Kerner -Tauber

The Kerner DOC by Tauber is one of those wines that immediately explains why Emporio Divino is a different kind of wine shop — not the usual north-eastern whites, not mass-market Pinot Grigio, not international Chardonnay, but a Kerner from Alto Adige from a small artisan producer that makes 3,500 bottles per year and that you will rarely find outside the province of Bolzano.

Kerner is an aromatic variety of Tyrolean origin — a crossing of Schiava (Trollinger) and Rhine Riesling created in mid-twentieth century Germany and then enthusiastically adopted by Alto Adige winemakers, where it found in the Dolomite valleys and north-westerly exposed plateaux an ideal terroir. The name recalls the German poet and physician Justinus Kerner — a tribute to the Tyrolean cultural tradition that permeates this variety and these wines. In Alto Adige, Kerner has developed its own distinct personality compared to German versions — fresher, more mineral, with an aromatic complexity that recalls Riesling but with an Alpine structure and sapidity that German Riesling rarely achieves.

Tauber is a small artisan Alto Adige winery that works the Kerner with absolute respect for the variety and the territory — 6 months of stainless steel ageing to preserve all the varietal aromatic complexity, 2 months in bottle before release. The stainless steel choice is the right one for young Kerner — any wood contact would cover the delicate and complex aromas of this variety that in the glass speaks directly of the Dolomites and the Alpine microclimate from which it comes.

On the nose it is aromatic and fascinating — completely different from any Venetian or Tuscan white in the catalogue: intense white flowers (geranium, white rose, jasmine), white peach and apricot, fine citrus (lemon, lime), Alpine herbs (mountain thyme, chives), light spice (white pepper, ginger) and a delicate fresh and petrolly minerality that recalls great Alsatian Riesling but with a more direct and fresh Alpine imprint. On the palate it is balanced and precise — a well-calibrated fresh acidity, a persistent mineral salinity, a light and fluid texture and a long aromatic finish with notes of white fruit and Alpine spice. Serve at 11°C. A white that surprises those who don't know it and satisfies those who seek it.

At €19 for a 100% Kerner from a small Alto Adige producer with 3,500 bottles, this is one of the most original and sought-after Italian whites in the entire Emporio Divino catalogue.