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www.buyersandcellars.ca Cellar Profile
Nestled at the foot of Castel Madruzzo, in the foothills of the Dolomites, sits Agricola Pravis. The winery started in the 1970s, as a partnership between three friends. Now, second-generation vintner sisters, Giulia and Erika Pedrini, have taken over the responsibility of running Pravis. Surrounded by stone outcroppings, their small, ecologically-farmed vineyards are scattered throughout the hills, each planted in calcareous stone, according to unique microclimates, with altitudes ranging from 300 to 600 masl. Working with both international as well as indigenous varieties (such as their noteworthy Nosiola), Pravis uses a minimal intervention philosophy that includes a strict gravity flow process. The cooling breeze that whips through the mountain passes from nearby Lake Garda, called the “Ora” by locals, minimizes the risk of mildew and keeps temperatures moderate during the hottest parts of summer, ensuring that these mineral-driven wines retain plenty of elegance. Interestingly, the winery works with the Freiburg Institute in the development of “zero impact” clone varieties that would leave no ecological footprint and would grow in otherwise inhospitable environments for agriculture.
Region
The region of Trentino-Alto Adige is bordered by East and North Tyrol (Austria) to the north-east and north respectively, by Graubünden (Switzerland) to the north-west and by the Italian regions of Lombardy to the west and Veneto to the south and south-east. It covers 13,607 square kilometres and is extremely mountainous, covering a large part of the Dolomites and the southern Alps. Südtirol (where Cantina Kurtatsch is located) has an area of 7,398 square kilometres, all of it mountainous land and covered by vast forests. The climate here is Mediterranean (hot summer and cold winters) owing to the influence of the many mountain ranges, which stand at over 3,000 metres above sea level, and the wide valleys through which flows (from north to south) the main river, the Adige, and its numerous tributaries.
Vineyard
Vineyard-covered slopes surrounded by slabs of stone, crystal blue lakes and the steep walls of the Dolomites, gently swept by the Mediterranean wind: this is where Pravis wines are produced. Numerous small vineyards scattered on the sunny slopes of the mountains that separate Trento from the lower Sarca Valley, between the Brenta Dolomites and Lake Garda.
Varieties
The homeland of this grape—which literally means Spice (Gewürz) Traminer—lies in the foothills of the Alps. It originated in Germany but over several hundreds of years it has completely circumnavigated the Alps including Italy, Hungary, Romania, Croatia, France and Slovenia. Gewürztraminer has high natural sugar, however, it can be made from bone dry to intensely sweet. With its inherent aromatics of lychee, ginger and tropical fruit, Gewürz is a fabulous pairing with Indian and Asian cuisine.
Winemaking
Grapes are gently pressed after a cold maceration of six hours. Fermentation takes place at a controlled temperature. The wine is matured in stainless steel tanks for five months and then bottled. Every phase of the process of transforming grapes into wine at Pravis respects a natural idea of winemaking. The winery uses the least technology possible; once pressed, grapes flow with gravity into fermentation tanks, then into barrels, then finally into containers for pre-bottling.
Tasting Notes
The colour of this wine is unmistakably golden yellow. On the nose, the classic presence of cinnamon, rose petals, nutmeg, cloves and lychees. All this carries on in the palate; elegant, soft, almost creamy with a pleasant crispy acidity.