Have you ever heard of Alto Adige?
It is a wine-producing district located in the very northwestern part of Italy that is as unlike the country in about every respect a province could be.
The people, the language, the wine grapes grown, the food and everything else that one can possible imagine or think of is very German. An explanation is needed here. Alto Adige was part of Austria up until World War I, when it was ceded to Italy as part of the reparations for being allied with the winners, much like the Alsace-Lorraine district of France. Here is where a dichotomy comes in.
Being very Germanic, one would imagine that beer would be the beverage of choice, but the citizens of Alto Adige revert to their new national association. It is wine, and because of the amounts consumed there, very little of the district’s wine finds its way into the international marketplace.
We do not wish to intimate that the Alto Adige wines of Elena Walch were smuggled out of the country, but these excellent and interesting wines are beginning to show up in our country and deserve attention.
Elena Walach 2013 Gewurztraminer ($20)
The Elena Walach Gewurztraminer is made from handpicked grapes grown in the high altitude Alpine vineyards of Alto Adige. The cooler temperatures of the district allow the grapes to ripen slowly so they can develop the favors and aromas that separate an average wine from an exceptional one.
The aroma is heavy with the scents of wild summer flowers, spice, banana and a hint of apricot, which continue on to the flavor. The finish is long and heavy with the sensation of summer flowers. This wine can accompany any spicy food and, in particular, full-flavored oriental foods.
Elena Walach 2014 Pinot Grigio ($17)
As with the Gewurztraminer, this wine also is made from high-altitude mountainside vineyards. In this version of the variety, flavor is the name of the game.
The Elena Walach 2014 Pinot Grigio has a pale straw color and an aroma reminiscent of jasmine and orange blossom. These carry over to the flavor, where they merge with nectarine, citrus and fresh melon, which lingers in the mouth long after the wine has been finished. This is an excellent Pinot Grigio and a great accompaniment to a wide variety of foods, especially pork, chicken or mild cheese-based dishes.
Elena Walach 2014 Schiava ($16)
The Schiava grape is little known outside of Germanic countries. It is a novel and interesting variety for a red wine because it more closely resembles a white wine.
Wine made from the Schiava grape are light-bodied, light-colored (not rose color but a bit darker) drinks that display a berry fruit aroma and a raspberry and spice flavor, followed by a fruity, moderately long finish. Because of its Tyrolean ancestry, the Elena Walach 2014 Schiava is the perfect wine to accompany many types of cold cuts and wursts Germanic people love, as well as cheese or bacon-based foods. While it can beautifully accompany the foods usually associated with red wines, it is a wine that will fit well with highly spiced meat dishes that are becoming increasingly popular. To put it simply, the Elena Walach 2014 Schiava is a bratwurst’s best friend.
Nixa resident Bennet Bodenstein is a wine columnist and manages ArticlesOnWine.com. He can be reached at frojhe@suddenlink.net.
