Elegance, intense aroma and a noticeable mineral component: there are the three qualities possessed by Classic Method (the same Champenois) Trentodoc sparkling wine, produced by the 45 companies adhering to Trento Doc Institute. This is far from a given, but Trentino people are gifted with precision, rigor and foresight, and that goes doubly so for vintners.
The history of this Classic Method variety of sparkling wine begins with a true pioneer: his name was Giulio Ferrari, a young oenologist from the Agrarian Institute of San Michele all’Adige. Born in 1879, he undertook a series of study trips to France in the early 1900s, eventually coming to the novel conclusion that there was a noticeable similarity between Champagne and Trentino. This sparked a question in his mind: why not try to create a Trentino sparkling wine? Thus was the Classic Method Trentodoc sparkling wine born, receiving the official DOC (Denomination of Controlled Origin) trademark in 1993.
The year 2007 saw the creation of the Trentodoc territorial collective label, overseen by the Trento Chamber of Commerce.
Trentodoc is a wine that’s particularly prized for the geographical conditions, the varied climate and the fact that its top quality vines are cultivated at high altitudes (up to 800 meters) at the foot of the local mountains, the Dolomites. This mix of favorable circumstances makes it so that Trentodoc, or sparkling wine from the mountains, can rank among the best Italian sparkling wines.
The total yield of Trentodoc wine production is around 9 million bottles. Quality is assured as regulation requires the wine to rest on its lees for 15 months (36 months for Reserve type) in its bottle before being disgorged. The majority of Trentino vintners never settle for such a short time though, and there are superb examples of sparkling wines that have aged on their lees for 10 years.
Here are only some of the best wine estates in the area: Ferrari f.lli Lunelli, Letrari, Endrizzi, Maso Martis, Maso Poli, Abate Nero, Altemasi, Balter, Bellaveder, Monfort, Cesarini Sforza, Moser, Rotari, Zeni.
You can taste all the best bottles of Trentodoc in the historic Palazzo Roccabruna, in the center of Trento.
Here, on TWR we have previously reviewed the 2002 Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore, a homage by Cantina Ferrari Lunelli to the oenologist who devised the Trentino Classic method.
Only four Trentino grape varieties can be used to produce Trentodoc, but Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are the main ones, being uniquely suited for the local climate. When it comes to Classic Method Trentodoc, Chardonnay certainly takes front stage: it has found its ideal in Trentino, and bestows on Trentodoc structure, longevity and a profound aromatic intensity.
Pinot Noir is an ancient variety that has perfectly adapted to the Trentino weather conditions, and offers elegance, finesse, structure and body to wine.
Other vintners on occasion employ Pinot Blanc and Pinot Meunier, for the purpose of adding finesse and aroma to the end result.
Trentino winemaking has always been tied to the Trentino pergola system which remains, to this day, the most widespread method of vine-training. Nevertheless, in the past few years, most of the grapes reserved for the production of sparkling wine have been switched over to newer methods such as Guyot or spurred cordon.
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