Winemaker Notes
Pale golden yellow in the glass with an aromatic, fruity nose. The palate is pleasantly fresh and full-bodied with great structure.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Alto Adige Valle Isarco Kerner is a beautifully intense and fragrant expression of this cross between Schiava and Riesling. You'll immediately appreciate its wonderful bouquet of passion fruit and tangerine zest. Open this wine extra chilled, because those aromas have no problem coming through. This is an extremely linear and clean white that is great for near-term drinking, but I'm unsure how it will evolve more than three or four years down the road.
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James Suckling
Dried pineapple, apple rind and lemon meringue. Full-bodied with good density, but also freshness to counterbalance rich notes of peach pit. Drink now.
A cool-climate variety suited to the highlands of Italy’s Alto Adige, where most of it is now grown, Kerner also thrives in the German regions of Pfalz and Rheinhessen, as well as Austria and Slovenia. Kerner can show a variety of floral notes, as well as green apple, apricot, tangerine, tropical fruit and fresh herb.
A mountainous northern Italian region heavily influenced by German culture, Trentino-Alto Adige is actually made up of two separate but similar regions: Alto Adige and Trentino.
Trentino, the southern half, is primarily Italian-speaking and largely responsible for the production of non-native, international grapes. There is a significant quantity of Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Merlot produced. But Trentino's native and most unique red variety, Teroldego, while still rare, is gaining popularity. It produces a deeply colored red wine rich in wild blackberry, herb, coffee and cocoa.
The rugged terrain of German-speaking Alto Adige (also referred to as Südtirol) focuses on small-scale viticulture, with great value placed on local varieties—though international varieties have been widely planted since the 1800s. Sheltered by the Alps from harsh northerly winds, many of the best vineyards are at extreme altitude but on steep slopes to increase sunlight exposure.
Dominant red varieties include the bold, herbaceous Lagrein and delicate, strawberry-kissed, Schiava, in addition to some Pinot Nero.
The primary white grapes are Pinot grigio, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay and Pinot blanc, as well as smaller plantings of Sauvignon blanc, Müller Thurgau. These tend to be bright and refreshing with crisp acidity and just the right amount of texture. Some of the highest quality Pinot grigio in Italy is made here.