TRENTINO ALTO-ADIGE

This is the mountain region par excellence. Trentino-Alto Adige has incomparable natural beauty both in the winter and other seasons. Beyond the ski slopes and the hiking trails, tourists will find relaxation and well being at the hot springs, art and spirituality in the sanctuaries and monasteries, flavour and tradition in the local products as well as high quality and style in the many hospitality offers.

The commercial farms in Trentino have hosted visitors as far back as forty years ago in the masi, which were traditional mountain-style buildings. For years, Trentino was the vanguard region in the sector of rural tourism. It had one of the first regional laws on agritourism in all of Italy. Today it is still a model to follow with simple family-style hospitality and as tradition commands, an optimum level of service for modern and exigent tourists.

DON’T MISS THE FESTIVAL

The Carnival in Grauno (TN)

Arboreal rites characterize many traditional spring events and that is also true of some Carnival activities in Trentino.

Carnival is seen as a prelude to spring, the season of vitalizing and emerging energies in these events.

In Grauno, before Fat Tuesday a majestic pine tree is cut down and its limbs are sheared off - all under the close supervision and indications of the forest service. The prepared tree is carried to the square of the city where Fat Tuesday takes place with a “Comedy” recounting deeds and misdeeds of the well known, as is a common practice in many Carnival celebrations.

LIGHTING THE PINE TREE.  Traditionally the last groom of the season is chosen as the guilty party in a similar comedy that ends with the groom being chosen to "baptize" the pine. The tree is carried through the city to the "Doss del Carneval" (a small hill) where it is planted in a deep hole. The afternoon passes with singing and frenetic dancing, while the tree is decorated by the groom and his bride. It becomes a giant torch that is visible throughout the valley in Val di Cembra. Until recently the tree was lit by all the "carnival" fires from the surrounding towns as well (which burned carnival puppets, trees or wheels).

The older people in the community are still able to read the future through the sparks (bolife in dialect) from the fire. If the sparks rise it is a bad sign, but if they raise a little and then fall back down in an arch shape (like a mature head of grain filled with wheat) it means that it will be a good harvest year.

THE WINES IN TRENTINO

Trentino rhymes with vino and here they make some of Italy’s very best wines and grappa distillates. The choice is difficult and we will only mention a few of the ones "to taste" with some less widely known local examples that are worthy of further study.

The area surrounding Tenno Lake has a typically alpine climate and it is surrounded by fertile hills covered with vineyards and olives. Here, at one of the many local farms you can taste incredible white wines such as the classic Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio.

You should also visit nearby Val di Gresta where there are vegetable farms and vineyards in abundance. With grapes harvested near Isera, they produce Marzemino, which was mentioned in and made famous by Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni.

Heading towards Colle di Tenna, you will find the land of bubbly spumante. Here on the banks of Caldonazzo Lake, Giulio Ferrari planted Chardonnay vines from France around a century ago.

In the Valle dei Laghi, at the foot of Monte Bondone there is a temperate climate that hardly ever reaches the low temperatures that are common in other parts of the region. Here they cultivate nosiola grapes, which are used to make Vin Santo, through a truly unique process.

Val di Non is well known all over for its apples, but it also has another treat in store. On the banks of the artificial Cles Lake there is an ancient variety of grape grown that is known as gropello. The plants are centuries old with bunches of small black grapes that are pressed to make a dark rustic wine that is worthy of mention thanks to the historic value of its cultivation. In the Rotaliana Plains the entire landscape is inebriating. The area is covered in vineyards that produce the grapes for the wine that stands for Trentino: Teroldego.

This is a pleasantly dry red wine that is best known for its bouquet, reminiscent both of peaches and raspberries.

We could not close our tour of Trentino and its wines without mentioning Val di Cembra, a valley that is the fatherland of grappa. Here they have been making grappa since the dawn of history and you can find all different types and preferences. The only difficulty you will have is making your choice, so relax and allow yourself that which is referred to as " the honest man’s alcoholic sin."

There are some great wines produced in Alto Adige. Even though they are not at the level of the neighbouring province of Trento, they are worthy of mention. Near Bolzano they produce several reds including Castel Schwanburg, Eppaner, Guncinà and Santa Maddalena. White wines include Pinot bianco and Pinot grigio, Sylvaner and Terlano.

THE FLAVOURS IN TRENTINO-ALTO ADIGE

The completely alpine region Valle d’Aosta, Trentino-Alto Adige is marked by a double character that is also evidenced in its double name. This is a region of borders in a province where Alto Adige (or Southern Tyrol) has many characteristics of its bordering country. The province of Trento is like a meeting point between the northern culture and the peninsular Mediterranean culture and which is also reflected in the cuisine.

FIRST COURSES.  Our mini-review opens with a dish from Alto Adige (which is also served in Trentino). This dumpling made from dry bread mixed with milk and egg, is called knoedel (or canederli). There are many varied ways of serving this dumpling including: speck ham, liver, beef, spinach and prunes or even (in this case it is served as a dessert) with apricots and with apples. It is generally eaten in a soup broth. Another favourite soup is the minestra d'orzo, which is made from barley, potato, carrot, celery, herbs and pork shins or boiled pork roulette. The pasta dishes include strangolapreti from Trentino with a funny name that means, "priest chokers." This pasta is similar to a central Italian specialty in name only. They have very different characteristics, beginning with the dough, which is made in Trentino from dry bread mixed with egg, flour and spinach or swiss chard. Dumplings are made from the mixture and then boiled and topped with melted butter, sage and Parmesan.

SECOND COURSES.  Many second course dishes are based on mountain game including the Alto Adige specialty capriolo con i mirtilli, which is mountain goat that is marinated for two days in red wine and then cooked with rosemary, juniper berries, bay, sage, onion and (the special touch) sprigs of spruce.  Another favourite is lepre alla trentina, which is twice marinated hare: the entrails of the hare are marinated separately from the meat with pine nuts, raisins, cinnamon and cloves.  The marinated mixtures are then cooked in a casserole dish with a great deal of sauce and served with polenta.

With the Council of Trento, the regional cuisine underwent a renewal and “de-provincialization” with the development of fresh water fish specialties such as trotelle alla trentina, which introduced the use of olive oil in traditional northern cuisine. The trout are breaded and fried in oil with sage and rosemary and then covered for at least twenty four hours to marinate in a mixture of olive oil, vinegar, onion, parsley, garlic, mint, raisins, orange and lemon zest. The trota in blu made in Alto Adige uses a more Nordic style by adding butter, which is poured on the fish before serving. After being quickly marinated for fifteen minutes in vinegar, the trout is boiled in wine over a low flame for another fifteen minutes before being topped with melted butter, parsley, bay, carrot, lemon zest, cloves and pepper.

THE DESSERTS.   We begin with the apfelstrudel, made from a thin piecrust filled with the exquisite apples grown in Alto Adige, butter, raisins, pine nuts, cinnamon and cloves. Beyond this universally well-known version there are others such as germstrudel made from leavened dough and filled with plum jam. In the two provinces you will find the slightly different zelten, which are Christmas goodies destined to be saved for several days, with a traditional almond shape, or sometimes round, prepared by combining assorted dry fruit with equal quantities of flour with butter, egg, milk, orange zest and some kind of distillate (rum or grappa).