Light Meets Hearty: Schiava Paired with Ham and Lentil Soup

Nestled in the northeastern part of Italy, the Alto Adige produces some of Italy’s most underappreciated wines.  It’s a beautiful, serene environment with the Alpine backdrop looming over the sun-drenched valleys.  The Alto Adige, also known as Sudtirol due to its Germanic influences, provides a bicultural experience between Italian and German that is experienced in both the language, food and wines of the region.   

What I can appreciate about the wines being produced in the Alto Adige is the purity found in the wines.  Many of the wines of the region are produced as single varietals, and the winemakers make efforts to let the grapes shine and to lend that sense of place. 

The merger of two historic cooperatives that took place in 2001 to form Cantina Bozen shapes the view of how cooperatives can produce world-class wine.  With over 200 small local wine growing families all contributing to growing quality grapes to demonstrate the capabilities of the land surrounding Bolzano is what makes these wines so special.  While following strict guidelines and criteria, these producers are able to band together and share the treasures of the land where they may not normally be able to do so on their own. 

Cantina Bolzano / Kellerei Bozen

Grapes of the Alto Adige 

Today’s feature is on the indigenous grape, Schiava, and Pinot Nero, both common grapes found in the wines of the Alto Adige.  Schiava, also called Vernatsch in German, along with Lagrein that I’ve previously featured from Cantina Bolzano, produces red wines that are lighter in body. For those of you that enjoy red wines in the summer, but don’t want wines with a heavier body, Schiava is a great option.  It’s nice to give it a slight chill as well.  Schiava produces wines that show freshness with bright red fruits.  They tend to be delicate with low tannin, but that carries moderate acidity.  They carry floral aromas, violets, and almonds are common notes.   

Pinot Nero, which is also the same as Pinot Noir, is also called Blauburgunder in the area.  This is a grape that needs higher altitudes and in the cooler climate of the Alto Adigeit doesn't allow the wines to turn jammy.  These wines are approachable in their youth and show notes of red fruits including cherry and strawberry.  You will also get some earthiness and hints of spice no herbs. They are medium-bodied with bright acidity and elegant tannins. 

The Wines of Cantina Bolzano 

The two wines I tried from Kellerei Bozen was a Schiava and Lagrein blend as well as a Pinot Nero.  I paired the Schiava as you'll see with a ham and lentil soup.  The Pinot Nero I brought along with me on my cruise with my family to the Caribbean a couple months back. 

The 2023 Kellerei Bozen/Cantina Bolzano “Huck am Bach” St. Magdalena‘s Alto Adige DOC is made up of 90% Schiava and 10% Lagrein grown in gravelly soils of a 5-hectare vineyard in the Santa Magdalena zone.

Santa Maddalena hills and the city of Bolzano - Copyright: Vini Alto Adige/Tiberio Sorvillo

This wine is aged in large oak vats. Lightly ruby in color, rather transparent in the glass. Aromas of ripe black cherries with hints of violet.  On the palate it's a lighter to medium bodied wine showing nice red fruits (cherry) with juicy acidity.  It's rather soft and smooth on the palate with a lasting finish.  ABV 13%, SRP $22-23. 

The 2023 Kellerei Bozen/Cantina Bolzano Pinot Nero Alto Adige DOC grown in the slopes of Renton and Oberleitach.  It’s fermented in stainless steel and about 40% is spent in oak for a short time. The Pinot Nero was pale ruby in color and rather translucent.  Light-bodied and easy drinking, the wine was smooth and balanced with dark fruit, especilly blackberries that stood out. ABV 13%, SRP $25.

Pairing Schiava with Ham and Lentil soup  

I try to make soup more often in the cold winter months and when thinking up what to pair with the Schiava I thought a ham and lentil soup would be ideal.  I had just prepared a ham, so I used the leftover trimmings in preparation of the soup.  Ham and lentil soup is so easy to prepare while so filling.   

I started out sautéing carrots and celery for about 5 minutes.  You can add onion, but no one except myself is a fan.  Once softened, I added about 4 cups of both water and chicken broth along with some spices to include garlic powder, a bay leaf, pepper, and paprika.  Once brought to a boil I added the ham bone and simmered for about an hour.  After the soup was simmered, I removed the ham bone and chopped it up into pieces and added it back to the soup.  Voila!   

Schiava is commonly paired in the Alto Adige with speck, a smoked ham, so possibly that is the reason it went so well with this soup.  The red fruit helped cut through the richness of the ham and complemented the earthiness of the lentils.  In the Alto Adige, they also pair Schiava with canaderli, which are bread dumplings I've shared once before when I paired them with Muller Thurgau. I tried these once when I was visiting Trento.  

This pairing reminded me that Alto Adige wines are very much food friendly.  With Cantina Bolzano’s authentic expression of terroir, it proves that memorable pairings can come from simple foods and honest wines. 

Copyright: Vini Alto Adige/Florian Andergassen

You can find other wines from the Alto Adige on Wine.com to try.  I may receive compensation for any wines purchased through the affiliate link in support of Vino Travels. 

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*These wines were provided as a sample, but opinions are always my own.