Trento DOC & Franciacorta

Mention Italian sparkling wines, and one might not necessarily think of Trentino. The connection is certainly there, however, and the land, infertile soils on sun-drenched valley slopes, is well suited to the vine: the cooler climate French varietals, Chardonnay and Pinot Nero in particular, have acclimatized themselves very well, finding the strength to thrive up to elevations of as much as 800 meters. These are mountain grapes, which enjoy the brightness of the sun during the days and experience brisk temperature drops at night that help to bring out finesse and elegance of a sort that is much more difficult to obtain at lower elevations.

Then why isn't Trento a household name, the way Champagne is and Franciacorta is becoming? There are a number of reasons. Foremost is time; the folks in Champagne (whose vineyards rarely exceed 300 meters in elevation) have been at it for centuries, and as a result are well known. The people in Franciacorta instead boast vision, and though their land isn't for the most part as good as Trentino's (in terms of soil or elevation), they are for the most part industrialists with a passion for wine such that they are willing to devote considerable resources to making it, and are also willing to swallow their differences and work together to promote their wines and their region, presenting a unified front (whose importance is difficult to overstate) to the world.

Trento instead has Ferrari, which is large by any standards, a number of cooperative wineries, some of which are quite large, but all of which consist of large numbers of growers with small amounts of land (La Vis, for example, has 1300 members, who farm a total of 1300 hectares), and about 30 small winemakers with 10-15 hectares (25-37 acres), more or less. Three different realities, with different interests and priorities, and until recently the front they provided the world was fragmented.

But they are working to correct this, and for the past few years have held a presentation called Bollicine su Trento in November. I went this year, and was quite impressed. The event includes a stand-up presentation of all the winemakers who make Trento DOC, and here you will find my notes on the wines that impressed me the most (my full writup, with winery visits and more, is here), a mixture of current releases and some older wines that are still available. The current releases are by comparison with Champagne and Franciacorta of equivalent quality less expensive, while the older wines command the prices they command.

You will also find a couple of lighter still whites tasted during winery visits that impressed me, and to finish up six Bollicine from a pair of Franciacorta producers that I very much like. The Trento DOC wines are roughly in the order tasted.

Auguri!