Valle Isarco DOC (Eisacktaler in German) is a defined subzone of Alto Adige DOC, located in the Isarco valley in the northernmost part of Alto Adige (Südtirol) in northern Italy. The designation covers precisely this subzone in the Isarco valley and not the whole Alto Adige region. It is first and foremost a white wine area, and it is here you find some of the freshest and most aromatic white wines in all of northern Italy.
A large part of the explanation lies in the geography. Valle Isarco is one of Italy's northernmost and highest-lying wine areas. The vineyards typically lie at around 400 to 800 metres of altitude, and a few grapes are grown even higher up. The cool altitude and the northern climate yield white wines with marked acidity, a pronounced minerality and an aromatic precision that is hard to find elsewhere. These are wines that can both be drunk young and fresh and at the same time have the acid structure that carries them gracefully through a meal.
Among the most important grape varieties you find Sylvaner, Kerner, Müller-Thurgau and Grüner Veltliner. These are varieties that thrive in the cool, high sites, and each leaves a distinct imprint: from the slender, herbal Sylvaner through the fuller, fragrant Kerner to the spicy freshness of Grüner Veltliner. It is precisely this combination of northern coolness and aromatic grapes that gives Valle Isarco a profile all its own within Italian white wine.
If you are fond of white wines with nerve, minerality and a fresh, clear fruit, Valle Isarco is an obvious place to start. These are wines for light starters, fish, shellfish and the alpine culinary tradition, but they work just as well as a glass on their own. If you want to explore the rest of the region, you can dive into our selection from Alto Adige.