Region: Trentino-Alto Adige
Zone: Alto Adige/Südtiroler DOC

Subzone:

Alto Adige/Südtiroler Santa Maddalena DOC (St. Magdalener)

The following is a description of the zone Alto Adige/Südtiroler Santa Maddalena DOC (St. Magdalener) alone, which is one of the six sub-zones under the umbrella appellation Alto Adige DOC, north of Bolzano. The name refers to a village in the municipality of Cornedo.

In Alto Adige/Südtiroler Santa Maddalena DOC there is produced a single red wine, which was previously dominant in Alto Adige DOC . During the fascist period, between the 1930s and the 1940s, the wine was especially admired and consumed in large quantities by the German speaking who, as you know, were very excited during that period. In 1941, Mussolini's Minister of Agriculture therefore decided, that the wine from Santa Maddalena were to be considered among Italy’s so-called “Big 3”. Politicians seem to have surprisingly much knowledge about wine at that time.

Alto Adige/Südtiroler Santa Maddalena DOC was, and still is, a very pleasant red wine, but it cannot measure up to the Barolo DOCG and Barbaresco from Piedmont , to which it has been compared. The wine's strongest supporters admit, however, that it still needs some way to reach the two competitors qualities.

The limitation is definitely not in vineyard location, which is considered to be among the best in the Alto Adige DOC, but rather by the Schiava grape, which has never produced extraordinary great wines, though juicy and crisp with great finesse. Regardless of this, Santa Maddalena DOC is a very popular wine in Switzerland and the Alpine country ranks it as "Extra Class", and is also the largest consumer of this type of wine.

The label is very informative, mentioning the city where the wine is produced, which can be either Santa Giustina (St. Justina), Leitago (Leitach), San Pietro (St. Peter), Guncina (Guntschna), San Giorgio (St. Geogen), Rencio (Rentsch) or Rena (Sand).

Read more about the wines from Alto Adige/Südtiroler Santa Maddalena DOC (St. Magdalener) by clicking i the top menu in the right side.