Any great whites from Alto Adige?

Our Zoom group decided to do this next week. Looking for good and widely available. Is Pinot Grigio best bet? Budget $10-70. Thanks

Alcide De Gasperi?
Cesare Battisti?



Sorry, couldn’t help myself.

Alto Adige is a wonderful place for whites - Aside from these higher profile whites listed, I really like the whites from the Cantina Tramin as well (I had a Macon-like Chardonnay last year that was just gorgeous) -

Hoffstatter Gewurztraminer -
Tiefenbrunner Muller Thurgau
Cantina Terlan Pinot Bianco
Abbazia di Novacella Kerner

Terlan Vorberg is fantastic and usually reasonably available

Foradori Fontanasanta Manzoni Bianco with 4 or 5 years on it is a good bottle. I wouldn’t say “great” though.

+1 on the Terlan Vorberg (and their Sauvignon Winkl, too). The wines on Thomas’ list are pretty solid, IME.

And the Elena Walch “Beyond the Clouds” has always shown well for me.

Terlan Vorberg
Terlan Winkl
Novacella Kerner

Those are my favorites that I’ve had. Even though some Alto Adige PGs are actually pretty good, none that I’ve tried are in the same league as these, or are even anything I’d care to buy.

Nals Magreid Sirmian Pinot Bianco is in my rotation…I don’t know if it qualifies as great but I like it a lot.
fred

Specifically, the Tiefenbrunner Feldmarschall M-T and the Terlan PB Vorberg not the intro levels from those wineries.

Pinot Grigio can be good, but wouldn’r be my first choice. If you are determined to only do one variety, pinot bianco or gewürz would be the way to go.

Yup… Ton of great whites from the AA.
My go-to source for great GWT. Cantina Tramin is one. The whites of ElisabettaForadori. Even the PG can be great. GrunerVeltliner & Riesling as well.
Just can’t go wrong there.
Tom

I like that but prefer Punggl (Pinot Grigio) it’s excellent.

Terlan Gewürz is good also. A nice counterpoint to Alsacian Gewirz

Like Manni Nossing’s Gruner, Kerner, and Muller.

This. The 2017 Terlan Vorberg pinot bianco riserva was excellent

If you want a red the 2019 Erste+Neue Kellerei Lagrein is very tasty.

The joy of these wines is that basic $10 whites, especially Savoie on the French side, are fabulous. Garagiste kills it in this department.

Been years since I had BtC but remember it being wonderful and hope to see it again

Not Pinot Grigio, most of them are quite uninteresting there.

Pinot Blanc, on the other hand, is a variety that gets probably its best expression in Alto Adige. Cantina Terlan’s Vorberg is not only the best Pinot Blanc in Italy, but possibly in the world, and also one of the greatest whites from all Italy. Although the wine calls for 20 years of aging before it really shows what it’s about, it’s pretty impressive in its youth as well.

Nals Margreid’s Sirmian is a good alternative is Vorberg is not available. Not as exceptional, but very close.

They used to make some excellent Gewurztraminers there, but climate change hasn’t been beneficial for the variety. Alto Adige is like a hot cauldron where the air doesn’t move and there are no clouds to temper down the temperature, so nowadays many Gewurztraminers clock in at 15 to 15,5% abv, since they prefer bone-dry Gewurztraminers there. I haven’t been particularly impressed by the Gewurztraminers of late.

Not sure about “great” (probably means different things to different people), but I’d say there are very many really, really good whites being made in AA. Generally, I find some of the Kerners really special and different (notably Manni Noessing, also Neustift, Koefererhof etc.), a lot of very good SB (those made by Gumphof probably my favourites on the whole), Pinot Bianco (those already mentioned, with Vorberg as the obvious stand-out, but others as well), even some very good Riesling (Val Venosta, Juval probably the leading producer), Silvaner and GV (mostly in the Valle d’Isarco), or the occasional Chardonnay (Hartmann Dona’). Also, a number of other unusual, exotic, if you like, propositions (Heinrich Mayr’s Blatterle springs to mind, as does St Quirinus’ Planties…).Moreover, one of Italy’s foremost sparkling wine specialists (Arunda). In one word, lots to explore, really depends on what you’re after. On a related note, I fully agree with Otto that AA Gewurztraminers are generally not particularly successful (a bit less, perhaps, on the very broad brushstroke on AA as an infernal cauldron with no airflow at all . )

They were actually from Trentino…