Tenuta Dornach, Louis Macerato, Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT, Trentino Alto Adige, Italy

Who - Patrick Uccelli, Tenuta Dornach 
Where - Salorno, Trentino Alto Adige, Italy
What - Orange Wine - Pinot Grigio
When - 2024
How  - Biodynamic, spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel, whole bunch maceration, matured in cement. Vegan.

In the far north of Italy, where the mountains rise up around the Adige river valley, close to the border with Austria, the wines take on a distinctly different style - pure, clean, refreshing as mountain air. They are no lightweights though. Plenty of sunshine ensures the wines have weight and texture to balance out the fruit. This wine, made by Patrick Uccelli and his wife Karoline, a biologist who looks after the vines, is from a tiny estate the couple started in 2008. It is a great example of how a bit of skin contact transforms what, due to the grape varety, can be slightly dull, one dimensional wines, into something altogether more interesting and complex, as so much flavour comes from the skins which are usually discarded to make regular white wines.