Alpine Arc - Elegance at altitude

As Europe’s highest mountain range, the Alps form a crescent-shaped chain stretching from the Alpes-Maritimes in south-eastern France to Slovenia, along the northern border of Italy and encompassing the Ligurian Alps. The range extends through Savoy into Switzerland, continues into Liechtenstein and reaches the Principality of Monaco, before stretching across southern Germany and winding through Austria. This transnational region is shaped by a distinctive ecosystem in which people maintain a close relationship with their natural environment, and spans seven countries.

From west to east, the Alpine Arc can be divided into three main zones, where winegrowers adapt their practices to the altitude, climate and soils:

• The Western Alps, stretching from the Mediterranean to Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps.
• The Central Alps, extending from the Aosta Valley to the Brenner Pass.
• The Eastern Alps, running from the Brenner Pass, on the Italian-Austrian border, to Slovenia.

The vast and varied wine-growing areas of the Alpine Arc produce an extraordinary range of wines, reflecting the diversity of their terroirs and grape varieties. It is therefore difficult to define a single style that characterises Alpine wines. Nevertheless, despite the differences between individual vineyards and producers, shared growing conditions and distinctive winemaking practices help define the identity of these wines and give them a character of their own.

In this mountainous landscape, mountain viticulture demands resilience and adaptability from both the vines and the winegrowers. It is the expertise developed to meet the challenges of these demanding environments that unites winegrowers, even across widely dispersed regions. Although each region has its own winemaking traditions and techniques, the resulting wines share a distinctive identity while retaining their individual character.

Alpine soils are highly varied, comprising glacial moraines (heterogeneous deposits of rock debris transported and left behind by glaciers over millennia), alluvial deposits, marl, schist, quartz, sedimentary layers of molasse (a formation of sandstone and limestone), and pebbles. They are constantly reshaped by natural processes, including rockfalls and the formation of alluvial fans, accumulations of sediment deposited by melting snow and flowing water.

Despite the considerable differences between mountain terroirs, these stony soils share two key characteristics: they drain freely and are generally low in nutrients due to their limited organic matter content. Their composition and structure have also evolved considerably over time.

For the vines, these conditions can lead to uneven grape ripening from one plot to another, making harvest management more complex. To mitigate the challenges posed by these soils, winegrowers can adopt a range of practices, including partial grass cover to limit erosion, the addition of organic matter through compost or green manure, and supplementary irrigation where necessary. Expressing the distinctive character of each terroir is a technical challenge. For winegrowers, the ultimate goal is to translate these complex growing conditions into wines with a clear and strong identity.

The Alpine Arc is home to no fewer than 144 indigenous grape varieties. These have been cultivated for centuries and have adapted to the constraints of the climate and soil. The wines produced from them reveal unique aromas and characteristics deeply rooted in their local terroir. Other, more common grape varieties have also adapted to these challenging growing conditions; these are mainly varieties that thrive in northern regions, such as Sauvignon or Chardonnay. Most Alpine grape varieties possess natural acidity. Combined with the cool climate, this acidity makes them well-suited to the production of sparkling wines.

Among the indigenous grape varieties, some are truly remarkable. A grape variety from the Aosta Valley grown in the highest vineyards in Europe, Prié Blanc thrives at high altitudes (up to 1,200 metres), whereas in temperate Europe, viticulture is generally considered difficult above 700 to 800 metres. Another fascinating grape variety is Gringet: this native variety from Savoy is genetically isolated (unrelated to any other known grape varieties) and represents a true ampelographic treasure.

The richness of these grape varieties lies in their genetic diversity. This diversity is also evident in Cornalin (a very old grape variety from Valais), Petite Arvine, and the Austrian Grüner Veltliner, which delights wine lovers with its spicy aromatic profile. All these unique grape varieties contribute to the heritage of Alpine viticulture.

On these mountainside vineyards, the winegrowers’ determination moves mountains, and tending the vines demands constant dedication. Rugged terrain, a harsh climate, poor and variable soils, erosion, stony ground, water stress in the vines, uneven ripening of the grapes, the risk of vine diseases and steep slopes: these are vineyards that are difficult to work, known as ‘extreme vineyards’.

The small terraced plots complicate vineyard management, involving complex logistics. These are challenging terroirs, even when laid out in terraces, where no mechanisation, or almost none, is possible. The winegrower favours manual labour, which involves many hours of hard work. He adapts by devising his own production methods, developing expertise tailored to his own requirements. Owing to the difficulty of cultivating them and their labour-intensive nature, these vineyards often rely on human determination and tenacity.

Production takes place on small plots, and the low yields generally explain the high price of these wines, produced under difficult conditions. These are technically demanding wines, and the winemaker’s skill deserves recognition. The rarity of certain cuvées, highly sought after by connoisseurs, has contributed to the growing prestige of Alpine wines over recent decades.

For the most part, these are small family-run estates that face high production costs and struggle to gain recognition. There is a real need for these winegrowers to ensure that consumers recognise the quality of these distinctive wines and appreciate a wine-growing heritage that must be preserved.

In Italy, for example, there are vineyards classified as historic monuments, for which the law requires the State to intervene through measures for the ‘restoration, rehabilitation, maintenance and protection of vineyards situated in areas prone to hydrogeological instability or of particular landscape, historical and environmental value’. This is the case in Trentino-Alto Adige, and also on the Karst Plateau in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. The role of the winegrower thus takes on a new dimension, which is fortunately gaining recognition among the general public.

Thanks to this recognition, Alpine wines are establishing themselves as wines made by and closely associated with their growers, also called 'winegrowers' wines', and are increasingly sought after by connoisseurs and leading gourmet restaurants.

A diversity of terroirs, a unique ampelographic heritage, grape varieties with unique aromas, production methods specific to individual winegrowers, and the rarity of the wines… As you will have gathered, the wines of the Alpine Arc stand out for their strong identity, which remains largely unknown to the general public.

These light, airy wines are also experiencing a genuine renaissance thanks to advances in viticultural and winemaking techniques, which are helping to enhance their organoleptic qualities, whether made from a single grape variety or from a blend.

An increasing number of winegrowers are turning to biodynamics, prompting even more traditional producers to raise their game to keep pace with the leap in quality. In this effort to reclaim a heritage and showcase expertise that deserve greater recognition, winegrowers are building on these advances to bring out the very best in their grape varieties and terroirs, creating magnificent gourmet wines. The result is signature wines that are increasingly sought after for their rarity.

There is growing interest in these wines across the wine market. Drinking habits have changed. Low-alcohol wines are increasingly in tune with consumer tastes, particularly light, delicate and gourmet reds, which are becoming more popular – a far cry from the clichés about ‘dad’s wine’ (i.e. oaky, full-bodied and high in alcohol, with pronounced tannins). At the same time, the temperature variations associated with altitude can also be the envy of many lowland winegrowers who struggle to preserve the freshness of the grapes and their acidity, a key contributor to freshness in the glass.

Wine lovers will enjoy venturing off the beaten track to discover white, red and sparkling wines that stand out on the palate for their freshness and finesse. At Vinatis, we are delighted by this growing trend in the wine market and are proud to present these wines, all of which share a common link to the heart of the Alps, the very region where our company was founded, in Annecy, in 2002.