Alto adige wine clip summary march 2015

Date: 3/1/2015 Print Audience: 952,788 Online Audience: 4,200,151 Page Count: 1/1

Food & Wine

Date: 3/1/2015 Print Audience: 952,788 Online Audience: 4,200,151 Page Count: 1/1

Food & Wine

Date: 3/5/2015 Online Audience: 239,855,970 Page Count: 1/1

Marketwired

Date: 3/20/2015 Online Circulation: 595,751 Page Count: 1/1

The Daily Meal

Each year, as March approaches April, the “terroir” that is our brain tells us it’s time to rethink our eating and drinking habits. We won’t need to accumulate any more body fat to help us make it through long, cold nights, nor do we need to fuel our souls with hearty red wines of a certain alcohol. We are given the signal to “lighten up.”

For wine drinkers, that means we crave more zest and less zoom. While we want fruitiness to dance across our palate, we also want some acidity, a touch of bitterness, something undefinable called “minerality,” and lots of prickly spiciness to keep us excited. That generally means white wines that are not weighted down by oak or an unctuous body, but are instead, as the French say, “fresh” in their crispness and lightness. It also means drinking more sparkling wines and tart rosés (the veal to red wine’s beef). But it doesn’t mean we have to give up reds, just that we need to scrape away their tannins and high alcohols.

Are we ready to drink? Here is a case of spring wine, ready for your consideration (prices may vary from location to location).

Date: 3/23/2015 Online Circulation: 595,751 Page Count: 1/1

The Daily Meal

Opening a bottle of white wine from Marco Felluga or Alois Lageder is always like welcoming an old friend to the table — and in a way, that’s just what it is, as I have reviewed dozens of bottles from each and have visited both of their wineries in Italy.

Felluga is located in the Collio region, not far from the Adriatic and next door to Slovenia.

Lageder is a bit more inland, resting in the foothills of the Dolomite mountains in Alto Adige.

One thing that both have in common is the friendly fruitiness of their wines, which is paired with great freshness and acidity that makes them both so food-compatible.

Here are seven from the most recent vintages available: Tenutae Lageder “Porer” Alto Adige pinot grigio 2013 ($25). Lively and lean with good apple flavors and lots of savory dried spiciness. Quite nice and should appeal to gin lovers.

Alois Lageder “Haberle” Alto Adige pinot bianco 2013 ($23). Creamy and floral, full-bodied, although with enough acidity for a crisp finish with some apple peel spiciness.

Date: 3/25/2015 Print Circulation: 301,494 Online Circulation: 10,221,631 Page Count: 1/2

Star Tribune

It makes perfect sense that one of Italy’s smallest regions produces some of its most distinctive wines.

After all, Alto Adige is where Alpine slopes meet a Mediterranean climate, providing the combination of warm, sunny days and cool nights that grapes love. It also plays host to two cultures — Alto Adige was annexed from Austria after World War I, and many residents still speak only German — and so its vintners often display a marvelous mashup of Italian passion and German precision.

“The incidence of good wine goes up when boiled wool is involved,” quipped Annette Peters, whose Eagan-based Bourget Imports brings in wines from three Alto Adige houses.

An indication of how high the quality is in that northeastern Italian region is that a co-op, Terlano, makes fabulous wines in the kind of operation that in most other areas is a dumping ground for lesser grapes.

A strong argument could be made that there are no “lesser grapes” coming out of Alto Adige vineyards: A full 98 percent of Alto Adige wineries have earned the designation DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata), which basically guarantees the geographic authenticity and quality of the wine. That’s by far the highest percentage of any Italian region.

Not surprisingly, this area has a storied history, and not just because it serves as the primary gateway through the Alps between Italy and the rest of Europe. Wine grapes were grown as far back as the 5th century B.C., hundreds of years before Hannibal marched through with his elephants to take on the Romans. According to perhaps the world’s first wine writer, Pliny the Elder, the local folks taught the Romans how to store and transport wine in barrels.

With 300 days a year of sunshine and major temperature swings (the nights are decidedly colder, allowing the grapes to “rest”), Alto Adige vineyards tumble up and down the Alpine foothills, growing as much as 3,300 feet above sea level. Steep slopes mean painstaking work, but also allow for great hands-on care in the vineyard: Many sites are farmed sustainably, organically and/or biodynamically.

Date: 3/25/2015 Print Circulation: 301,494 Online Circulation: 10,221,631 Page Count: 2/2

Star Tribune

“We always emphasize quality rather than quantity,” said Alois Lageder during a Twin Cities visit a few years ago. His winery of the same name uses biodynamic practices.

The wines, especially the whites, evoke the minerality of the rocky terrain and the crispness of the mountain air, sharing those traits with another Alpine region that has a mixed ethnic heritage, France’s Alsace. Alto Adige’s pinot biancos and pinot gris vie with Alsace’s as some of the world’s best renditions. These wines also possess a pure-as-the-driven-snow expressiveness that embodies their homeland.

No wonder Alto Adige’s white wines have been finding an increasing foothold in the Twin Cities, especially in restaurants, where their pairing versatility comes to the fore.

Other white grapes that find great expression in Alto Adige are chardonnay, kerner, sylvaner, Müller-Thurgau and gewürztraminer, which originated there in the town of Traminer. In recent years, the prices of many of these have dropped into the $15 to $24 “sweet spot,” providing outsized character for the money.

But 40 percent of Alto Adige’s output is red, and those are just beginning to find a spot on local shelves and lists. Lagrein has relatively high acidity but also nice darker fruit flavors, earthy/herby/peppery notes and a velvety finish; those who enjoy barbera from Italy’s Piedmont region should be pouncing on the stuff. Schiava and teroldego are other indigenous red grapes that are popping up here and worth seeking out.

Thanks to the efforts of Twin Cities importers and distributors, more brands than ever are available from this pristine wonderland. Some worth seeking out include Cantina Bolzano/Santa Magdalena, Terlan/Terlano, Bolzano, Alois Lageder, J. Hoffstatter, Dipinti, Abbazia di Novacella and the formidable Foradori.

One odd note: Because of the region’s Austrian roots, many of the labels bear the area’s former name, Sudtirol, in addition to or even in place of “Alto Adige.”

Either way, consumers can be assured of high quality.

Follow Bill Ward on Twitter: @billward4

Date: 3/26/2015 Online Audience: 283,395 Page Count: 1/2

D Magazine Side Dish

This is National Women’s History Month so we’re celebrating women of the vine, their stellar wines, and tenacious spirit. Here are a few special wines made by dynamic women all over the world. A few samples were sent for editorial consideration.

Originally an architect by trade, Elena Walch met her husband, Werner Walch of the prestigious Wilhelm Walch winery, when he hired her to restore the family’s 17th Century Renaissance castle, Castel Ringberg, in Alto Adige in the early 1980’s. As they fell in love, she also fell in love with wine, eventually deciding to leave her work as an architect and get into the wine business. Instead of entering into her husband’s business, she did it on her own.

Date: 3/26/2015 Online Audience: 283,395 Page Count: 2/2

D Magazine Side Dish

Though, of course, she received great support from her husband, but with her own vision and determination created her Elena Walch Winery. Though an outsider and new to the industry, she gained the trust of her vineyard workers, bringing them on board with her vision for what the winery could be, while imparting her deep passion and ideas within them. Taking the time to develop her style, while ensuring her wine was of the highest quality, led her to release her first vintage in 1988. Since that time the winery has become one of the most respected in the region, producing aromatic whites and balanced reds. Her Gewßrztraminer, Pinot Bianco and Pinot Grigio are mineral driven, high acid wines with layer upon layer of floral, melon, tropical fruit and citrus notes melding with crushed stone and herbal characteristics, clearly telling the story of their high elevation soils. Today both of Elena’s daughters are a part of their mother’s business, each joining the winery after studying abroad, continuing the prominence of strong women in the industry.