Wines from northern Italy are among my favorites, particularly those from Alto Adige. Kerner, Pinot Grigio, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Sylvaner, Lagrein … those names make me happy. The region is home to some great producers, and the wines they make will always have a home in my collection.
This week was a great one, in part because I opened two bottles from Alto Adige, a 2019 Pinot Bianco ($15 SRP) and a 2019 Pinot Grigio ($16 SRP), both from Alois Lageder’s Terra Alpina line, and both Dolomiti IGT.
The wines produced by Lageder never fail to impress me; they are made well, and they represent great value. (Alois Lageder was founded in 1823, and is led today by the sixth generation of the family.) While we are not at the moment hosting dinner parties, a Lageder bottle or three will certainly be in the mix at our initial pre-Covid gathering.
Lageder works with growers in the Dolomiti to produce wines in its Terra Alpina line, and is encouraging all of them to transition to organic farming . The producer’s estate vineyards are all certified organic and biodynamic.
Back in 2018, in Houston, I spent some time with Alois Clemens Lageder, Alois Lageder’s son. We talked Fußball and Rudolf Steiner, and, of course, wine, three things we both care about. His pride in his family’s history and dedication to the land they own was evident.
I tasted the two Terra Alpina wines on an early evening, slightly chilled. (Here is where I remind you to drink your white wines warmer than you probably do now, and your red wines a bit cooler than you likely do now. Disregard this if you have already heeded my request.)
The winemakers behind both of these wines are Jo Pfisterer, Georg Meissner, and Paola Tenaglia.
The Pinot Bianco is produced from grapes grown in soil containing primarily limestone, with some volcanic (porphyry) content, and the vines are at 300-500 meters. The Pinot Grigio’s soil makeup is the same, and the vines grow at 200-300 meters in elevation. Both spend up to four months on the lees, and are aged in stainless tanks.
We began with the Pinot Grigio; in the glass, it possesses a straw-yellow tone, inviting. Citrus and faint cinnamon aromas are evident, and it sparkles on the tongue. Poached shrimp would be ideal with this wine.
The Pinot Bianco, just as lively as the Pinot Grigio, with which it shares its color profile, offers apple and peach aromas — those notes make one think the wine might perhaps be “sweeter” than it is. It does drink heavier than the Pinot Grigio, has a slightly heftier body. My grocery delivery was full of asparagus, so we paired the Pinot Grigio with some stalks roasted with olive oil and garlic.
Alois Clemens Lageder says that Herman Hesse is his favorite author; Hesse is one of the first writers I gravitated to upon moving to Germany, and I’ll close this with a quote from him; feel free to replace “tree” with “vine”:
A tree says: A kernel is hidden in me, a spark, a thought, I am life from eternal life. The attempt and the risk that the eternal mother took with me is unique, unique the form and veins of my skin, unique the smallest play of leaves in my branches and the smallest scar on my bark. I was made to form and reveal the eternal in my smallest special detail.
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