VISIT THE ALTO ADIGE WITH THE GERMAN WINE SOCIETY AND ANNETTE SCHILLER!

The German Wine Society’s Capital Chapter invites you to join us on Saturday, September 13th, 2025 at 7.00 pm for a tour presented by our own Annette Schiller through the Alto Adige (or in the German language: Süd-Tirol) and Trentino vineyards. A few of our tasting events have included wines of this region before, such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire dinner, but we have never had the opportunity to do a tasting before now focused entirely on the Alto Adige. This is an area where German and Alpine winemaking traditions merge with Italian ones, on the edge of the German-speaking region of Europe, and thus a very suitable topic for the German Wine Society. Registrations for this event are due by Tuesday, September 9, 2025, and the price is $50 for GWS members, $57 for non-members. Please be aware that, due to limited supply of the wines and size of the venue, we have a maximum cap of 40 for attendance at this event. Reserve early to avoid disappointment!
As the climate gets warmer the wine connoisseur's focus shifts more and more to higher altitude, cooler climate regions such as Trentino-Alto Adige in search of elegant, moderate alcohol wines.

We will taste the following wines:
The Whites:

1. 2022 Riesling, Kloster Neustift, Eisacktal, DOC Alto Adige
2. 2023 Weissburgunder, J.Hofstätter, Tramin, DOC Alto Adige
3. 2022 Nosiola, Cesconi Società Agricola, IGT, Vigneti Delle Dolomiti
4. 2023 Gewürztraminer, Elena Walch, Tramin, DOC Alto Adige

Sparkling Wine:

5. NV Ferrari Rosé, Brut, Trento DOC

The Reds:

6. 2023 Schiava, Alois Lageder, Magrè, DOC Alto Adige
7. 2023 Pinot Noir, Cantina Terlan, DOC Alto Adige
8. 2023 Lagrein, Muri-Gries, DOC Alto Adige
9. 2022 Teroldego, Foradori, IGT, Vigneti Delle Dolomiti
10. 2021 Dinotte Blend, Cantina Mezzocorona, IGT, Vigneti Delle Dolomiti

A tasty buffet of cheeses, bread, crackers, charcuterie, grapes and veggies will be provided to accompany the wines.

Our tasting will begin at 7 p.m on Saturday, September 13, with the doors opening at 6:30 p.m. to admit guests. The location is the Van Ness Room that we have often used before for membership meetings and other events, including our Comparative Rieslings tasting earlier this year, at 3001 Veazey Terrace NW, Washington, DC 20008. While there is not off-street parking at this location, on-street parking is available (bear in mind DC parking restrictions and meters), and there is easy access to Metro, at the Van Ness Red Line station.

You can register and pay for this event only on our chapter website, https://germanwinesocietydc.org. Simply indicating interest on Meetup, while helpful to us, is not sufficient to secure a reservation.

We do request that if you are experiencing symptoms of covid-19, flu or other contagious illness, or have tested positive for such an illness, you stay home and recover, and avoid putting other guests at risk. Refunds can be provided in these circumstances if you notify us before the day of the event, to allow us time to find another guest to take your place. Otherwise, refunds can only be made if you notify us before the deadline for registration.
All GWS members and guests are reminded that alcohol consumption can lead to intoxication. Members and guests should use public transportation to events, rely on a designated driver, or taste the wines rather than finish them.
If you have questions about this event, you may contact the event organizer and presenter, Annette Schiller, at aschiller@ombiasypr.com , or by phone at 703-459-7513. Annette’s website is www.ombiasypr.com . For questions about registration and membership, please contact Carl Willner, Capital Chapter President and Secretary, at carl.willner1@verizon.net .

A Historical Overview of the Alto Adige and its Winemaking
Trentino-Alto Adige, as this region is referred to in English-language guide books to wine regions, is the northernmost wine region of Italy and a very special place where Italian and German traditions merge. Trentino-Alto Adige is a fascinating and unique region in the Alps. It boasts of an extraordinary variety of landscapes: snow-capped mountains in the Dolomites, valleys, streams, Lake Garda, and century-old breathtakingly beautiful towns true to their hybrid Germanic-Italian culture.
This region, situated south of the Alpine Brenner Pass, has been through a rollercoaster of invasions and was a continuous bone of contention due to its strategic importance. Even in Roman times, the Brenner Pass was strategically significant, on the northern frontier of the Empire. In the Middle Ages, it served as the main connection between Central Europe and Italy for merchants, pilgrims, and armies. Finally, in the early 1600s Trentino (Süd-Tirol)-Alto Adige became part of the Habsburg Empire. After the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Habsburg Empire and the Central Powers after WW I, this region was annexed by Italy. Countless uprisings by the Germanic population followed and Italy tried to eliminate the German language and culture.
Modern-day Süd-Tirol was created in 1948, after WW II. It was in 1946 that an official agreement was signed which gave this region extensive autonomy. Since the 1970s, most legislative and administrative powers have been transferred to the two self-governing provinces that make up the region: the province of Trento, commonly known as Trentino and the province of Bolzano (Bozen), commonly known as Alto Adige or Süd-Tirol in German. Official languages are German and Italian. The people have Italian citizenship.
Trentino-Alto Adige has a very long history of winemaking, about 3000 years. Trentino-Alto-Adige’s vineyards are true Alpin vineyards on elevations of 700 - 3,300 ft on mostly gravelly soils. Because of the altitude of this region, even in the hot and sunny summers night temperatures are always cool and these diurnal temperature differences are excellent for the production of wines of great finesse. This makes the region famous for single variety crisp, beautiful white wines such as Pinot Bianco (Pinot Blanc), Gewürztraminer, and the indigenous grape Nosiola. In terms of quantity, more red wine is produced than white. More than 50 percent of all vineyards are planted with the light Schiava (Vernatsch in German). More and more vineyard area has been dedicated to Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir). The red Lagrein vine actually comes originally from Trentino, but the finest Lagrein grows in Gries on flatter, lower-lying vineyards directly near Bozen in Alto Adige. The often almost opaque, dark purple Teroldego Rotaliano, also an indigenous grape variety of the region, on the other hand, comes from one of the few rock-lined valleys in the northern part of Trentino. Trentino is also home of the production of modern style red blends.

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