Cellar Profile
This organic winery is situated in the picturesque village bearing its name in Alto Adige, nestled in the Southern Alps and Dolomite mountain ranges. Its hand-crafted mountain wines are painstakingly made with as little intervention as possible to best exemplify the unique terroir of the region. These red wine vineyards have some of the hottest daytime temperatures in all of Italy, rising to 40℃ during the summer months, but with a significant drop in temperature in the evening to retain freshness. The whites come from the hamlets of Hofstatt and Penon, with heroic vineyards planted on exceedingly steep mountainsides at elevations up to 2500 ft above sea level. These rocky outcrops have a multitude of geological peculiarities, giving their wines intense, saline-like minerality. These are amongst the most aromatic and flavourful white wines on earth, ranging in style from steely dry to lusciously sweet.
Region
The region of Trentino-Alto Adige is bordered by East and North Tyrol (Austria) to the northeast and north respectively, by Graubünden (Switzerland) to the northwest and by the Italian regions of Lombardy to the west and Veneto to the south and southeast. It covers 13,607 square kilometres, is extremely mountainous and includes a large part of the Dolomites and the southern Alps. Südtirol (where Cantina Kurtatsch is located) has an area of 7,398 square kilometres, all of it mountainous land covered by vast forests. The climate here is Mediterranean (hot summer, cold winters) owing to the influence of the many mountain ranges (> 3,000 metres above sea level) and the wide valleys through which flows the main river, the Adige, and its numerous tributaries.
Vineyard
The spectacularly-located district of Penon, with altitudes ranging between 500 and 700 meters, is characterized by cooling nighttime katabatic winds. These winds cause substantial temperature differences between day and night which, together with the steep inclination of the vineyards, yield a distinctive Pinot Grigio with exceedingly lively acidity. The chalky gravel soils found here, which have a low capacity for holding water, lend a distinctive, salty mouthfeel.
Winemaking
Hand-harvested from terraces, the fruit is sorted, de-stemmed and pressed into stainless steel for a long, cool fermentation. The wine is aged on its lees in stainless steel in order to gain complexity and texture, and then is lightly filtered before being bottled.
Tasting Notes
Ripe pear, apple, acacia and dark honey on the nose. The palate is medium-bodied, with a good spine of acidity. The pear, apple and lime notes are ripe, but there is a zesty tartness as well, that makes it quite refreshing. Chill and pair with Brie, baked honey ham or a picnic lunch.
Varieties
Pinot Grigio/Gris is thought to be a mutant clone of Pinot Noir and finds its origins in Burgundy, France. There are several styles of Pinot Grigio: Dry & Minerally; Dry & Fruity; or Sweet & Fruity. This Dry & Minerally style is most famous in the northern parts of Italy and traverses the foothills of the Alps nearly all the way from Italy through Austria and even Romania, Slovenia and Hungary. The mountains are a powerful force on the agriculture, ensuring that grapes keep their high acidity. The wines are most commonly described as dry with relatively high acidity. These characteristics are complemented by aromas of lemon, lime, green apple and blossoms.