The winter was normal, with a small quantity of snow. It was colder during the first week of January, but not excessively. The weather was warm during the first two weeks of April and this made the vegetative cycle of the vines early. The budding phase of the vines took place much earlier in comparison to previous vintages, the flowering phase was 15 days early. At the end of June/beginning of July the temperature got lower so that the vegetative cycle became 7-10 days early and the forecast for the beginning of the harvest was changed. It got very warm from the 15th of August and there was good weather throughout the month of September.

SANTA MARGHERITA DI ALA (Province of Trento)

Tiziano Tommasi – Azienda La Cadalora (Vallagarina IGT): “..We started picking the white varietals and Pinot Noir on the 4/5th of September, we picked Marzemino on the 26th-27th of September and we finished with Casetta at the end of the month. The grapes were beautiful. There were no problems with rot nor with botrytis. The ripening of the grapes was very well balanced. The must is well balanced with a good sugar percentage and a good acidity. 2011 can be considered one of the best vintages of the last decade. The grape production was lower, but this is due to the fact that the berries and the clusters were smaller, consequently the grape yield per vine was lower. But the wines are consequently very concentrated and with good aromatics (this is the vintage of aromatics), they have floral notes, they are full in the mouth and sapid. 2011 can be compared to 2007. The three lovely vintages of the last decade are 1997, 2007 and 2011. Although the grape yield is a little lower, the quality is very high…. ”

PROVINCE OF BOLZANO:  Budding, flowering, veraison and ripening took place two weeks early. The springtime started with temperatures that were higher than average. During the summer the average temperature was high in June, while the weather got cooler during the second part of July. In August it got warm and the temperature was average. During the year the province of Bolzano was hit by 5 hailstorms and some also hit the viticultural area of the “Cantine Sociali” associated to “Viticoltori Alto Adige”. As one of the hailstorms took place at the end of August, some vineyards were harvested one week early. The weather in autumn was the best of the last decades.

Viticoltori Alto Adige. Viticoltori Alto Adige is a co-operative (located in Appiano – Eppan) representing and operating as a co-ordinating and consulting agency to 6 Cantine Sociali of Alto Adige (Alto Adige DOC): “The harvest started on the 29th of August with Pinot Grigio and ended on the 21st of October with Cabernet Sauvignon….The grapes reached a good ripeness…A few lots, that were hit by hail at the end of August, did not reach full maturity, although the quality was good….The average grape yield was 9 tons/hectare. There were some problems with “Drosophila suzukii” (a type of fruit fly) for Schiava grapes…The first varietals that were harvested showed high acidity, while acidity was lower for the red varietals…We made the whole range of wines..The quality is good in 2011. This vintage can be compared to 2009….”

VARNA (Province of Bolzano) The winter was normal, not excessively cold, but it was long. The cold weather started in November and continued till the end of January. It snowed a little. The vines did not suffer. At the end of March and in April the weather was warm. After this period there was regular rainfall. In May and at the beginning of June it rained every 5-6 days (luckily there were no problems with diseases). In this area (the vineyards stand at 650 meters above sea level) it rained in mid August and the temperature got lower (this favoured the “veraison” phase of the grapes). At the end of August/beginning of September it got warm again and there was good weather throughout the harvest.

Günther Kerschbaumer – Tenuta Köfererhof (Alto Adige Valle Isarco DOC, Gewürztraminer, Kerner, Müller Thurgau, Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Silvaner, Veltliner): “..The vegetative cycle of the vines started two weeks early, during the flowering phase it rained so that we had lower grape yield (especially for Gewürztrainer, Riesling and Pinot Grigio)….We started the harvest one week earlier than usual, on the 15th of September and we finished on the 13th of October….The clusters were flawless….Alcoholic fermentation proceded well. We are satisfied, 2011 is different from the other vintages…Although it is still early to express and opinion, the wines are complex, the aromatics are good, there are no “green” notes. The wines are drinkable and pleasant. We produced the whole range. This year we did not have to harvest late (for some wines the estate usually picks a part of the grapes late in order to provide complexity), as the wines have complexity….”