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Müller Thurgau
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Classification: DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata - Quality wines produced in a specific region)
Color: Straw-yellow with greenish highlights
Region of production: Trentino
Minimum alcohol content: 11%
Grapes used: Müller Thurgau (85-100%) |
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People fond of this fine wine, grown in many parts of Italy, but only granted DOC status in specifically defined areas such as the Trentino in the north of Italy, owe a debt of gratitude to a Swiss professor from Thurgau, a certain Hermann Müller. In 1882 Müller had the inspired idea of crossing two great varieties of grape, the Riesling and the Sylvaner, obtaining a grape that to this day bears his name. A grape variety that within just a few years spread throughout the entire alpine region.
The bunch of grapes is small and cylindrical, with medium-sized fruits displaying a slightly ellipsoidal shape and a lovely greenish yellow color. This vine species is cultivated with particularly outstanding results in high, windy areas, where it provides generally high yields.
The pleasant straw-yellow color, rendered even more distinctive by the greenish highlights you can see when the light passes through it, is just the first winning point of this wine. The second is its delicate and slightly aromatic bouquet. But the thing that most impresses one upon tasting this fine wine is the flavor, always dry and fresh and yet fruity at the same time.
Versatile and suitable for any occasion, Müller Thurgau is at its best when still young and constitutes an ideal accompaniment to first courses featuring fish. But it is also very good with a vegetable omelet or with fresh cheeses, like mozzarella, the sort that haven't been aged.
If you want some first-hand experience, all you have to do is travel to Cembra, a little town on the Avisio just 24 Km from the famous northern town of Trent. It is considered the Müller Thurgau capital. You can also stop a few kilometers before Cembra, at Lavis, an area known for its master winegrowers. But in order to discover all the secrets of these wines, it's probably a good idea to go to San Michele all'Adige to visit the San Michele Agrarian Institute, internationally recognized as the place to come to learn all about wine in the Trentino region.
The institute is open by appointment even to visitors and tourists. The institute is a place where you can learn about how the various types of grapes are grown and made into wine, grapes that have made this region a veritable reservoir of excellent wines, from Pinot bianco and Nosiola, to Chardonnay and yellow Moscato. Not to mention the great red grape varieties like Teroldego Rotaliano.
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