The Trentino stretches from its northern borders with the Alto Adige to
Lake Garda and the Veneto in the south. It is Italy's most mountainous
region. The majority of the region's vineyards follow the course of the
river Adige, the second longest in the country. The climate is
characterised by very cold winters, but is also influenced by the lakes and
rivers which create temperate microclimates ideal for viticulture. The
region has a total of around 11,000 hectares under vine, for the most part
trained on the overhead pergola system, and an annual production of 850,000
hectolitres, approximately 500,000 hectolitres of which consist of red DOC
wines. The regional School of Agriculture at San Michele all'Adige, which
specialises in viticulture and oenology, provides invaluable support to
winemaking in the areas of clonal selection, vineyard management and
vinification and has had a major influence on up-grading the quality of the
region's wines.
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The most important local grape varieties are the white
Nosiola and the red Schiava, Teroldego and Marzemino. French and German
varieties are also widely planted. The leading white wines are Pinot
Grigio, Chardonnay, the local Nosiola and Pinot Bianco. The top reds are
Teroldego, which is unique to the Trentino, Pinot Nero and the Bordeaux
varieties Merlot and Cabernet, which give particularly high quality results
in the south of the region at Borghetto all'Adige. Another variety to note
is Marzemino, which makes one of Italy's most interesting country reds in
the area around Isera. Vias has selected a portfolio of first class
producers to represent the wines of the Trentino, and their products have
contributed significantly to the consolidation of the company's presence in
the high class restaurant sector.
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