Peter Zemmer, Pinot Grigio

I love Italian wine. I’ve said that countless times in my life. But in a way it’s a meaningless statement. After all, I don’t love all Italian wine and at the same time I also love French wine, German wine, Spanish wine, American wine, Georgian wine, South African wine, and on and on the list goes — as long as it’s made well.

The other thing that makes such a statement rather meaningless is the breadth of different styles of wine found in Italy. Spend some time looking at a map of Italian wine regions and your mind will be blown. It looks like it would take a lifetime to visit all the different wine regions within Italy, much less try all the different wines from each region. With my years of studying, exploring and tasting wine I literally have just scratched the surface when it comes to Italian wine.

But within that surface I have scratched lies the region of Alto Adige, which is in northern Italy on the southern foothills of the Alps. The region is absolutely lush and beautiful and the conditions here produce amazing fruit. As you look across the region you see hills covered with vineyards and fruit trees. Serene lakes and the Adige river also adorn the region and steep, rocky hills appear as the alps begin to rise.

The beauty of this region is reflected in the wines produced here. Of particular interest to me are the pinot blanc and pinot grigio from Alto Adige.

Now even Alto Adige has a few different sub-regions. Peter Zemmer is located in the Bassa Atesina zone within Alto Adige, fairly close to the river. Most of the wine grown here is white varieties and pinot grigio is one of the most important.

The nose is pleasant, presenting a nice range of tropical aromas like banana, pineapple, lemon and peach but also displays some floral and mineral notes. The palate is bright and delicious, offering melon, peach, lemon and mineral flavors. The peach becomes more and more pronounced as the wine opens up. There’s a touch of salinity on the finish. This is a very food-friendly wine.

Wine: Peter Zemmer, Pinot Grigio
Varieties: Pinot grigio
Vintage: 2017
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 88
Price: $16.00
Disclosure: This wine was provided as a media sample.