Girlan

Alto Adige

“Innovation and a pioneering spirit have driven this historic Oltradige winery since its beginnings in 1923. This was one of the earliest co-operative winemaking operations to pay growers not just for quantity but also the quality of the grapes. The winery and cellarmaster Gerhard Kofler play a significant role in the Alto Adige winemaking and vineyard scenario. These are all major wines with great technique and personality.” Gambero Rosso 2010

Wines from isolated, mountainous pockets of the world can be exhilarating discoveries for those seeking new drinking experiences. The Alto Adige in Italy’s remote, mountainous north is perhaps the quirkiest high-altitude region going. Yes, you are technically in Italy, but forget pasta, tanned youths on Vespas and your high school Italian. This is the Südtirol, a stone’s throw from the Austrian and Swiss borders, encircled by the saw-toothed Dolomite Mountains. Südtirol is the German name (South Tyrol in English), as the region borders Austria’s Tyrol state to the north. In fact, this area was part of Austria until WW1 and the Germanic influence here still runs deep; the restaurants of the region serve hearty dumplings, smoked pork and sauerkraut, you drive a snow plough in winter and the locals speak German as often as Italian, or even Ladin, an incomprehensible melange (at least to outsiders) of Celtic dialects and Latin.

Alto Adige’s wines are as singular as its setting. This is isolated, high-altitude viticulture at its most extreme, where an endless variety of stony, well drained, south facing slopes look down on the Adige river from highs varying from 750-3250 feet! This is surely one of the world’s most visually spectacular and dramatic wine regions; there is snow on the peaks above the vineyards even in the middle of summer. Girlan is a classic example of what makes this isolated corner of the wine world so special. It is a collective enterprise of grower-members producing exemplary Alto Adige whites (below we offer two Pinot Biancos and the ‘448’ Vigneti delle Dolomiti white blend) and reds (we offer one Lagrein and an old vine Schiava). Regarding the Schiava, many local examples of this variety are light, over cropped and not of any significant interest. Yet one of Girlan’s stated objectives is to “…revalue historical grape varieties from our area such as Schiava and Pinot Bianco.” They have access to the right sites and old vines which has assisted enormously in this aim. Their other aim is to begin to bring more focus to Alto Adige’s many varied ‘terroirs’. They have encouraged their growers to focus on those varieties that best suit their soils, aspects and altitudes and they have begun to release single ‘commune’ and single vineyard wines.

Girlan and Kofler control some great sites in Alto Adige’s Uberetsch-Unterland subregion, including the Gschleier vineyard, which consists of 85-95 year old, low yielding vines on south-facing, mountain slopes. The rest of the estate’s vineyards are situated around the town of Girlan with a sunny, protected, high-altitude setting on mineral-rich soils. Despite its mountainous setting, warm Mediterranean breezes funnel up the Etsch Valley aiding ripening and preventing disease.

To visit Girlan's website, click here