Paula Maia's Wine blog

Ciao Bolzano! or should I say Halo Bozen?

Bolzano or Bozen is one of the two provinces that make up the region of Trentino-Alto Adige, in the northernmost part of Italy. Südtirol as it is known in German, has a long history. The south of the region around the city of Trento has always been Italian, while Alto Adige, in the north around Bolzano, was once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Since 1918 the whole region has been officially Italian, but 75% of the population still speaks German.

Alto Adige is mostly in the Alps, where only 15% of the land is suitable for cultivation. Wine-making is limited and challenging, and yet, it is the region that exports the highest proportion of its production. Such conditions reflect in the price, but the quality is generally worth it. The style is usually light, dry and high in acidity, with varietal labels of native and international varieties.

On the southern counterpart, Trentino is a major source of commercial Pinot Grigio from much less challenging slopes. Both regions also produce small amounts of reds from local black grapes. On our way to the Veneto we had lunch in Bolzano, or Bozen, in a nice traditional ristorante. It was my first time in Italy, but it didn’t feel like it until we crossed Trento.

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Summer in Brazil is what any normal human being dreams of. Lucky for me, I can always go home in the summer and experience household names such as Carnival, Ipanema, Caipirinha, Samba, and much more. More happens to be WINE, of course. Brazil has been making wine since the 1600′s and is now a solid producer of beautiful Sparkling wines. One of the most important wine region in Brazil is the Vale dos Vinhedos, in Bento Goncalves, located less than 200km north of Porto Alegre.

Settled around 1875 by Italian immigrants who came mostly from the Trento and the Veneto regions, the valley has a range of features that distinguishes it from all the other regions. Up in the mountains, it is surrounded by the towns of Bento Gonçalves – Brazilian Capital of Wine, Garibaldi – National Capital of Sparkling Wine and Monte Belo do Sul, known for its  stunning natural landscape that changes in each season.

We spent a long weekend visiting the most prominent wineries of the valley, including Miolo, Casa Valduga and the prestigious, but small, Cave de Amadeu. On my next posts I will feature these wineries alone, while here I am posting impressions of the valley in general and other places of interest we visited in the area.

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