TrentinoAltoadige Flashcards
1
Q
Trentino types of wine produced, quality, price, types of producers, and level of production
A
- Trentino typically produces mainly white wines (unoaked, fresh, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and Müller-Thurgau) as well as red wines from Teroldego, Merlot and Marzemino that are good to very good in quality and inexpensive to mid-priced.
- A few producers’ wines are very good to outstanding in quality and are in the premium to super-premium range.
2
Q
Trentino Co-Ops and production levels
A
- Just over 80 per cent of the wines are produced by co-operatives.
- Production levels over the last ten years have remained broadly stable.
3
Q
Trentino Climate
A
- Trentino has a moderate, continental climate but with cooling influences
- Daytime summer temperatures can be high due to the mountains providing protection from cold north winds, the moderating presence of Lake Garda to the south and heat building up on the valley floor during the growing season.
- However, there are large day/night temperature differences due to cold air descending from the mountains at night. The cold nights enable grapes to retain acidity and prolong the growing season, allowing flavours to intensify.
4
Q
Trentino Grape Growing
A
Vineyards on higher and steeper slopes require working by hand, including harvesting.
5
Q
Trentino percentage of white/black grapes and max yields
A
- Overall, approximately 75 per cent of the vineyard area is planted with white grapes and 25 per cent with black.
- Maximum yields are high: dependent on variety, whites are around a maximum of 100 hL/ha, reds around 90 hL/ha.
6
Q
Trentino International Grape Varieties
A
- Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Müller- Thurgau, Pinot Bianco, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Gewurztraminer
- Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir in red.
7
Q
Trentino local grape varieties, style, quality, and price
A
- Teroldego (black cherry), Marzemino (red cherry) and Lagrein (red cherry and black plum), are all closely related to each other.
- They are all vigorous, mid- to late-ripening varieties making deeply coloured, medium tannin wines.
- They are mostly good to very good in quality and inexpensive to mid-priced.
8
Q
Teroldego
A
- Historically it was trained on pergolas for high yields. Quality minded growers now are also using Guyot.
- Suffer from drying out of stems but is less susceptible to mildews than the other two varieties.
- The best clones are 145 and 152 for intense aromas.
- The best quality wines come from the Teroldego Rotaliano DOC on sandy and gravelly soils in the far north of Trentino.
9
Q
Marzemino
A
- prone to botrytis bunch rot and powdery mildew
- Older vines were usually trained on pergolas; newer lower-yielding clones have been trained as spurred cordons.
- The best, ripest, wines come from the Ziresi subzone of the Trentino DOC due to full sun exposure and rich calcareous/clay and basalt soils.
10
Q
Lagrein
A
- This variety needs a warm site with plenty of sunshine to ripen fully.
- It can be subject to poor fruit set and thus low yields.
- Bitterness and some harshness on the finish is being addressed by shorter maceration times and oak ageing.
- Because of its deep colour, the variety is also used for rosés.
- The wines can be labelled in either Italian or German as ‘red’ and ‘rosé’: Lagrein rubino/dunkel and Lagrein rosato/kretzer.
11
Q
Moscato Rosa
A
- This variety is a member of the Moscato family and is made into rose-scented sweet wines.
- Poor fruit set and susceptibility to botrytis bunch rot make it difficult to grow successfully.
- The wines are made either by the appassimento method or by picking late harvest fruit.
- The wines are premium priced.
12
Q
Nosiola
A
- The white variety Nosiola is grown in the Valley of the Lakes, the warmest area with a sub-continental climate
- It produces a small volume of distinctive white wines with a light hazelnut flavour.
- It is also made in a semi-dried fruit version, called Vino Santo (not Vin Santo). The hazelnut flavour is from the fruit, not from oak.
- It is vulnerable to spring frosts, powdery mildew and sour rot. The dry wine is mid-priced, the Vino Santo premium priced.
13
Q
Trentino Winemaking white wine
A
- The great majority of white wines are made by soft pressing of the grapes and fermenting the juice in stainless steel vessels at low temperatures (12–16°C/54–61°F) to retain primary fruit character.
- They may be briefly aged on the lees and released promptly for their fruitiness.
- Some top whites may be aged in small oak barrels, a small proportion being new, for an added layer of vanilla and spice notes.
14
Q
Trentino red winemaking
A
- Most are again made to be fresh and fruity in style
with medium level of tannins and medium body. - This is achieved by maceration on the skins during alcoholic fermentation (5–7 days) and moderate fermentation temperatures (17– 20°C /63–68°F). They are briefly aged in stainless steel or old, neutral wooden casks.
- By contrast, a minority of premium reds go through a period of maceration after alcoholic fermentation (additional 7–14 days) and warm fermentation temperatures (26–32°C/79–90°F).
- These wines will typically be aged in small oak barrels with a small proportion of new oak.
- These wines have medium (+) to intense fruit flavours and an additional layer of vanilla and sweet spice oak.
15
Q
Trentino Wine Law
A
- Trentino DOC allows wine to be made from many varieties, international and local. They can be:
- Bianco (minimum 80 per cent Chardonnay and/or Pinot Bianco)
- Rosso (single variety or blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Carmenère and Merlot)
- Single variety wines, minimum 85 per cent of the named variety
- Two variety blends from shorter lists of varieties. For example, for white wines, 50–75 per cent of one of Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc plus the remainder of one of these named varieties.
- Rosé, also called Rosato or Kretzer.
- In addition, there are DOCs for the sweet wines.
