Trentino–Alto Adige is the northernmost Italian region, comprising two areas with very different personalities: the Germanic Alto Adige or Südtirol, which borders and once belonged to Austria, and right below it the more Italian but still very Alpine Trentino. The region’s capital and largest city is Trento, followed closely by the Südtirol provincial capital, Bozen (Bolzano). The breathtaking valley of the Adige River is renowned in the wine world for varietally labeled cool-climate wines of a universally high quality. Though it has no DOCGs, the region’s nine DOCs (see map on this page) account for 84% of its wine production; nearly all of the remainder is labeled with one of the four IGPs. In 2022, Trentino–Alto Adige produced a near-record 1,325,000 hectoliters (14.7 million cases) of wine, more than 70% of it white. In all, the region has 15,800 ha (39,000 acres) of vineyards. Its primary grape varieties are Chardonnay (22%), Pinot Grigio (19%), and Schiava (9%).
