What flavor can a wine stored at a depth of 500 meters in South Tyrol have, bottled in 2009? Apparently very good, unpublished, like the Gewurztraminer of the Tramin Cellar, called Epokale and candidate to be one of the best Italian whites. It was presented in Milan by the oenologist Willi Sturz and the director of the nineteenth-century cellar Wolfgang Klotz, who had 6 bottles of the historic vine tasted, including the Epokale, even kept in mines, in the Monteneve mine, "because in there was no place in the cellar with those characteristics”.
"In the silence and darkness of a depth of 500 metres, with a constant temperature of 11 degrees and 90% humidity, the bottles rested slowly", explained Sturz. All this time of evolution and the particular conditions have given a particular flavor to the wine, sweeter and also more complex. “We have listened to our elders, who have been saying for centuries that wine is best in the mountains. This mountain 200 years ago was rich in silver, lead and zinc and the mine was active”. The mine is located in Val Ridanna to be precise, not far from Vipiteno and the border with Austria.
The vintage presented in Milan will be sold in the coming years at a rate of around 2.000 bottles a year. For now, Gewurztraminer Epokale can be found in restaurants, at a cost of around 100 euros per bottle. Part of the collection was auctioned off on an e-commerce site, which sold out within 20 minutes.
