wine fermented with endogenous yeasts. The nose reveals appealing white fruits (donut peach, nectarine), the palate is razor sharp and the finish is salty and mineral

Letrari’s family toasting in the cellar: Leonello Letrari and his wife (right), winemaker Lucia Letrari (centre) and her brother Paolo who welcomed us to their estate


Rudy Zeni joined the family estate in 2008. Ternet is his special wine

sourced in Maso Nero where he lives surrounded by vineyards at gradients

of 40-47% on limestone soil


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RoBeRTo ZenI (sAn MIChele All’AdIge)Modern winemaking was started in the 70s by Andrea and Roberto Zeni, the father and uncle of 4th generation Rudy Zeni. The estate includes a distillery and 16 hectares of vineyards, two thirds in Piana Rotaliana and one third in the hills above Sorni. There are three lines of products: Zeni classic wines, Maso Nero sparkling wines and the Schwarzhof mountain viticulture range. Schwarzhof (meaning black farm) is an ancient farm bought in 1986 surrounded by steep vineyards following the landform at elevations of between 480 and 650 m. They are planted to Teroldego and other varieties using the Guyot system and high plantation density. Teroldego produced at altitude (Ternet) is very different to the one grown in the plains using the typical pergola system, though both are interesting. They also produce rare native varieties such as Rossara (red), Moscato Rosa and Nosiola (also using the Charmat method).

CeMBRA CAnTInA dI MonTAgnA - CooPeRATIVA lA-VIs (lAVIs)

Val di Cembra offers a unique, breath-taking landscape of mountain viticulture, divided into many terraces rising up to 870 m above sea level; the steep slopes are extremely labour intensive (double the time required in the plains at 800h/ha/year). The red gold here stands for its very special soil porphyry that for generations has brought the valley wealth. Corrado Aldrighetti, the agronomist who participated in the Trentino Zoning project, drove us to Albiano where we realised the high overheads caused by difficult access. There we met Francesco, a young grape

Young winemaker Francesco represents the new generation of Val di Cembra producers who specialize in grape growing and are full time, dedicated artisans


ITALYTERRITORY

grower and partner of La-Vis who manages 4.5 ha of vines

full time using the Guyot system - they have been selected

for Cembra’s quality sparkling wine project. At Cembra

winery we tasted the Müller Thurgau 2014 great growth,

‘Vigna delle Forche’ but also a great 2011 Riesling ‘Vigna

Cancòr’, a traditional rosé from Schiava and the sparkling

wine ‘Oro Rosso’.

CAnTIne MeZZACoRonA -

RoTARI (MeZZoCoRonA)

Founded in 1904, this is one of Trentino’s main producers

with 4 wineries in different areas. The co-operative boasts

1,500 members over a total area of 2,500 ha trained using

the pergola system. Of these families, only 30% work full

time in the vineyards, but still the social impact on the

Trentino economy is very significant. The four agronomy

technicians have a very close relationship with the grape

growers and are able to convey the importance of 30%

de-budding early on in the season as well as other manual

interventions and the sustainability protocol. Rotari is their

sparkling wine brand and enjoys widespread presence in

export markets. A large range of wines is produced - both

classic and premium lines that excel for their quality-price

ratio – providing proof that large players can also work at

artisanal level!

endRIZZI (sAn MIChele All’AdIge)

This is an historical family winery in Trentino founded in

1885 (still Austrian), before the advent of co-operatives,

when grapes were just one of the many fruits a family

would produce. The San Michele school of agronomy

had just been founded and Dott. Paolo Endrici’s great

grandfather was chairman – he was among the pioneers

to plant Champagne grape varieties. Nowadays, four

agronomists manage the 50 ha of vineyards and a new

modern winery was built in 2003 next to the 16th century

Masetto (farm). Masetto Nero is kind of a ‘Super Trentino’,

a red wine blended from Cabernet, Merlot, Terlodego and

Lagrein with a fine bouquet of cranberries and cloves. Pian

Castello vineyard was planted in 1983 at 450 m above sea

level in poor dolomite soil, using innovative aspects as

the Guyot training system and high density of plantation.

Pian Castello means at the foot of the castle (where it

is located) and it gives rise to fine sparkling wines: Pian

Castello Brut Riserva and Brut Rosé.

Dott. Paolo Endrici and his daughter Lisa at Endrizzi winery

More than 20 nests for birds and bats have been introduced to the vineyards to promote biodiversity and the collection of grape varieties planted features the main aroma descriptors of each one

Mezzacorona agronomist checking the vineyards of one of their supplier in Piana Rotaliana

a beautiful view of val di cembra in the autumn, with yellow … · 2015-10-19 · different...

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