Red
Lagrein
The dark red of Alto Adige, grown mostly on the gravel around Bolzano, where the valley floor is hot enough to ripen it. It gives deep colour, dark plum and bitter chocolate, firm acid and a distinctly bitter finish that is part of its character rather than a flaw.
Worth knowing
It is an offspring of Teroldego, and Teroldego's full sibling Dureza is a parent of Syrah, which makes Lagrein and Syrah first cousins, a link found by DNA work that no one had guessed from the vines. Its rosé, Lagrein Kretzer, is a serious wine in a region where rosé is usually an afterthought.
Where it is allowed4 appellations