Alto adige wine clip summary february 2014

Date: 2/1/2015 Print Audience: 100,000 Online Audience: 121,000 Page Count: 1/2

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Wine Review Online

Date: 2/19/2015 Online Audience: 36,603,501 Page Count: 1/4

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Wine country travel is often as appealing to die hard wine enthusiasts as it is to destination adventure travelers. Let's face it, wine grapes typically grow in pretty picturesque places, often near lively landscapes brimming with outdoor action. Marrying wine tasting, blending, or foodpairing sessions with heart-pounding cycling, horseback riding, or water sport endeavors can bring a yin-yang-like quality to revitalizing vacation days. Packed for tasting, feasting, or hiking, international wine regions can bring a unique foodie focus to destination travel.

Date: 2/19/2015 Online Audience: 36,603,501 Page Count: 2/4

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Alto Adige , also known as Süd-Tirol ( “South Tirol” ) was part of the Austrian empire until the end of WWI. Today, its Germanic roots run deep and tend to dominate the region’s language, food and wine varietals.

Getting to Alto Adige: The city of Bolzano-Bozen(ItalianGerman names are written side by side for many roads, towns and heritage sites as tribute to the region’s dual heritage) is your best bet for a central city hub to both the lower and upper Alto Adige valley. Italy’s northernmost wine growing region is readily accessible from many Italian or Austrian cities via car or train – scheduled flights into Bolzano are seasonal and limited due to the varied Alpine weather conditions. However, the airport is a great place to pick up a rental car if you opt to take the train into town. By car Bolzano is a 2-3 hour drive from both Milan and Venice, depending on traffic.

Where to Stay in Alto Adige: Bolzano serves as a central base for visiting all avenues of Alto Adige’s wine region. The region itself is fairly compact, easily allowing for visits to several wineries in a day. If your lodging preferences lean towards the predictable, then Bolzano's host of hotels will fit the bill.

However, if you are up for more authenticity and local adventure, then check out the agritourism options (the Italian is “agriturismo”), where working farms or family vineyards open their doors and welcome visitors to their homes and daily culture, on a somewhat seasonal basis. The accommodations can range from basic beds to fancy B&B styled quarters, or complete apartments depending on whose home you are residing in. Typically, this is a cheaper lodging route than a full-blown hotel stay and often meals are provided family-style. TheBolzano tourist office can help you find available hotel or agritourism rooms.

If you would like to consider a family-run wine estate as your Alto Adige starting point, then Weingut Niklas, would be a choice place to start. Located in Kaltern, about 15 km south of Bolzano, Weingut Niklas offers up-close vineyard beauty, as well as majestic alpine views set in a family-friendly atmosphere, all in close proximity to lake Kaltern (“Caldaro” in Italian). Niklas has a good bit of history with a 700-year old cellar and an impressive array of distinctive Alto

Date: 2/19/2015 Online Audience: 36,603,501 Page Count: 3/4

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Adige wines to boot. As for the estate's wines, they craft several savory, apple-dominated Pinot Biancos (“Weissburgunder” in German), with varying degrees of mouth-watering acidity and well-grounded minerality. Also, the 2007 Sauvignon (Blanc) from 35 year old vines, offers solid acidity, with full-fledged floral aromas and flavor nuances of limestone and green bell pepper alongside a citrus cap.

What to Eat and Drink in Alto Adige Since wine and food make fast partners, it’s important to get a grip on the culinary scene that a wine is rooted in. A trip to the Alto Adige region would be woefully incomplete, without a platter of speck, a thinly sliced and spiced, smoked ham (somewhat similar to prosciutto) and either a glass of Lagrein or Schiava, the prevailing local red wine varietals. While Alto Adige’s cuisine is dominated by Austrian influences (rye breads, speck garnered dumplings, strudels and sauerkraut), you’ll still find Italy’s food fingerprints in the hallmark pastas underpinning many traditional Austrian flavors. The power of the region’s Pinot Grigios and the crisp character of the Pinot Biancos make for wines of keen interest, especially when paired with local fare. Gewurztraminers, known for their spicy aromas in general, take on a new level of aromatics (and alcohol) in this alpine region, making for an exceptional example of the varietal’s innate spicy character and bold charisma.

What to See and Do in Alto Adige Alto Adige’s seven wine growing regions are laid out in the rough shape of a “Y” with the upper left fork composed of the Adige Valley and the resort area of Merano. The upper right fork represents the higher elevations and alpine landscape of the Isarco Valley. The “Y’s” midpoint represents Bolzano and the base of the “Y” consists of Alto Adige’s southern regions: Bassa Atesina (home of Tramin, Gewurztraminer’s native soil),Oltradige (key landmark is the lake of Caldaro-Kaltern), and curling off of the northwest fork of the “Y,” like a cursive swirl, is the drier region of Val Venosta, where the vineyards meld into apple orchards and farmland.

Wineries to Visit: Once in Bolzano, you’ll want to grab a rental car for the most efficient option to explore Alto Adige's prized wine country. This majestic, alpine land of wineries and castles hosts its fair share of each. The wine road (“Strada del Vino” or "Weinstrasse" in German) is the main vein for checking out many of Alto Adige’s top wineries. If you plan your time well, you can easily enjoy four or more wineries in a day. Consider starting at the base of the “Y,” with the lower Alto Adige valley and working up. Elena Walch or J. Hofstatter, both located in the town of Tramin (“Termeno” in Italian) bring the town’s hallmark grape, Gewurztraminer, to unbelievable heights in terms of aromatics, intensity and palate profile. These two wine estates are only a stone’s throw away from one another, an undemanding walk through quaint cobblestoned streets allows for a glimpse of the charming village life that cradles both estates.

Wines to try at J. Hofstatter include his Kolbenhof Gewurztraminer and his prestigious Pinot Noir offerings. At Elena Walch, sample “Beyond the Clouds,” a signature Chardonnay blend based on the familiar varietal, but cast in an unfamiliar light amidst several of Alto Adige’s native white grape varietals, resulting in an ultra elegant white wine cuvée. Both Elena Walch and J. Hoftstatter have onsite wine shops and restaurants, for a convenient lunch stop.

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About.com Next, head up the valley, along route S12, tagging northwest along the Adige river towards one of the region’s premier wine cooperatives, Cantina Terlano (a wine “cooperative” is a collection of growers that pool crops and resources together to bottle wines under a collaborative label). Cantina Terlano offers up unbelievable white wines with extraordinary aging potential.

Further up the road (route S38) you’ll come to the resort town and wine country of Merano.

This sparkling city is known for it’s thermal spas, an immaculate river walk that borders both sides of the Passiro river - carving its course through the heart of the city, and the prestigious Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle. The Merano Wine Festival takes place in November and provides an upscale opportunity to tour the Italian wine and culinary scene all under one roof, something to keep in mind if

your travel plans allow for an autumn Alto Adige excursion. A 30-minute drive back down the valley brings you to Tesimo, home ofCastel Katzenzungen, where Europe’s oldest grapevine resides (estimated at 350 years). You can get a combined ticket that will allow you to tour both the Gardens of Trauttmansdorff and Castel Katzenzungen (with a free shuttle service connection between the two sites if needed) for around 30 euros.

If you’ve got a bit more time, navigate up the northeast side of the Alto Adige “Y” (along route S12 again) to the Isarco Valley and check out the region’s northernmost winery,Abbazia di Novacella, a 12th century working abbey. The abbey maintains a thriving viticultural business, with white wines that show intensity and varietal vigor and red wines that showcase broad palate appeal with texture and refinement that maintain a good balance of elegance and approachability. Try the 2007 Pinot Grigio for fresh cut floral notes and palate power dominated by juicy citrus tones and granny smith apple. Or savor the crisp, balanced profile of Abbazia di Novacella’s Sylvaner, in either the classic or Praepositus line.

Castles, Iceman, Hiking and Skiing: There are plenty of sites to see and trails to scour beyond the charming vineyards and ample apple orchards of Alto Adige (the region produces 30% of Italy’s apples, including such familiar favorites as Gala, Braeburn and Granny Smith).

With over 75 castles guarding the area, Ötzi the 5000+ year old ice man well-preserved at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, and plenty of alpine hiking or skiing options (depending on the season), Alto Adige is a "must-see," treasured gem in Italy's viticultural and travel landscape.

Date: 2/24/2015 Print Audience: 439,731 Online Audience: 20,500,550 Page Count: 1/3

Chicago Tribune

When I ponder pairing wine and food, looking for the right match of liquid and larder, I picture myself standing in an elevator lobby of a very large, rather tall building.

All the food in the world is in that building, all the many bases of different animal or aquatic protein, all the globe's vegetables and starches, and all the various preparations that cooks work those with: Asian salt and heat, American char and sugar, Italian and French fats and fancies. Every permutation possible, food for a Jain vegan to an eater of bison tartare, all in one big, tall building.

Date: 2/24/2015 Print Audience: 439,731 Online Audience: 20,500,550 Page Count: 2/3

Chicago Tribune

On the first floor of the building are eats such as unadorned tofu or chicken tenders poached in water. On the top floor, whichever the number (it doesn't matter), is live bear. All else is in between.

What I want to do is taste and enjoy as many of the world's foods and their preparations with as many different kinds of wines as would marry them well. So I look for the sweep of the elevator's controls, as in those old-fashioned arrow pointers that fanned over the floor numbers as the car went up or down.

The best wines for me to choose are those that can handle a ride to as many floors as possible. The least useful are those that niche themselves onto only one or two floors. For the first floor, a lot of Italian pinot grigio works. For the live bear, a head-banging 17 percent alcohol California red will do.

Either wine fits with only a few foods; they work well there, but there only.

To speak about just red wines here, the more flexible are what we can call "the lighter reds," those easy of tannin, moderate of alcohol, medium-weight in body and less extracted of fruit and phenol.

Such red wines taste delicious with white, pink and many red meats, with mild and spicy foods, with vegetable-based preparations and a raft of cheeses.

Well-made pinot noir is such a wine, whether from its kingdom of Burgundy or as it appears in most all winemaking countries. The 2011 Friedrich Becker Family Pinot Noir, Pfalz, Germany ($19), comes to mind, with its softly rendered cherrylike fruit; so does the 2013 Erath Winery Pinot Noir, Oregon ($17), light on the tongue but headily scented.

From Trentino in northern Italy, the 2014 Cantina Terlan Blauburgunder (pinot noir's name up there) brings aromas of burnt hay and char to pinot's red fruit base and is but a delicious $15 to boot. And the spicy, nervy 2010 Clos des Fous Pinot Noir Latuffa, Traiguen, Chile ($35), well captures the wet black rock aromas to which its name alludes. It's terrific South American pinot.

But there is a world of lighter red beyond pinot noir too. Try good cru Beaujolais for example, such as the lively 2012 Daniel Bouland Chiroubles, Burgundy, France ($27), made from organic grapes in the low yield, old school method to capture the juicy fruit of its gamay grapes. From Italy's central region of Tuscany, a river of medium-bodied, refreshing Chianti Classico flows, such as the 2012 Collazzi Chianti Classico I Bastioni, Tuscany, Italy ($19), like drinking cool well water flavored with Bing cherry.

Date: 2/24/2015 Print Audience: 439,731 Online Audience: 20,500,550 Page Count: 3/3

Chicago Tribune

In northern Spain, they make one of the world's great lighter reds from the tempranillo grape (sometimes with ancillary grapes of mazuelo and graciano, but just for flavor and texture notes) in the Rioja district. One such is the 2008 Beronia Rioja Tinto Reserva, Rioja, Spain ($20), bringing to the table its many layers of flavor and aroma, and its elegant texture on the tongue.

Notice something going on with these wines? They are, by and large, from cooler climates that do not ripen red grapes into sporting boorish fruit, thick tannins and potentially high alcohol.

So, back to northern Italy for the 2013 Kellerei Kaltern Vernatsch/Schiava Campaner, TrentinoAlto Adige ($20), and the 2012 Elena Walch Schiava, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy ($13), both intensively fruity and snappily acidic (the dual name on the Kellerei Kaltern is its moniker in both German and Italian, the two languages of Trentino).

Or have a go in a lighter textured red with the 2012 Brezza San Lorenzo Dolcetto d'Alba, Piedmont, Italy ($24), and its plush, plump body, highly scented red fruit and zippy finish.

Experiment with some of the newer ways with Emilia-Romagna's great light red in the NV Cleto Chiarli Lambrusco di Sorbara Vecchia Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy ($15-$17), and its flavors of strawberry and red cherry ever so slightly sweet and lightly fizzed.

The 2013 J. Lohr Valdiguie Wildflower, Monterey, California ($12), approaches the Lambrusco's lifted fruit, but is drier, not at all bubbly and chin-dripping juicy. Valdiguie is an obscure red grape that J. Lohr has revived as a red wine and gets some applause for doing so.

Keep in mind that it's the globe's lighter reds that will put your palate in good stead with as wide a range of foods as you wish to tolerate and enjoy.

If your wine store does not carry these wines, ask for one similar in style and price.

Date: 2/26/2015 Print Audience: 186,537 Online Audience: 277,160 Page Count: 1/1

Wine Enthusiast

Italy has long bewitched American wine drinkers with its iconic collectibles, such as Barolo, Amarone, Bolgheri,Brunello and palatepleasing favorites like Prosecco.

But the modern face of Italian wine goes beyond the storied pours that have made the country famous. Look to emerging regions like Etna in Sicily, Franciacorta in Lombardyand Alto Adige in the north for some of the country’s most eclectic, terroir-driven flavors.

From spirited Nero d’Avola to crisp and clean MüllerThurgau to the refined bubbles of metodo classico wines, Italy’s current pantheon of soon-to-be-stars has moved beyond the wines that sommeliers stockpile for their own tables, and onto the mainstream market. Food-friendly and affordable, these are the wines that you should seek out now, either for cellaring or drinking every day.

Four distinctive regions of Sicily are the focus of Italian Editor Kerin O’Keefe’s article. Italy’s biggest island is fast becoming the country’s most buzzed-about wine region, with elegant options from Etna, Faro, Vittoria and Noto making serious waves. Heading north, O’Keefe takes wine and food lovers on an eye-popping tour of the incomparable Cinque Terre region.

Moving beyond Italy but keeping the theme of discovery, Contributing Editor Anna Lee C. Iijima profiles the Rheinhessen mavericks who are crafting expressive, dry wines that represent a new era for Germany.

Also in the issue: Asian-inspired cocktails add exotic flair to your home bar, while a small plate—or meze—feast, assembled by Lifestyle and Entertaining Editors Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen, offers classic Mediterranean wine-and-food pairings.