There are many intriguing wine regions 
around the world which Ken and I hope to visit one day. One of these wine regions is Trentino-Alto Adige in northern Italy – just over the border from neighboring Austria and Switzerland. As part of the virtual Wine Book Club, I began reading Vino Italiano The Wine Regions of Italy by Joseph Bastianich and David Lynch. 
This book, as you can probably tell by the title, describes the wine regions of Italy in great detail. Reading this engaging book inspired me to think about what wine regions I would like to visit and why. As the name suggests, the Trentino–Alto Adige wine region is comprised of two separate areas. Trento refers to the southern part of the region and its capital is Trentino. The name Alto Adige identifies the northern part of the region that includes the higher (alto) part of the Adige River. The history, beauty, food, and wines of Trentino-Alto Adige are intriguing.
Ken and I thought it would be fun to try some wines from the Trentino-Alto Adige wine region ourselves to see what we think of some of the wines. Included within this post are the wines we tried and what we thought of each wine.
As stated in Vino Italiano, “Trentino-Alto Adige’s wine culture has much more in common with that of Austria or Germany than with southern Italy.”
(p.75) The reason for this has much to do with the region’s rich political history. The region belonged to Austria for most of the nineteenth century. “The signature wines of the region are crisp, aromatic whites from Germanic grapes–Gewürztraminer, Müller-thurgau, Sylvaner, Riesling–grown in an environment best-suited to mountaineers, not gondoliers. At their best, these wines taste like they bubbled up from a mountain spring. But on the whole, they don’t get the recognition they deserve.” (p.75) We decided it was time to give these tasty wines some recognition.
The list of wines produced in this Italian wine region includes one of my favorite wines, Gewürztraminer. As mentioned in Vino Italiano, “Gewürztraminer may have originated in the Alto Adige town of Termeno (Tramin).” (p.85) In this wine region, Gewürztraminer goes by the names of traminer and traminer aromatico and is grown in both Trentino and Alto Adige. And you wine lovers out there, get this, local legend has it that this wine is an aphrodisiac. Sounds like an invitation for wine lovers to visit! Some of you may not wish to spit this wine out. We decided to try a Gewürztraminer in our tasting of Alto Adige wines. The one we tried was Tramin 2006 “Gewürztraminer” ($26)– 
This wine is one of the best mid tier Gewürztraminers that we have tried from the Alto Adige region in a long time. This rich golden colored wine opens with a very nice and aromatic bouquet that just draws you in. It has scents of lychee, candy, and pineapple. On the palate, the wine is medium to full bodied, viscous, and strikes a very good balance of acidity and fruit. The flavor profile of this wine is delicious pear and pineapple. The finish is dry and lingers nicely. This is a great food wine to serve chilled with ham, brie, Chicken Alfredo, and sharp cheeses.
In researching the cuisine of the Trentino-Alto Adige wine region, I found a lot of information in the Wine and Food section of http://www.made-in-italy.com/. The food in this region is diverse, as you might guess from the political history of the area. 
There are two distinct traditions: tridentina, with Venetian roots, and altoadesina, with German roots. The cuisine of Alto Adige has a German influence, not the typical Italian flavors you might expect from a region in Italy. Ingredients, spices, and combinations unknown to the other Italian regions are used here. There are few greens and soups, but you will find dishes such as canederli (large balls made with stale bread, flour, milk, and eggs with liver, bacon, salame and even greens). The Alto Adige region is known for its smoked meats. The local “speck,” boneless pork meat cut into small square pieces and placed in saltpeter with garlic, laurel, juniper, pepper and other herbs vary according to secret family traditions which are handed down from one generation to another.
We tried two wines from this region which are very food friendly, and would complement smoked meats nicely. The first wine is the Tramin 2006 “Sauvignon Blanc” ($15)– This light yellow wine is medium bodied and very smooth, creamy, and has nicely integrated acidity and fruit. This impressive Sauvignon Blanc could easily be mistaken for a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc if tasted blind. We think this wine would be well liked with most foods. Another foodie wine option is the Tramin 2006 “Pinot Bianco” ($15)– This white gold colored wine opens with a light pear and citrus like bouquet. On the palate, this medium bodied wine is creamy, smooth, well balanced with tangy lemon like flavors with a touch of minerality. The finish is dry, tingly, tangy, and quite refreshing as it fades away. Both of these wines from Trentino-Alto Adige are food friendly.
The basic element of the cuisine of Trentino is “polenta,” an Italian version of corn bread, which is prepared and enriched with different ingredients according to the area. In some valleys corn meal is mixed with flour and in other areas the polenta is prepared with potatoes and local cheese served with cucumbers, pickles, or bean salad. Popular vegetables include potatoes, white turnips, and red beets.
For these foods, we tried two other wines from this region that we would recommend with these dishes.
The Cantina Terlano 2006 “Terlaner Classico Cuvee” ($17)– This yellow gold wine made from 60% Pinot Blanco, 30% Chardonnay, and 10% Sauvignon Blanc has a very aromatic apple like bouquet with hints of cantaloupe. On the palate, the wine is well balanced, creamy, smooth, and shows a touch of acidity. The flavor profile is tropical fruit flavors with some minerality mixed in. The finish is dry and nicely refreshing. The second wine we tried is the tasty Tiefenbrunner 2007 Chardonnay ($14). This very food friendly, unoaked Chardonnay is a versatile food wine and is a great bargain as well.
In addition to delicious food and wine, the Trentino-Alto Adige region is rich in majestic beauty with its high mountains and picturesque valleys. With so many valleys, the aristocrats who lived in the area centuries before felt the need to build castles to protect themselves. This region boasts many stunning castles, a large number of which are open to visitors. A few have even been converted into restaurants and hotels for all to enjoy. Many of the castles date back to the 12th and 13th century and are well preserved. Few places on earth can claim as many exciting castles in one geographic region. 
I would love to visit some of these castles and learn about their history.
Where there are mountains, there are usually mountain passes. The famous Brenner Pass is located in the Trentino-Alto Adige region.It is a mountain pass through the Alps along the border between Italy and Austria. It is one of the principal passes of the Alps as it is the lowest and easiest of the Alpine passes at 1,370 meters elevation. It is also one of the few mountain passes in the Tyrol region. 
For that reason, possession of the pass has long been coveted. Mountain climbing, hiking, and skiing in the Dolomites are all popular activities.
The Trentino-Alto Adige wine region has it all: the magnificent Alps, medieval castles, great history, a variety of delicious food, and of course terrific wine to try! We hope to visit this beautiful wine region some day soon – probably not soon enough! We think the Trentino-Alto Adige wine region would be a great destination for wine lovers.
Ciao…or should we say Adieu?
Cheers — Theresa and Ken
Information and pictures for this blog post were obtained from:
Vino Italiano The Wine Regions of Italy by Joseph Bastianich and David Lynch
http://www.made-in-italy.com/winefood/food/regions/trentino.htm
http://www.initaly.com/toc.htm