Trentino-South Tyrol · DOC

Alto Adige/Südtirol DOC

Italy's Alpine white-wine heartland, where 96% of the vineyard sits inside one DOC. Alto Adige (Südtirol) DOC binds the South Tyrol's twenty grape varieties under a single bilingual appellation. The disciplinare maps Schiava and Lagrein around Bolzano, Pinot Bianco and Chardonnay across the Terlano hills, and Sylvaner, Kerner and Müller-Thurgau up the Valle Isarco towards Bressanone.

18

Wines

From £17

Starting price

4

Retailers

Sub-zones

Colli di BolzanoDOC Meranese di CollinaDOC Santa MaddalenaDOC TerlanoDOC Valle IsarcoDOC Valle VenostaDOC

Taste & Pairing

Taste Profile

Body 3/5
Tannin 2/5
Acidity 4/5
Sweetness 1/5

Key Flavours

Green Apple Green Apple
Honey Honey
Lime Lime
Pear Pear
Spicy Spicy

Pairs With

Italian Risotto Italian risotto dishes for wine pairing on a transparent background Indian Vegetarian Indian Cuisine Vegetarian featuring Chickpea curry, overhead plated dish Chinese Dim sum Chinese Cuisine Dim sum featuring Spring rolls, overhead plated dish

Alto Adige/Südtirol Wine Selection

10 selected wines

Editorial

Vintage Provenance

Why There Is No Vintage Chart

No denomination-wide vintage chart is currently published for Alto Adige DOC. Quality varies by sub-zone and style: Valle Venosta and Valle Isarco whites track Alpine vintage character (cool, late-ripening), while Lagrein and Schiava on Bolzano's plain follow warmer Mediterranean-influenced cycles. The Consorzio Vini Alto Adige's annual Goldener Adler awards remain the most reliable per-bottle signal.

How Alto Adige/Südtirol is Made

The DOC binds 5,860 hectares between 200 and 1,000 metres, half on porphyry, half on Dolomite limestone and glacial moraine. Six sub-zones (Santa Maddalena, Terlano, Valle Isarco, Valle Venosta, Colli di Bolzano, Meranese di Collina) and 86 unità geografiche aggiuntive sit inside the umbrella. Varietal labels need 85% of the named grape; Bianco and Rosso blends need 80% of the listed varieties. Minimum alcohol is typically 11.0% for the principal whites and reds, 11.5% for Pinot Grigio and the Bordeaux blends, 10.5% for Schiava. Riserva needs two years of ageing from October following the harvest. Spumante is mandatorily bottle-fermented (Metodo Classico) with 20 months on the lees, 36 months for Riserva. Passito grapes are dried to 16% potential alcohol.

In-Depth Guide

Alto Adige (Südtirol) DOC is Italy's flagship Alpine white-wine appellation: roughly two-thirds white, with Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer and Sauvignon at the front, plus Lagrein and Schiava as the historic red identities around Bolzano.

Alto Adige is the autonomous province of South Tyrol, the northernmost Italian-administered territory between the Brenner Pass and the Trentino border. Vineyards sit between 200 and 1,000 metres on the slopes of the Adige, Isarco and Venosta valleys.

Südtirol is the German-language name for Alto Adige, and South Tyrol's wines are bilingual by law. The disciplinare allows every label term to appear in either Italian or German: Pinot Bianco or Weissburgunder, Pinot Nero or Blauburgunder, Schiava or Vernatsch, Santa Maddalena or Sankt Magdalener.

The principal whites are Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon, Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, Sylvaner and Kerner; the principal reds are Schiava, Lagrein and Pinot Nero, plus Cabernet and Merlot in the Bordeaux-style blends.

Alto Adige is white-led: about 65% of production is white, 35% red. The DOC is widely cited as Italy's most credible Pinot Bianco, Sauvignon and Pinot Nero region, but Schiava and Lagrein keep a strong red identity around Bolzano.

South Tyrolean cuisine carries through. Pinot Bianco and Sylvaner pair with canederli (Knödel) and trout, Gewürztraminer with speck and Käseschmarrn, Schiava with cold cuts and barley soups, Lagrein with grilled meats and goulasch.

Six sub-zones sit inside the umbrella: Santa Maddalena and Colli di Bolzano (Schiava reds on porphyry around Bolzano), Meranese di Collina (Schiava in the Burgraviato), Terlano (Pinot Bianco and Chardonnay whites), Valle Isarco (Sylvaner, Kerner, Müller-Thurgau and Grüner Veltliner) and Valle Venosta (high-altitude Riesling and Pinot Nero).

On the table

What to eat with Alto Adige/Südtirol

Curated cuisines, sections and dishes, from the home-country classics to global pairings that work.

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