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| by
David Lynch, Wine Director
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| THIS
MONTH: TRENTINO
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THIS MONTH
TRENTINO
Our tendency is to think of Trentino
as being one with its neighboring region to the north, Alto Adige,
but the hyphen says a lot: Trentino-Alto Adige is a political
union created by the Italian government in 1948, even though the
regions remain rather distinct from one another.
Trentino is considered the more “Italian” of the two—it was traditionally
an independent prince-bishopric considered part of the amorphous
Italian mass pre-unification, whereas Alto Adige, the southern
part of the Austrian state of Tyrol, was ceded to Italy after
World War I. Although these small mountain provinces share the
Adige river, which bisects them both, and a certain “Sound of
Music” vibe, the border between the two is a cultural dividing
line, of sorts. The village of Magré, in the Alto Adige, is the
southernmost German-speaking village in Europe; not ten kilometers
to the south, in Trentino’s Rovere della Luna, the dominant tongue
is Italian. Weird.
Yes, the Trentino and Alto Adige share similar winemaking conditions—hot,
humid conditions and fertile, alluvial soils in the low-lying
areas around the Adige River, and cooler, high-altitude vineyards
that climb up the mountain walls on either side—and any number
of grapes, such as pinot grigio, sauvignon, chardonnay, pinot
bianco, and all the “Bordeaux” reds. But Trentino has a couple
of true specialties
In some of the highest-altitude vineyards in Trentino, particularly
around towns like Faedo, you’ll find the German oddity müller-thurgau,
a cross between riesling and sylvaner. It pops up sparingly in
the Alto Adige, but there are a number of great müllers to be
had from Trentino (see below), all of them combining exotic aromas
of litchi and ripe peach with bracing acidity and steely minerality.
Remember we’re just a stone’s throw from the Alps here—sometimes
people find it hard to believe that German/Alsatian grapes such
as gewürztraminer, sylvaner, and müller thurgau are grown in Italy,
but they are very widespread and well-suited to the northern Italian
climate. Generally, I find that the Italian takes on these grapes
are more lean, spicy, and dry than their sweeter teutonic counterparts.
On the red side, I’m a big fan of the teroldego grape, which has
a very small growing range around the low-lying villages of Mezzacorona
and Mezzolombardo. The rocky vineyards in this area, traversed
by a series of Adige tributaries, collect the kind of intense
heat needed to ripen red grapes in this northern latitude, and
in teroldego’s case, the density of extract can be surprising
for a “northern” red. Always plump and purple, teroldego is generally
characterized by soft tannins and a very savory, tarry flavor.
The fruit flavors are very “black,” and if there’s a knock on
teroldego it’s that it can be very “short” on the finish. But
that doesn’t detract too much from the big impact of this funky
Trentino specialty.
Here are two Trentino “standards” from the Babbo list:
Pojer & Sandri Müller Thurgau “Vigna Palai” 2001
Super-perfumed, unusual, steely, minerally, racy…the list goes
on. This is a fun wine with an intensely aromatic, spicy dish
like Mario’s Steamed Cockles in Brodetto with Thai Basil.
Foradori Teroldego Rotaliano 2000
One of the great bargains in the world of wine, not just Italian.
Drinks like a small-scale Bordeaux, with good fruit intensity
but a nice savory, leafy edge. Considerable complexity for thirty
bucks. Have it with the veal kidney wrapped in pancetta.
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To
purchase any of these wines, visit
Italian Wine Merchants online or in
New York City, just off Union Square! |
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