Why is mountain wine different? The answer lies in a glass of Trentodoc sparkling wine

Mountain wine is more than just wine: in Italy, mountain viticulture accounts for only 2% of the total, but its inestimable value lies in its expression of community, its role as guardian of biodiversity and culture, and the fruit of labor that keeps high-altitude economies and territories alive. Like the 94 peaks over 3,000 meters and the nearly 300 lakes in Trentino, where, in the shadow of the Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in just over 1,100 hectares of vineyards (16% of the entire vineyard area in Trentino), Trentodoc is born, the classic mountain method par excellence (and the first to obtain DOC status), which, in this context, has raised its quality to the highest levels, earning a prominent place in the world of Italian sparkling wine, with constant growth that has seen bottles and turnover double in the last decade: 12.3 million bottles sold for €180 million in 2024, over 90% in Italy, the main market, while exports represent the strategic asset for the future of the brand, with the United States and Switzerland as the primary markets to focus on, riding the wave of global passion for sparkling wines and critical acclaim (with Trentodoc being the most awarded in Tom Stevenson’s famous “World Sparkling Wine Awards”). This quality is the result of an ancestral connection with the mountains and a great sparkling wine tradition, which began in the early 20th century thanks to the intuition of Giulio Ferrari. It is linked to bottle fermentation and prolonged contact with yeasts, which are the distinctive characteristics of Trentodoc, capable of boasting significant altitudes with its heroic viticulture, which sees winegrowers cultivate vines - mainly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but also Pinot Blanc and Meunier - in the most inaccessible places, but also very long ageing - well beyond the minimum 36 months required for a Riserva, from a minimum of 15 - which sees it resting even at the bottom of lakes or among glaciers, uniting man and nature, ancient knowledge and innovation.
The “Trentodoc Festival” will explain why mountain wine is different (and WineNews in a video), now in its fourth edition, from September 26 to 28, spread throughout Trento and the territory where Trentino sparkling wines are produced, organized by Provincia Autonoma di Trento, Trentodoc Institute and Trentino Marketing, with the collaboration of the Corriere della Sera newspaper and under the artistic direction of deputy director Luciano Ferraro, with experts in wine, economics, artificial intelligence, marketing, and communication, alongside producers who will open the doors of 53 wineries with more than 120 events during the event with “Trentodoc in Cantina” - from Altemasi to Cesarini Sforza Spumanti (Cavit Group), from Ferrari Trento to the Edmund Mach Foundation, from Letrari to Marchesi Guerrieri Gonzaga, from Maso Martis to Rotari (Mezzacorona Group), from Abate Nero to Balter, from Bellaveder to Michele Sartori, from Cantina di Toblino to Cembra Cantina di Montagna, from Gaierhof to Metius, from Moser to Reví, to Villa Corniole, to name but a few - great chefs, Michelin-starred sommeliers and many artists - from philosopher of science Telmo Pievani to singer-songwriter Mario Biondi, from actor and voice actor Francesco Pannofino to bassist Saturnino - who gather around a glass of fine sparkling wine, paired with excellent mountain cuisine. And confirming how sparkling wines are truly a “contemporary wine”, almost a “non-wine,” but rather a true “medium” of our society, synonymous with freshness, low alcohol content, and versatility, capable of pairing perfectly with both signature and traditional cuisine, and with the beauty of the territories where they are produced, increasingly a destination for wine tourism, in the spirit of conviviality and sharing, on every occasion.
But it is agriculture as a whole that continues to be the driving force behind the mountain economy, which affects more than 3,400 municipalities in Italy, almost half of the Italian territory: the agricultural supply chain produces on average 16% of the added value of the Italian mountain economy, and for 129 of the 387 local communities identified by Uncem and Ipsos in the “Rapporto Montagne Italia” 2025 (Italian Mountains Report) - part of the Italiae project of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers - it exceeds €20 million. This is more than mountain tourism, which is also proving to be healthy and growing steadily: today it accounts for 6.7% of the GDP of mountain areas, in line with that of the country as a whole, but with extraordinary peaks such as in Trentino, where in some communities more than 60% of GDP is directly or indirectly linked to the tourism sector. But it’s not just that, because today the mountains are also and above all considered an ideal place to live, so much so that after decades of depopulation, between 2022 and 2023 the migration balance returned to positive, thanks to almost 100,000 people who moved there to live. Because “the mountains are not just snow and cliffs, ridges, streams, lakes, and pastures. The mountains are a way of life. One step after another, silence, time, and measure”: words of the writer Paolo Cognetti in his famous novel “The Eight Mountains”, which was made into the award-winning film by directors Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch.