The Salvetta family were the very first in the region to bottle a varietal Nosiola all those decades ago, and today the family’s expression of this Alto Adige specialty is widely regarded as one of two definitive examples of the grape, joined in that auspicious category by none other than the ‘Queen of the Dolomites’ herself Elisabetta Foradori. Hailing from 1.5 hectares of organically farmed vines, while not an orange wine in any real sense, the Salvetta’s Nosiola sees 7 days of skin-maceration prior to 8 months aging in old Acacia barrels, followed by what is now 4+ years of aging in-bottle. The resulting is a mature, richly textured, hauntingly aromatic, and ever shape-shifting white. Deeply golden, the nose reels with pressed white flowers, chamomile, hazelnut, and mountain grasses, criss-crossed by grapefruit, tangerine, blood orange and ripe yellow apple. The palate flaunts the classic textural complexity of Nosiola, a mouthful that is all at once salty, nutty, oily, and pithy carried high by a firm spine of high altitude acidity.
Situated in the picturesque village of Sarche, a few miles to the south of Trento, the Salvettas’ three vineyards, totalling a minuscule 1.5 hectares of plantings, sit amidst a backdrop of towering limestone cliffs on all sides. Though this property had been farmed in one sense or another for over 600 years, it was Dario Salvetta that set the estate on its current course, purchasing the farm in 1930 and planting a portion of it to native alpine grape varieties, producing both still and sweet wines that quickly rose to fame in the region. Fast-forward two generations and Dario’s grandson Francesco is now at the helm of Salvetta, having implemented widespread improvements on the farming front (they’ve now been certified organic since 2012) and focusing the family’s efforts entirely on the championing of the white grape Nosiola.