South Tyrol, Italy, March 12, 2022

We explored the wines from South Tyrol or as it’s called in Italian “Alto Adige”, a wine region located in Northeastern Italy. The presentation of these unique wines was led by an Italian born wine exporter that Bob and Sandy recently met, named Angelino Sandri, who works for Siena Imports.

South Tyrol is a small but multi-faceted winegrowing region. Unique in its field in Italy, it is a region where 20 different grape varieties are cultivated on a land of 13,000 acres. With its geographical position, between an Alpine climatic zone and a Mediterranean one and with vineyards growing at only 3,900 feet above sea level, South Tyrol is Italy’s smallest wine growing area. Not only does the region produce excellent wine, but it’s location nestled in verdant valleys with the snow-covered peaks of the Alps in the distance is one of the most picturesque wine-growing regions.

Unlike more well-known areas such as Tuscany which produce mostly for the export market, these wines are consumed primarily by locals of the area, and are produced with the intent to be paired with the local cuisine, be it Italian, Austrian or German.

As you can see there are some interesting varietals in the line-up – some that might be unfamiliar and some that are very familiar but you wouldn’t associate as being an Italian wine. While South Tyrol is now located in Italy, for over 100 years it was part of the Austrian-Hungary Empire, as such there are also influences from Austria and Germany too.

The following four white and four red wines from the St. Michael -Eppan Winery were presented.

Btl	Wine	Price	Alcohol
1	2020 Moscato Giallo	$16	13.0%
2	2020 Riesling Montiggi	$20	13.0%
3	2019 Pinot Bianco Schulthauser	$20	13.5%
4	2019 Sauvignon Sanct Valentin	$38	14.0%
5	2019 Pinot Noir	$18	13.5%
6	2020 Schiava Nobile	$15	12.5%
7	2015 Pinot Noir Riserva Sanct Valentin	$43	14.0%
8	2015 Lagrein Riserva Sanct Valentin	$38	14.0%

There was no voting, except for Rick who commented at length to describe how spectacular bottle #8 was, and no one disagreed. They are available locally at Siena Imports. Click here for the tasting notes.