Gewürztraminer Spätlese Vendemmia Tardiva Hofstätter 2017 (37.5 cl)

This is a late-harvest Gewürztraminer made from grapes specially selected from various sites surrounding Termeno. The grape variety is named after the village of Termeno (Tramin), where the growing conditions enable it to develop its typical aromatic character to the full. Harvest takes place well into November. Picking is a very difficult process, given that over-ripe grapes are extremely delicate and picking requires expert hands to place them carefully in small wooden trays. The grapes are crushed gently and carefully. The juice is left to clear by natural sedimentation, after which fermentation takes place in small oak casks. The wine subsequently is aged in small casks for 12 months and then for six months in bottle before release. Golden in colour. An intense and concentrated aroma is released as soon as the wine is poured, reminiscent of exotic fruits such as mango, papaya with a hint of pineapple and lychee, all of which follows through on the palate. Opulent, ambrosial with mouth-cleansing acidity to balance the luscious sweetness melting into a monumental finish. Contains sulphites. Produced by WEINGUT J. HOFSTÄTTER - Rathausplatz, 7 - 39040, Tramin (BZ) - Alto Adige - Italy.

The producer

For a century, the name Hofstatter has been associated by connoisseurs with a producer of excellent wines in Alto Adige. It was Josef Hofstatter who laid the foundations on which the company has been built. He was actually a blacksmith, but he also produced home-made wine for his wife, Maria. Producing home-made wine was, in fact, quite common at the time. His love of wine came from these origins. It was not long before he abandoned his profession to dedicate himself with passion, talent and common sense to wine-making. And so, before long Josef Hofstatter wines became famous in Italy and abroad with a client base that gets larger year by year. After the death of Josef in 1942, the company passed on to his descendant Konrad Oberhofer and his wife, Luise. Konrad Oberhofer was perfectly aware of the potential of the family's vines. He was one of the first in Alto Adige to begin harvesting and making-wine separately, vine by vine, and to put these wines on the market, not as an anonymous product, but as wine with different denominations (the "Crus"). In 1959 Konrad's daughter, Sieglinde, married the wine-maker Paolo Foradori, whose family had been successfully dedicated to wine-making at Mazon near Egna for decades. With this marriage the best vineyards in Bassa Atesina were united. Termeno and Mazon therefore became the foundations on which, today more than ever, the company and the family stand. Management of the vineyards and the cellars has now been passed on to the fourth generation, Martin Foradori, whose young man's impulses and desire for innovation draw on nearly a century of experience.

Best with

Excellent accompaniment for dried fruit, well-structured desserts, mature cheese and cheese with herbs.

How to serve it

The wine should be served at 15 degrees centigrade. The best glasses to use are clear, transparent crystal goblets.

How to keep

The bottles should be laid horizonatlly in a cool, dark, humid wine-cellar.