Gallery: the Trentino region in northern Italy
The Trentino region in northern Italy is the southern part of a larger wine region known as Trentino-Alto Adige. The two regions together have some 13 000 hectares of vines, and lie in the foothills of the Dolomite wine region. They are part of Italy, but in nature are culturally quite Austrian – the Alto Adige was part of Austria until 1919.
Trentino itself is a bit further down the valley than the more mountainous Alto Adige, and vineyards are found on the mountain-fringed valley floor as well as on the slopes. Altogether there are just over 7000 hectares here, many planted on terraces on the steep hillsides. There’s a wide range of altitudes and aspects.
I visited in May, when it was green and beautiful. Many of the vineyards here are grown in a sort of semi-pergola system (pergola trentino), with the canopy at an angle, to intercept the sun and allow for good airflow. The system also gives pretty heroic yields of up to 20 tons/hectare, if that’s what the grower is looking for.
See also: Visiting Trentino to see Cavit’s PICA viticultural mapping technology in action
