Alto Adige

There is a region in Italy where vineyards grow at impossible altitudes, where vines climb Dolomite slopes at 900 metres, where the same bottle carries its name in two languages — Italian and German — because neither alone is sufficient to tell the story of this extraordinary borderland. It is called Alto Adige. In German, Südtirol.

The red wines of Alto Adige are among the most underrated in Italy — and among the most fascinating for those who know them. The reason is simple: in a region that produces Pinot Grigio and Gewürztraminer known worldwide, the reds remain a discovery reserved for serious enthusiasts. Yet it is precisely here that Lagrein — an ancient indigenous Alto Adige variety cultivated around Bolzano for centuries — produces wines of a depth and personality found nowhere else. And here that Pinot Noir reaches some of its most elegant and vertical expressions in Italy, thanks to the day-to-night temperature swings that only the Alps can guarantee.

The secret of Alto Adige red wines is the balance between opposites — the power of the Mediterranean sun that rises from the Po Valley and the Alpine freshness that descends from the Dolomite peaks, complete phenolic ripeness and lively natural acidity, aromatic concentration and structural lightness. The result is elegant, precise wines with refined tannins and a freshness that makes them both immediately drinkable and genuinely long-lived.

Emporio Divino selects the red wines of Alto Adige from the artisan producers who best interpret this unique territory — those who bring into the glass not just a wine, but a landscape, a culture and a borderland history that has no equal in Italy.