One of the best-kept secrets in the wine world has to be Alto Adige in northeast Italy. For one thing, it’s relatively remote, lying a few hours north of both Venice and Milan. For another, it’s one of Italy’s smallest wine regions, with just under 15,000 acres of vineyards — compare that with more than 240,000 acres in Sicily, Italy’s largest.
And yet, the mountainous Alto Adige (also known as Südtirol or South Tyrol), which borders Austria and where German is the dominant language, produces a wide range of outstanding wines that will appeal to many palates. I’ve written about the region’s Pinot Noirs, which should be on any Pinot lover’s radar. But that grape only begins to tell the story, as I was reminded over several days at the 2025 Alto Adige Wine Summit earlier this month.
One of the defining things about Alto Adige, its winemakers will tell you, is that it has the terroir and the climate for all kinds of grapes to thrive. That makes sense given that its vineyards are found everywhere from around 600 to 3,000 feet high, which means that the region has both a Mediterranean climate at the lower elevations and an Alpine climate where the higher vineyards lie. It gets very warm by day and very cool by night, a perfect formula for producing distinctive wines.
“Alto Adige is all about diversity,” Eduard Bernhardt, director of the Alto Adige Wine Consortium, says proudly. It’s the region’s calling card at the moment, and Niklas Foradori Hofstätter agrees. He’s a fifth-generation member of the family that runs the J. Hofstätter winery. But the region’s catch-all reputation gives him pause. “Don’t you think,” he asks me, “that in the future this whole diversity theme could be way too complicated for the consumer? Don’t you think, even for a small region like us, it would be much more suitable if we were focusing on certain varieties?”
While those questions echo through the region’s vineyards and tasting rooms, I believe that diversity is what makes Alto Adige so intriguing. From where else can I enjoy a Pinot Noir with lunch and a Cabernet Sauvignon with dinner — grown just a few miles apart in soils that range from limestone to volcanic?
The vineyards are spread out and rise up in just about every direction from Bolzano, Alto Adige’s charming capitol — called Bozen in German — which is surrounded by the Dolomites, the spectacular, sometimes jagged, limestone mountain range in the eastern Alps.
The wines include crisp Chardonnays, well-balanced Sauvignon Blancs, and distinctive Pinot Grigios among the whites, and ripe, complex Cabernets and Merlots with not-over-the-top levels of alcohol among the reds. But those are just the familiar wines.
Alto Adige’s lesser-known and indigenous grapes are the region’s real stars. When was the last time you had a really good Pinot Blanc? How about a Schiava, also known as Vernatsch, a red variety that used to cover 80 percent of Alto Adige’s vineyard area? Or a Sylvaner or a Lagrein? As I met with many of the leading winemakers and tasted a broad range of their wines, I quickly realized these varieties really define the region and deserve more attention.
In the first of two columns on Alto Adige, I’m focusing on the white wines, which account for two-thirds of the production. That fact should put an increased focus on the region as more consumers turn to white wine, a trend that has grown quickly and has surprised Christof Tiefenbrunner, who runs the family-owned Tiefenbrunner winery. “Of course, we are in a happy situation in that we have 80 percent white wine,” he tells me as we walk through one of his steep vineyards.
While Pinot Grigio is the most planted white variety — and there are some notable examples — I found the Pinot Blancs (Pinot Biancos or Weissburgunders) a real revelation, with many of the wines showing extraordinary character and depth, unlike mass-production Pinot Blancs from Germany or Austria. Julia Springeth, Cantina Terlano’s longtime export manager, calls them “quite powerful” Pinot Blancs that are anything but generic, “easy-drinking” wines.
Many of the Sauvignon Blancs soar as well and show ripe fruit, minerality, and less of the “green” qualities found in Sauvignons from New Zealand or the Loire Valley. Sylvaner, Gewürztraminer, Müller-Thurgau, and Kerner are also grown and reflect the region’s Austrian and German influence.
It’s important to note that three-quarters of Alto Adige’s wine production comes from the region’s 12 cooperative wineries, with several thousand growers, most of them quite small, supplying them. While “co-op wines” are often looked down on in other regions, they’ve long been the backbone of Alto Adige’s industry and produce some extraordinary bottles.
Here are 14 of the best white wines from Italy’s Alto Adige:
Cantina Kurtatsch Sauvignon Blanc ‘Kofl’ 2022
This gorgeous Sauvignon Blanc, fermented in stainless steel and aged in cement tanks, has aromas and flavors of ripe apple, orange peel, gooseberries, and a hint of honey. The vines grow in limestone soils and the fruit is supported by a bright acidity and mineral structure.
Price: $35
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Tenuta Kornell Pinot Bianco ‘Eich’ 2024
With a slightly smoky nose, this wine is marked by notes of green apple and citrus, a steely minerality, and a salty touch. The vines grow in the volcanic porphyry soils found around Bolzano, which contribute to its minerality and refreshing acidity. (The ‘23 vintage is available here.)
Price: $25
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Cantina Terlano Pinot Bianco ‘Vorberg’ 2022
At once lush and bright, this oak-aged Pinot Bianco presents aromas of pineapple, apple, and apricot that continue on the palate. Touches of honey, almond, and black licorice emerge in this complex and full-bodied wine.
Price: $45
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Tiefenbrunner Pinot Bianco ‘Merus’ 2024
This lovely example of Pinot Bianco has apple, pear, tropical fruit, and floral notes with a touch of spice on the long finish. It’s fermented in concrete vats and aged on the lees for four months. The palate brings refreshing acidity and lots of minerals.
Price: $20
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Nals Margreid ‘Stein’ Sauvignon 2023
Racy yet refined, this excellent Sauvignon Blanc is bursting with ripe fruit notes, including apple, pineapple, lime, orange, and a hint of strawberry. There’s a nice roundness from five months of lees aging and a long, mineral finish.
Price: $22
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Cantina Valle Isarco Sauvignon 2023
Alto Adige’s Isarco Valley, also called Eisacktal in German, is one of the region’s coolest-climate areas and produces fresh, aromatic white wines, including this notable Sauvignon from the Valle Isarco cooperative. Yellow peach and cantaloupe aromas and flavors are punctuated by herbal notes and a striking minerality.
Price: $27
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Elena Walch Chardonnay 2023
A pleasing expression of non-oaked Chardonnay with notes of apple, ripe white peach, and hints of vanilla and herbs. There’s a nice richness on the palate, even without oak. Try it instead of Chablis or Petit Chablis from Burgundy.
Price: $27
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Cantina St. Michael-Eppan ‘Sanct Valentin’ Pinot Grigio 2022
This stunning Pinot Grigio is the antithesis of the generic, simple Pinot Grigios that are so prevalent in Italy. Aged in small and large oak barrels, the wood gives the wine an added layer of complexity on top of candied lemon, white peach, orange, and mineral notes. It drinks more like a classic white Burgundy.
Price: $50
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Tenuta Köfererhof Sylvaner Valle Isarco 2023
This wine delivers the pleasant floral and herbal overtones that are a hallmark of Sylvaner, which has only a tiny production in Alto Adige. The wine has nice depth with melon and stone fruit notes, hints of baking spices, and a long mineral finish. If you’re not familiar with Sylvaner, this is a great introduction.
Price: $29
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Tiefenbrunner Pinot Grigio 2024
There’s nice depth to this value wine from Tiefenbrunner, which is bottled under the broader “Vigneti delle Dolomiti” (Wine of the Dolomites) designation. Notes of ripe pear, apple, and orange blossom are softened by a touch of cream from lees aging. Crisp, affordable, and delicious.
Price: $16
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San Pietro Pinot Grigio 2024
This Pinot Grigio is another notable value, with good complexity and notes of pineapple, apricot, and pear accented by subtle herb and mineral notes. (The wine is produced by an Alto Adige cooperative and bottled for the U.S. market under the San Pietro label.)
Price: $14
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Manincor Pinot Bianco ‘Eichhorn’ 2023
This is a fabulous example of Pinot Bianco from a family-owned winery. The grapes are grown biodynamically in a southwest-facing vineyard, and the wine has a rich mouthfeel from lees aging, with notes of honey, underripe pear, hints of pineapple and mint, and a mineral finish.
Price: $36
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J. Hofstätter Pinot Bianco 2024
Another excellent Pinot Bianco value, this one is fresh and crisp with notes of green apple skin, white peach, a touch of vanilla, and flinty minerality. Excellent on its own and with all kinds of fish and chicken dishes.
Price: $15
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Cantina Tramin Chardonnay 2024
This well-balanced Chardonnay, fermented and aged in stainless-steel tanks, has good depth with notes of honeydew melon, apple, lemon-lime, and hints of vanilla and fresh ginger. It’s medium-bodied and easy to drink. (The ‘23 vintage is in most stores.)
Price: $23
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Next up: Alto Adige’s red wines
