The Alto Adige Wines Consortium draws a balance of the 2019 vintage and presents the characteristics of the wines that we will find in the glass. "After a period of growth and maturation of the vines marked by extreme weather events - says Director Eduard Bernhart - ideal weather conditions arrived at the end of summer 2019, which brought about a good harvest with promising quality grapes. The 2019 vintage produced white wines rich in fresh and fruity aromas, with a marked acidity, elegant structure and excellent aging potential, especially for wines from higher altitudes. "
The atmospheric trend in the vineyard
The winter 2018/19 had passed with unusually warm temperatures, at times already almost spring, and if the copious snowfalls of the first days of February were excepted, it was a rather dry year. After a March equally stingy with rainfall and warmer than the seasonal averages, in April and May a rather humid climate prevailed, accompanied, especially in May, by temperatures that were too low for the season. In parallel, spring had seen extreme weather phenomena raging, so much so that in April there had been some first hailstorms, and various cold periods had increased the risk of late frosts.
For these reasons, in 2019 flowering began late and had to deal with a very variable weather, characterized by significantly lower than average temperatures, especially in May. This delay has had an impact on the beginning of maturation, which compared with the multi-year averages arrived with a 10-14 day phase shift.
The harvest started late
After the early harvest for the collection of the basic grapes for sparkling wine which took place around the end of August and in early September, the real 2019 harvest in South Tyrol began in mid-September, with a delay of about two weeks compared to 2018 .
Good quality with some truly amazing wines
Pinot bianco, Pinot grigio, Chardonnay and Sylvaner stand out both for their acidity, fresh and pleasant, and for their elegant structure. The Gewürztraminer is elegant and with ripe fruity notes, while the Sauvignon from the finest vineyards shows a captivating acidity, accompanied by a very typical aromatic range.
The 2019 Schiava also has a very marked typicality, it is fruity, savory, well structured, elegant and pleasant to drink.
Pinot noir, Lagrein, Merlot and Cabernet in this vintage have had a lot of trouble in the vineyards, so they will need more time to refine well in the cellar, fully developing their full potential. For Lagrein, due to the violent hailstorms that hit the classic plots in the Bolzano basin, unfortunately there was a drop in yield which in some cases touched 70 percent.
In the Isarco Valley and in the Venosta Valley, the wines of the 2019 vintage bring out characteristics of freshness and acidity, accompanied by intense fruity notes and an alcohol content lower than in previous years.
Across South Tyrol, the total number of grapes harvested showed a drop of 10-15% compared to the average.
