Pinot Blanc – 2022

2022 Pinot Bianco from Cantina Kurtatsch with salty minerality

The 2022 Pinot Bianco from Cantina Kurtatsch is a dry white wine from South Tyrol, grown in mountain vineyards high above the Adige Valley. Not a lush, oaky wine or an arbitrary gulp from the tank, but a regional wine with apple, pear, and a salty pull on the finish.

The 2022 Pinot Bianco from Cantina Kurtatsch is a single-varietal Pinot Bianco from southern South Tyrol, bottled in 750-milliliter bottles and vinified dry. The vines grow on gravelly, calcareous dolomite soil in mountain locations between 500 and 650 meters, where nights remain cool even in summer. With 13.5 percent alcohol, it stands firmly enough to stand up to food.

Green apple, pear, and a salty pull

The Pinot Bianco in the glass is pale yellow with a greenish shimmer, and the initial aroma remains reserved, as is characteristic of this variety.

On the palate, the fruit takes the lead—green apple and ripe pear, followed by a hint of citrus. The acidity remains lively without becoming sharp, carrying the wine through to the finish. There, the salty minerality that the calcareous soils leave behind in the glass makes itself known.

Anyone who considers this Pinot Bianco boring has probably been drinking it much too cold. At ten to twelve degrees, it opens up, and the quiet wine turns into a conversational one.

At home with trout and asparagus

As an aperitif, the Pinot Bianco makes little fuss, yet still sets the right mood for the evening.

It finds its match with fried trout, asparagus with melted butter, and young mountain cheese, as it never pushes itself into the foreground. South Tyrolean cuisine, such as Schlutzkrapfen and wafer-thin speck, also welcomes it without the wine being overshadowed.

If you prefer something bolder, reach for the robust Lagrein from the same estate, and the aromatic counterpart is found in the aromatic Gewürztraminer Arènis.

Gravel and lime high above the Adige Valley

The vines for this wine are not located on the valley floor, but on the hillside, on gravelly and calcareous dolomite soil between 500 and 650 meters.

Gravel allows water to pass through, forcing the vine to root deeper than it would ideally like. The lime, in turn, gives the wine that salty pull so well known in the Adige Valley. Add to this the altitude, where temperatures drop at night, allowing the grape to retain its tension.

The harvest from the small-parcel vineyards is brought together in the estate's Selection line, and cellar master Erwin Carli keeps fermentation in stainless steel deliberately cool. For the 2021 vintage, this earned 90 points from Wine Enthusiast.

A vintage that rewarded patience

Three years after the harvest, the youthful harshness has vanished, replaced by a calm, almost creamy texture. Such Pinot Biancos are often opened far too early in southern South Tyrol. If you still have a bottle on the shelf, you can comfortably leave it there until next spring.

On the table, one bottle is enough for four to five glasses; once opened, it will keep in the refrigerator for another two days. Everything else that comes from this corner of South Tyrol can be found in the Cantina Kurtatsch assortment. A classic that has nothing left to prove.

Origin, values, and awards

• Origin: Wine from Italy
• Region: South Tyrol - Alto Adige DOC
• Grape variety: Pinot Bianco
• 13.5% vol. alcohol
• 6.0 g/l acidity
• 1.9 g/l residual sugar
• Award 2022: One of the finest white wines of the year, The Guardian