In wine sales, as in life, timing is everything—and today’s offer is perfectly timed for Spring and all its delicious greenery. Asparagus, artichokes, favas, peas, leeks…it almost feels as if the Kerner grape was created for these sometimes-challenging partners. Kerner is a hybrid, derived from a combination of Riesling and Trollinger (a.k.a. Schiava), but its creators didn’t have culinary purposes in mind:
It was bred to be able to thrive in challenging growing conditions, such as those in the Dolomite foothills of Alto Adige, Italy, home of Peter Wachtler’s idyllic Taschlerhof farm. Peter grew up in his family’s vineyards in Bressanone, a village along the Isarco River not far from Italy’s border with Austria, and while this may nominally be Italy, it’s a wine culture with a more Germanic identity. Mineral-laden aromatic whites, including Riesling and Sylvaner, are Wachtler’s specialty, and with this 2018 Kerner he’s able to appeal to the broadest-possible audience: While it certainly shows evidence of its Riesling parentage, it is not quite as assertively aromatic, bringing those who find Riesling too challenging into its tent. Its crystalline minerality makes it a shoo-in for lovers of high-wire mountain whites from places like the Savoie, too. In all, it’s a chiseled, vivid snapshot of a uniquely beautiful terroir, at an exceptionally reasonable price. That’s always my preference, whether it’s Italy, Germany, or anywhere else!
Unless you’re brand-new to SommSelect, you’ve heard me rave about the Alto Adige. Also known as the South Tyrol, or Südtirol, the region was ceded to Italy after the First World War, but is still culturally and linguistically German/Austrian. Peter Wachtler’s family used to sell their grapes to the nearby Abbazia di Novacella, a 12th-century Augustinian monastery and a well-known wine producer, but, starting in 2000, Peter began commercializing wine under the Taschlerhof name. The small estate stretches over just 5.5 hectares of steep, terraced vineyards that cling to a southeast-facing slope in the Valle d’Isarco, the valley that follows the path of the Isarco River as it flows south toward Bolzano, where it hooks up with the Adige River. Altitudes range from 530-730 meters, providing the vines with a combination of intense mountain sunlight and cool temperatures, perfect for the slow maturation of aromatic varieties. The soils are mostly schist, and, as in other cavernous river-valley wine zones—Germany’s Mosel; Spain’s Ribeira Sacra; Austria’s Wachau—there’s no other way to work these vineyards other than by hand.
The conventional wisdom on the Kerner grape, meanwhile, is that it is slightly richer on the palate and slightly less acidic than its ‘parent,’ Riesling. It was crossbred for hardiness by German viticulturist August Herold, who named the grape for Justinius Kerner (1786-1862), a famous poet, doctor, and prolific wine drinker who was born in Württemberg. The variety has become something of a specialty of the Valle d’Isarco, and there’s a lot to recommend it: Like Riesling, it ages well, taking on more exotic ‘petrol’ notes as it does and expressing deep crushed-stone minerality.
Today’s 2018 is a bright yellow-gold with a fleck of green in the glass, with some intriguing ‘green’ notes on the nose as well: kaffir lime, mint, and savory green herbs along with more Riesling-associated scents of white peach, mango, citrus, white flowers, and wet slate. It is a little north of medium-bodied, texturally reminiscent of something from Alsace as opposed to, say, the Mosel, with a spicy, flinty finish. It is also bone-dry and beautifully suited to first-course salads, cured meats, and lighter seafoods well-dosed with lemon and green herbs. Serve it in all-purpose white wine stems at 45-50 degrees now and over the next couple of years and you’ll experience a small, hands-on vintner at the top of his game. Pair it with the attached recipe, which has nothing whatsoever with the lederhosen-clad Südtirol but will bring out the best in this delicious white. Enjoy!
