Tre Bicchieri 2024, the 2 best Alto Adige Pinot Bianco wines awarded by Gambero Rosso

In a world like that of wine, in which nothing is repeated in the same way year after year, the production fabric of the province of Bolzano stands out for the awareness with which producers are facing new challenges. Challenges that do not only concern climate change or the sudden volatility of the markets, but above all the management of the territory, the development of its potential and the transition from a production that satisfies customer demands to one that enhances the link between the many grape varieties cultivated and the exposures that best suit them.

This renewed awareness has led smaller wineries to specialise on the vocation of their vineyards, as perfectly evidenced by the city's wineries or the more distant Isarco Valley and, likewise, cooperative structures to reserve the best selections only for the grape varieties that are best suited to their territory.

Tre Bicchieri 2024. The best Pinot Bianco of Alto Adige

Here, we focus on Pinot Bianco, of which we have awarded the Tre Bicchieri to two excellent expressions in Gambero Rosso's Guida Vini d'Italia 2024. The first is the Pinot Bianco Sanct Valentin 2021, from the Cantina Produttori San Michele Appiano, from the best vineyards of Appiano Monte. Smelling of white fruit and flowers, with the delicate nuances of oak only appearing in the background, the palate is a hymn to Alto Adige, made up of vibrant tones and a deep, savoury, harmonious melody. Founded by the will of 27 winegrowers at the beginning of the last century, today the large cooperative in San Michele Appiano can count on the participation of 330 families who lovingly look after a vineyard covering almost 400 hectares. Over the years, viticulture has become increasingly specialised and today each grape variety is cultivated in its place of choice, to provide grapes that in the cellar, under the guidance of Hans Terzer, are transformed into a wide range of labels where the simplest and most straightforward wines are echoed by expressions of close ties with the land.

The second award-winning label is the Pinot Bianco Sirmian 2021 from Nals Margreid, which debuts with a sulphurous note that gives way to more delicate, iridescent aromas, which we find in a dry, snappy sip. Unlike the other cooperatives in the Adige region, which generally cultivate their vineyards mainly within a few kilometres, the via Heiligenberg winery is located in two distinct areas, Nalles to the north-west of the capital and Magrè almost on the border with Trentino. Harald Schraffl thus has at his disposal in the cellar grapes with very different profiles, which he enhances by emphasising their territorial character. At his side is the consolidated and profound experience of Gottfried Pollinger, who manages the company's commercial sector.