Cantina Alpina

About

Winemaker: Emilio Zierock
Vineyards: Various vineyard sites in the Campo Rotaliano, Brentonico, and the Trento hills.
Vineyard management: Certified Biodynamic
Soils: Alluvial soils for Teroldego, alluvial soils and gravel deriving from Dolomitic rocks for Pinot Grigio, Calcareous clay for Nosiola and Manzoni, and volcanic soils for Schiava
Grapes grown: Teroldego, Pinot Grigio, Nosiola, Manzoni Bianco, Schiava
Annual production: 600 bottles

Quick facts:

• Cantina Alpina is a project by two friends seeking to make an “out of the ordinary” rosé wine from biodynamic fruit grown in the Dolomites.

Cantina Alpina was born out of a shared passion for unusual and complex pink wines. Exemplaires such as Valentini Cerasuolo, Foti Vinudilice, Beudon Schiller, and Magnon Metisse informed the direction and set the standard for the project. The search for an appropriate place to make a qualitative and unique rosato took the founders of this project to the Dolomites. Using fruit sourced from vineyards employing ecologically considerate practices, they set out to craft an homage to their role models in the context of the unique grape varieties and soils of the Trentino hills and the Campo Rotaliano.

The blend changes depending on the conditions of the vintage, but is generally based on a combination of Teroldego and Schiava, two indigenous red grapes of the region. To these they add some white grapes which may include Manzoni Bianco, Pinot Grigio, and Nosiola. Fermentation occurs separately in a combination of steel, old oak, acacia, concrete, and clay with various times on the skins. Usually the whites spend the longest period on the skins and the reds the briefest. They use very little SO2, usually at bottling, but occasionally after the malolactic conversion depending on the volatile acidity and bacterial interplay of the individual vessels. Usually bottled in the late spring after harvest without filtration and released for sale in mid-Summer in the United States.