Bottega Vinai Gewurztraminer Trentino DOC

The Valle dei Laghi is wedged between mountains at the foot of the Dolomites, to the north of Lake Garda. The climate is sub-Mediterranean. The Gewurztraminer grape prefers soils which are well-structured, loose and not lime-rich. It is not very productive, but in the right site gives consistently excellent quality. Yields are maintained at around 80- 90 tonnes per hectare. Bunches are small, compact, winged and when ripe have an intense pink colour. The grapes are hand-harvested, carefully selected, destalked and crushed. The must remains in contact with the skins for a short time at 5-6 degrees C to allow aromas to be extracted. The grapes are soft-pressed to prevent colour extraction from the skins - which are a copper colour when ripe. After fermentation in stainless steel, the wine is left in tank for 4-5 months before bottling.

Cavit is a leading co-operative in the mountainous Trentino region of northeast Italy. The winery began as a consortium of associated grape growers in 1950, with a dedicated winery at Ravina di Trento built in 1964. Today It unites 11 separate cellars and their combined 4,500 grape growers across 7,000 hectares of vineyard, to produce an impressively broad portfolio from an intriguing palette of indigenous and international grape varieties.

Trentino has a much higher proportion of wines produced as DOC than any other region in Italy - an average of 80% of the region's wines have a DOC classification, compared to around 30% elsewhere in the country. Remarkably, Cavit accounts for 60% of this region's wine production and they advise and supervise all aspects of this production from the vineyard to the bottle. Their site at Maso Toresella on the shores of Lake Toblino was the historic residence of the Prince Bishops of Trento, surrounded by 6.5 hectares of vineyard. It is one of the most significant 'masi' (rural estates) in the whole of Trentino. They have worked with the San Michele all’Adige Oenological Institute, since 1988, to develop wines of the highest quality.

In 1993 Cantina Altemasi was established, also at Ravina, not far from the region's capital of Trento - for the production and maturation of Classic Trentodoc and Charmat Method sparkling wines. Trento Doc was the first Classical Method sparkling wine DOC to be established anywhere in the world after Champagne, and the first in Italy.