Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/859549
{ SOMMjournal.com } 65 Santa Margherita Marketing Manager Kristina Sazama, DWS, and The Somm Journal Publisher/Editorial Director Meridith May kicked off the tasting with a wel- come reception, toasting guests upon their arrival with glasses of Cuvée Prestige from pioneering Franciacorta producer Ca' del Bosco. Although elevation isn't a distinguishing feature of Franciacorta's topography, the Alps certainly impact the overall terroir of the sub-Alpine sparkling-wine production zone, which boasts a temperate climate aided by their sheltering influence. Therefore, while the rigor of the metodo classico here yields bubbly to rival some Champagne, said Sazama, Franciacorta "doesn't have that lean austerity"—never mind the price tag—that can intimidate consumers. (As if that weren't enough of a talking point, Ca' del Bosco has got a charmer in its "berry spa"—a practice of triple-washing organi - cally farmed grapes that sounds more like a luxury salon treatment.) Like Franciacorta—and for that matter all of northern Italy's wine regions not named Piedmont—Alto Adige has earned increasing recognition in recent years, in part for its unique place as a viticultural borderland between Italy and Austria. Here where the Mediterranean meets the the Alpine Dolomites to form a rugged landscape that sees 300 days of sunshine, producers strategize the relationship of elevation to exposure in ways that prove beneficial not only for local varieties like Lagrein but for grapes written off nearly everywhere else as characterless. Kettmeir's a case in point, as our tasting of its 2016 appellation- level Pinot Grigio, Pinot Blanc and Müller-Thurgau revealed. "Across the board, these wines are textured," observed Todd Rocchio, Wine Director of steakhouse Guard and Grace. "The fruit is there, but it's the finish that really stands out to me." As Sazama put it, even the Pinot Grigio, with "its The Kettmeir lineup for our tasting: 2016 Pinot Grigio, Pinot Bianco and Müller Thurgau from Alto Adige. Santa Margherita USA Marketing Manager Kristina Sazama, DWS, provided an engaging overview of the featured producers.