Red Grape · Trentino-Alto Adige
Alto Adige's own light red: strawberry, roses and a bitter-almond finish, served cool, grown here since the 1200s and sold as Vernatsch on most labels.
Schiava is the light red grape of Alto Adige, sold under its German name, Vernatsch, on most labels. It makes pale, fragrant, low-tannin reds that smell of strawberry and roses and are drunk cool, young and by the carafe in Bolzano. Grown in these valleys since the 1200s, it is a family of three closely related grapes.
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Also known as
The German name and the one on most Alto Adige labels; shares a root with vernacular, the local grape.
The name in Germany, from Tirolinger, the grape from Tyrol; Württemberg grows more of it than Italy does.
The small-berried, finest member of the family; the old Bolzano name is in Italy's grape register.
The big-berried, heavy-cropping one; the vine most of the volume comes from.
The grey-skinned member, listed as its own variety in the international catalogue.
Not grapes but the two DOC wines built on Schiava: the hills above Bolzano, and the lake south of it.
A different grape from Como and Bergamo that shares the name; not what is in an Alto Adige bottle.
The anchor fact: Schiava, Vernatsch and Trollinger are the same grape in three languages. Schiava Grossa, Gentile and Grigia are the three vines sold under those names; Schiava Lombarda, from Como, only shares the word.
Taste · Where it sits
Forget scores out of five. Here’s Schiava described against grapes you already know.
Lighter than Pinot Nero from the same valleys and a world away from Lagrein, its own child; closer to a rosé in weight.
Softer than any other Alto Adige red; only Santa Maddalena, with its splash of Lagrein, shows any grip.
Higher than Lagrein or Pinot Nero; the acidity is what lets a red be served at 12C.
Strawberry and raspberry with a sweet-smelling nose but a dry, bitter-almond finish; no sugar.
Key flavours
The map
Schiava is light to medium, soft tannin, mapped against other red grapes you can buy. The closer a grape sits, the more its weight and grip resemble Schiava.
Is this for you?
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Serving guide
Serve at
12-14°C
12 to 14C: warmer and it tastes thin, colder and the strawberry disappears.
Decant
No
Never; the aromas are the point and air loses them.
Glass
Pinot Noir Glass
A Pinot Noir bowl or a large white glass; a big red glass swallows the perfume.
Drink within
2-3 days
Within three years of the vintage; the rose note fades first.
Cellar
1-3 years
Only Santa Maddalena from old vines gains anything, and only for a year or two.
On the table
Start with the home-table matches that made the grape, then browse the full cuisine library.
The Törggelen plate
Bread dumplings with speck are salty and soft; Schiava's fresh acidity cuts the butter and its low tannin leaves the speck's smoke in charge.
The other dumpling
Spätzle with cheese or cream wants a light red served cool; the strawberry fruit and mountain acidity keep the plate from feeling heavy.
The lunch roast
White meat and stuffing suit a red with no grip; Schiava's softness works where a Lagrein would overpower the bird.
The everyday bottle
Tomato and mozzarella need acidity and no tannin; a cool Vernatsch does the job of a rosé with a little more flavour.
Browse every pairing
Buy it · three to start with
A curated trio across the price range, then every Schiava on sale in the UK right now.
Entry · everyday
2 retailers
Appellation TBD
2 retailers
£13.29
Why this one: Colterenzio's St. Magdalener: velvety, red plums and raspberry with a light perfume, about £13.
The sweet spot
1 retailer
Santa Maddalena
1 retailer
£16.50
Why this one: Cantina Bolzano's Huck am Bach is the classic Santa Maddalena. Schiava with a little Lagrein: violets, cherry, raspberry and a bitter-almond finish at 12.5%, about £17.
Special occasion
1 retailer
Alto Adige/Südtirol
1 retailer
£24.50
Why this one: Girlan's Gschleier Alte Reben: Vernatsch from vines 80 to 110 years old at 450 metres, hand-picked, the benchmark old-vine bottle. About £22.
12 of 13 bottles
3 retailers
Trentino
3 retailers
£14.90
2 retailers
Appellation TBD
2 retailers
£13.29
2 retailers
Alto Adige/Südtirol
2 retailers
£15.00
2 retailers
Vigneti delle Dolomiti / Weinberg Dolomiten
2 retailers
£16.20
2 retailers
Alto Adige/Südtirol
2 retailers
£18.50
1 retailer
Vigneti delle Dolomiti / Weinberg Dolomiten
1 retailer
£12.50
1 retailer
Lago di Caldaro/Caldaro/Kalterersee/Kalterer
1 retailer
£14.60
1 retailer
Lago di Caldaro/Caldaro/Kalterersee/Kalterer
1 retailer
£14.80
1 retailer
Santa Maddalena
1 retailer
£15.00
1 retailer
Santa Maddalena
1 retailer
£16.50
1 retailer
Alto Adige/Südtirol
1 retailer
£19.90
1 retailer
Lago di Caldaro/Caldaro/Kalterersee/Kalterer
1 retailer
£21.60
Denominations
The appellations where Schiava plays a starring role.
Where it grows
Italy's alpine wine country: Teroldego from the Piana Rotaliana, Trento DOC sparklers raised on dolomitic limestone, and Alto Adige whites perfumed by glacial Read more
From Franciacorta classic-method bubbles to Valtellina mountain Nebbiolo and Lugana lake-cool whites, Lombardy spans 5 DOCGs across roughly 25,000 hectares of Read more
The terroir
Schiava is a valley grape of Alto Adige, and the two DOC wines built on it sit a few miles apart on either side of Bolzano.
Santa Maddalena
The slopes just above Bolzano
The fullest Schiava: warm hillsides and a splash of Lagrein give colour, cherry and a little grip.
Lago di Caldaro
The hills around the lake south of Bolzano, 250 to 350 metres
Kalterersee: lighter, paler and fresher, from calcareous soils with clay and gravel and big day-night swings.
Alto Adige DOC villages
Girlan, Andriano, Nals, Novacella
Old-vine Vernatsch from the co-operatives: the bottles that made the grape fashionable again.
Editorial
Records show Schiava growing in the valleys of Trentino-Alto Adige by the 13th century. For most of that time it was the region's everyday wine. The German name Vernatsch shares a root with vernacular: the local grape. Trollinger, its name in Germany, is a worn-down Tirolinger, the grape from Tyrol. Germany's Württemberg now grows more of it than Italy does, as Trollinger, but the wine that matters is made here.
Vernatsch shares a root with vernacular: the local grape. It has grown in these valleys since the 13th century.
Wikipedia, TrollingerIt is a family rather than one vine. The international catalogue lists Schiava Grossa, Schiava Gentile and Schiava Grigia as separate varieties, sold together as Vernatsch. A fourth, Schiava Lombarda, grown around Como, only shares the name. Italy's grape register records the old Bolzano names: Kleinvernatsch for the small-berried Gentile, Mittervernatsch at Caldaro, Grauvernatsch for the grey-skinned Grigia. Gentile is the finest; Grossa gives the crop.
The wine is pale, light and fragrant: strawberry, raspberry, rose, a touch of smoke, and often a bitter-almond note at the end. Tannin is low, acidity fresh, alcohol 11 to 12%. Two DOC wines are built on it. Santa Maddalena, on the slopes above Bolzano, adds a little Lagrein for colour. Lago di Caldaro, or Kalterersee, comes from the warm hills around the lake south of the city. Most other bottles are Alto Adige DOC Schiava or Vernatsch. The best come from old vines: Girlan's Gschleier is picked from plants 80 to 110 years old.
For decades the grape was pulled out for Pinot Nero and Lagrein, which sell for more. Now a light, chillable red is fashionable again and the old-vine Vernatsch of Girlan, Nals Margreid and the Bolzano co-operative has a following. Serve it at 12 to 14C, drink it within three years, and do not look for oak, weight or a long finish. It is a wine for lunch.
Good to know
Schiava is a pale, light red with strawberry, raspberry and rose, a touch of smoke and often a bitter-almond finish. Tannin is low, acidity is fresh and alcohol sits around 11 to 12%. It is served cool and drunk young.
Yes. Vernatsch is the German name used on most Alto Adige labels, Schiava the Italian one. Trollinger is the name in Germany, where the same grape is grown in Württemberg. Three closely related vines, Schiava Grossa, Gentile and Grigia, are all sold as Vernatsch.
Santa Maddalena, or St. Magdalener, is a DOC red from the hills just above Bolzano. It is Schiava with a small share of Lagrein for colour and grip. It is the fullest style of Schiava. Kalterersee, or Lago di Caldaro, is the lighter one from around the lake.
Lightly. Twelve to 14C is right: cool enough to keep it fresh, not so cold that the fruit closes up. In Alto Adige it is poured from the fridge at lunch in summer. Never decant it and drink it within three years of the vintage.
Speck, bread dumplings, spätzle, pizza, roast chicken or turkey, and the chestnuts and cured meat of the autumn Törggelen tables. Its low tannin and fresh acidity suit food that a big red would flatten.
Growers replaced it with Pinot Nero and Lagrein from the 1980s because they fetched higher prices. What is left is often old vines, which is why the best bottles, such as Girlan's Gschleier, come from plants 80 to 110 years old.
Explore by style
Jump to the editorial guide for each style this grape turns up in.
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