Alto Adige: the red rock above the Adige
Across the Adige valley just south of Bolzano, from the Überetsch terrace to the porphyry slope above San Giacomo. Tap a layer to read it.
Swipe the plate sideways to see the whole section.
Schematic. The bedrock is drawn as one body of Permian volcanic rock (the Athesian Volcanic Group); the published maps split it into several ignimbrite formations. The depth of the valley fill is not drawn to scale: it runs well below the base of the drawing. Ground from AWS terrain data. The Putzenhof rows are placed from the grower's 300–650 m; the Merlot at 340 m. The river's position is approximate.
5 layers, youngest at the top
Why red wine ripens this far north
- Bolzano sits in a low basin walled off from the north, and its summers are among Italy's hottest.
- The south-west-facing slope takes the afternoon sun full on.
- Porphyry sand drains fast and warms quickly, so the vines are never waterlogged.
- Height is the lever: warm rows low for Lagrein and Merlot, cooler rows higher for the whites.
Did you knowThe red porphyry around Bolzano is the remains of a Permian volcanic field whose eruptions, about 280 million years ago, left rock more than a kilometre thick.
Pas Mal wines on this ground
Sources: Provincia autonoma di Bolzano, geological map (GeoBrowser); Alois Lageder and Decanter on porphyry soils; World of Fine Wine on Schiava and Lagrein; Falstaff on Bolzano summer heat; Putzenhof grower data; AWS Terrain Tiles.