For an area so associated with high quality whites (80% of the production), it’s somewhat hard to believe that in Alto Adige, the most widely planted grape variety is actually the red called Schiava.  So ubiquitous are the distinctive wooden pergolas that hold these vines in the Adige Valley, that there about a dozen local names for it (in German, Italian and Ladin) and at least four official ones.  And even at the most august, high falootin’ wineries along the Strade del Vino in this gorgeous valley that separates Italy from Austria, there’s always a bit of low-brow Schiava percolating away in the cellar.  It is, after all, what the locals actually sip while sitting on their patios enjoying some of the most entrancing views in the world.  But, in addition to making the light, somewhat peppery and simple red most often served from a chilled carafe, Schiava (skee-ava) in recent years has been elevated in some cellars to a wine of great distinction.  And, thanks in no small part to climate change, riper versions have appeared with more stuffing, flavor development and character. I’ve had plenty of Schiavas, Trollingers, Vernatches and Santa Magdalenas in my day, from the €8 per bottle versions quaffed alongside a plate of Speck and softball-sized dumplings at a wine bar in Bolzano on up, but Elena Walch’s just-released 2024 Schiava, really raised the bar for me!  Before there was an Elena Walch Winery, of course, there was Elena’s husband, Werner Walch’s three-generation old cellar in Termeno that Elena, an architect in Milan before discovering her passion for wine, expanded and turned into one of the region’s very best.  Schiava, therefore, was no stranger here.  There are plenty of those pergolas sitting right there in the Walch’s Castel Ringberg estate’s driveway.  What the meticulous Walch has done differently, though, is to allow for a little more ripeness, six days of skin contact and a brief maturation in the winery’s gorgeous old oak oval casks.  This gives the wine a little more oomph and a little more texture without destroying what makes Schiava special in the first place- its fresh, crunchy fresh acidity and nice peppery finish.  The aromatics explode with fresh fruit, red currant, white pepper and strawberry and that little hint of finishing bitterness, always a feature of a good Schiava, makes it a sublime partner to all kinds of smoky, salty fare, cheeses, sausages and anything else you can imagine.  And if it’s warm outside and your bottle sits in the ice for a bit, that’s no crime either.  Drink now and over the next two or three years to take a trip through the Schiava pergolas of Alto Adige without ever leaving home!  Very highly recommended.