Chances are good you’re aware that Italy’s northernmost province of Alto Adige, the self-governing region tucked away in Italy’s northeast, shouldered-up against Austria and Switzerland, has a reputation for producing a number of superb white wines. But it may surprise you to know that Alto Adige, or Südtirol, as it’s known by the local German-speaking population, is a focal point for the production of red wine made from Pinot Noir grapes.

The reputation of Pinot Noir as a communicator of even minute differences in terroir is well established. So distinctly has Pinot Noir demonstrated its terroir-reflective talent, principally set against the background of France’s Burgundy wine region, that to talk of Pinot Noir from elsewhere makes easy work of imagining “elsewhere” to be a hopeful second best comparison.