Trentino Flashcards
The growing environment
Moderate continental climate but with cooling influences.
Daytime summer temps can be high as the mountains protect from northern winds, the moderating presence of Lake Garda in the south and heat building up on the valley floor during the growing season.
Large diurnal ranges due to cold air descending from the mountain at night. This enables retention of acidity and prolongs the growing season allowing flavors to intensify.
Grapes
Pinot Grigio: 31% Chardonnay: 27% Muller Thugau: 10% Teroldego: 7% Merlot: 5% Marzemino: 3%
75% white / 25% Black
Trentino DOC allows for 10 white and 9 black varieties to be bottled as single varietal wines.
Pino Bianco, Riesling, Sauv Blanc, Gewurz, Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Pinot Noir in addition to above.
Winemaking
Max yields are high at 100 hl/ha white and 90 for red
Whites: soft pressing, fermenting in stainless at low temps (12 - 16) to preserve primary fruit. May be briefly aged on lees and released early. Some top may be aged in small oak barrels with a proportion new for vanilla / spice.
Red two styles: Most fresh and fruity in style with med tannin and body; 5-7 days maceration on skin, moderate fermentation temps (17 - 20), brief aging in stainless or neutral wood. Minority of premium wines 7 - 14 days maceration, and warm fermentation temps (26 - 32). Aged in small oak barrels with a proportion of new. med plus to intense fruit and vanilla / spice from oak.
Local Varieties
Three varieties are closely related to each other. All vigorous, mid to late ripening, making deeply colored, med tannin wines. Good to very good inexpensive to mid.
Teroldego: Most common black variety. Historically pergola trained for high yields, quality now use Guyot. Can suffer from drying of stems, but less susceptible to mildew than the other two. Clones 145 and 152 are best for intense aroma. Best from Teroldego Rotaliano DOC on sandy gravelly soils in the north. Outside of this DOC it cannot be bottled as Trentino DOC but as Vini delle Dolomiti IGT (which is for wines from both Trentino & Alto Adige)
Marzemino: prone to botrytis bunch rot and powdery mildew. Older vines are pergola trained with new lower yielding clones cordon and spur. The best come from the Ziresi sub zone due to full sun exposure and rich calcareous basalt soils.
Lagrein: Needs a warm site with plenty of sun to ripen. can be subject to poor fruit set and hence low yields. Bitterness and harshness on the finish being addressed by shorter maceration and oak aging. Deep color so also used for roses. Labelled in either German or Italian as red and rose: Lagrein rubino / dunkel and Lagrein rosato / kretzer
Moscato Rosa: Member of the Moscato family and used for rose scented sweet wines. Poor fruit set and susceptibility to botrtytis bunch rot make it hard to grow reliably. Made via the appassimento method or by picking late harvest. Premium.
Nosiola: white variety grown in the Valley of the Lakes. Warmest area with sub continental climate. Small vol of hazelnut flavored wines. Also made in a semi dried style called vino santo. Vulnerable to spring frost, powdery mildew, sour rot
Laws & Regulations
Trentino DOC allows for a wide range of grapes:
Bianco: Min 80% Chard and / or Pinot Bianco
Rosso: single variety or blend of Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Carmenere, Merlot
Single Variety: min 85%
Two variety blends: from shorter list of varieties. for white: 50 - 75% Chard, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio, or Sauv Blanc plus remainder one of these
Rose: also called Rosato or Kretzer
Also DOC’s for sweet wines.
Some important sub zones can be on the label like Val di Cembra
Business
Avg holding of 1.2ha
Coops and merchants are very imp
Coops are more than 80% of production with Cavit 60% alone.
Small estates are only 10% of production
Trentino DOC allows for the most common varieties
Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT for others
Many high quality don’t use the Trentino DOC as the rep isn’t good (high max yields of 100/90)
