The South Tyrol (or Südtirol) is the Dolomite alpine region in northern Italy spanning up to its Swiss and Austrian borders. The region has a strong heritage among locals who are often trilingual in Italian, German, and Ladin—the region’s patois. Just a 3+ hour’s drive North from Venice or South from Innsbruck, the area is full of snowcapped mountains and thick forests, apt for some of the best skiing in the world in the wintertime and thriving vineyards in the summer.
Lagrein
Pronounced in the German-accented “La-Grine” in the region and “La-Grain” elsewhere in Italy, Lagrein is a red wine grape variety that produces some of the greatest wine you haven’t started drinking. Local to the area it’s full-bodied and with complexity in taste much like the heralded Bordeaux, yet it’s dry with a crisp, but not tart, finish. It’s positively delicious. I captured photos of the bottles I especially enjoyed on my recent visit.
In the U.S. I’ve been able to find delightful bottles for as little as $13. Check out Brooklyn Wine Exchange on Court Street.
And notably, one of the East End’s own local vineyards, Channing Daughters, is producing their own delectable Lagrein concoction here on Long Island.
