The tiny region of Alto Adige, nestled in Italy's northeast corner in the shadow of the towering Dolomites, produces elegant wines under extreme conditions. Purity and precision are signature characteristics of wines from this Alpine region where vineyards are planted at elevations ranging from 600 feet up to as high as 4,000 feet. Brisk mountain air combined with Mediterranean sunshine (300 sunny days per year) and wide day/night temperature swings produces grapes which fully ripen with bright acidity and true varietal character.

Diverse and complex, one of Italy's smallest wine-producing regions (around 1% of the country's total production), Alto Adige leads the country in DOC quality. The region's 13,100 vineyard acres, planted with over 20 different varieties, span a range of macroclimates. Heat-loving Lagrein thrives in the flatter Bolzano basin where summer daytime temperatures can reach 100°F, similar to Sicily. In the northernmost Isarco Valley actually a narrow strip between two mountain ranges where winter snow cover can last over a month racy whites such as Müller-Thurgau, Kerner, and Sylvaner predominate.