Many years ago I owned a wine store in Brooklyn. One of the wine salesmen who came in regularly introduced me to the wines of Elena Walch in the Alto Adige and I really liked them and ordered them for the store. That summer Michele and I were visiting Northern Italy and decided to stop at the Elena Walch Winery. We had a memorable visit and tasted a number of wines along with the local food.

The Alto Adige (Südtirol) Region, which borders on Austria and Switzerland, is at the foot of the Alps and the Dolomites. It is Italy’s northern-most wine region. The Alps protect it from inclement weather from the North and the Atlantic while the Dolomites protect the vineyards from the cold, damaging winds from the east.  Along with its proximity to the Mediterranean and Lake Garda, this makes it an excellent region to grow grapes. The…