Alto Adige

The northern part of the Italian double region Trentino-South Tyrol; the southern part is Trentino. The Italian name is Alto Adige. Geographically it corresponds to the autonomous province of Bolzano (ital. Bolzano). The Rhaeto-Romans planted the first vineyards here as early as 1,000 BC, making South Tyrol one of the oldest German-speaking wine-growing regions. Here the Romans learned from the Celts the use of wooden wine barrels for storage and transport. In the Middle Ages viticulture reached its highest flowering. The German emperors, who went to Rome for their coronation, got to know and appreciate South Tyrolean wine on their travels. From the end of the 19th century onwards, as in many other wine-growing regions, a decline occurred due to phylloxera and mildew. After the First World War in 1919, South Tyrol was annexed to Italy, which meant that the northern markets were lost. After the loss of quality in the 1980s due to the marketing of mass wines, there was now a return to top quality.

The vineyards cover 5,500 hectares of vines, mainly at an altitude of 500 to 1,000 metres above sea level. They are located on often terraced slopes and hillsides in the Adige Valley (Valdadige) between Merano (Merano) and Salurn (Salorno) and in the Valle Isarco between Bolzano (Bolzano) and Bressanone (Bressanone), with smaller areas under cultivation in the Vinschgau, formerly also Vintschgau (Valle Venosta). In the valley floor there are only the Lagrein area of Gries (San Quierino) and the white wine area of Salurn. The traditional educational form of pergola is still widespread here. In the Adige Valley, the soils consist mainly of gravelly alluvial gravel, on the slopes of weathered scree with a high lime content. The climate is continental, with warm summers and cold winters with relatively wide temperature fluctuations. There are two DOC areas:

Lake Caldaro - Lago di Caldaro (also Caldaro)
The DOC area comprises the municipalities around the Lake Caldaro that gave the lake its name, including some towns in the Trentino area.

South Tyrolean (also South Tyrol) - Alto Adige (also dell'Alto Adige)
The DOC area covers the entire South Tyrol region. There are also six subzones which may be indicated on the label in German and/or Italian:

• Bozner Leiten - Colli di Bolzano
• Isarco Valley - Valle Isarco
• Merano hills - Meranese di Collina or Meranese
• Saint Magdalene - Santa Maddalena
• Terlano - Terlano
• Vinschgau Valley - Valle Venosta

The IGT areas (or IGP - the local wines) in Trentino-Alto Adige are Mitterberg, Trevenezie (until 2016 Delle Venezie - now DOC), Vallagarina and Vigneti delle Dolomiti or Weinberg Dolomiten.

There are many small winegrowers, most of whom are organised in one of the many winegrowers' cooperatives with about two thirds of the production. Well-known farms are Ansitz Waldgries, Arunda Reiterer, Baron Di Pauli, Baron Longo, Bergmannhof, Bessererhof, Brigl, Brunnenhof Mazzon, Cantina Kaltern (Kaltern Winery), Carlotto, Castelfeder, Castel Sallegg, Dipoli Peter, Ebnerhof, Egger-Ramer, Eisacktal Winery, Elena Walch - Castel Ringberg & Castelaz, Heritage Farm Unterganzner, Garlider, Glögglhof, Griesbauerhof, Gummerhof, Gump Hof, Haas Franz, Haderburg, Happacherhof, Kandlerhof, Kellerei an der Salurner Klause, Kellerei Andrian, Kellerei Bozen, Kellerei Girlan, Kellerei Kurtatsch, Kellerei Meran, Kellerei Terlan, Kellerei Tramin, K. Martini & Son, Kobler Armin, Köfelgut - Martin Pohl, Kornell, Kössler, Lageder Alois, Larcherhof - Spögler family, Laimburg, Lieselehof, Loacker Schwarhof, H. Lun, Manincor, Maso Thaler, Messnerhof, Muri-Gries, Nals Margreid, Niedermayr Josef, Niedermayr Thomas Hof Gandberg, Niklaserhof, Obermoser - Thomas Rottensteiner, Pfannenstielhof, Pichler Thomas, Plonerhof - Erhard & Herta Tutzer, Popphof, Pranzegg - Martin Gojer, Ritterhof, Peter Sölva & Sons, Pfitscher, Rottensteiner Hans, Englar Castle, Schmid-Oberrautner, Schreckbichl, Stachlburg, St. Michael-Eppan, St. Pauls Kellerei, Tiefenbrunner, Unterhofer, Unterortl, Weger Josef, Zöhlhof - Josef Unterfrauner and Zollweghof - Franz Pfeifhofer. Many of them are members of the Free Winegrowers South Tyrol.

Bozen: From User:Mattes - Own work, in the public domain, Link
Cherms: From Benreis - Own work, CC BY 3.0, Link
Tramin: From Plentn - Own work, CC0, Link