"Giornate altoatesine del Pinot Nero" (The days of Pino Noir in the region of Alto Adige) is a three-day event that takes place every year in May. A judging board constituted by expert sommeliers and oenologists from all over the world, tastes the competing wines. All takes place in the frame of Egna and Montagna, beautiful mountain location of Südtirol, where the farming of Pinot Nero grapevines has a long tradition since mid-nineteenth century. The participant red wines in the 2014 edition were eighty from different regions of Italy plus a selection of twenty-five international Pinot Noir, all from the year 2011. It is Always a wonderful opportunity for people in love with this delicious red wine to join the competition to appreciate the bottles of both winners and losers.

The results were announced a few weeks ago, with the first places conquered by local bottles, that is wines coming from the Südtirol region: Trattmann, Cellar of Girlan (Cornaiano), Sanct Valentin, Cellar of San Michele Appiano Producers, and Zeno, from Merano Burggräfler Cellar. The first wine from a different region, Pinot Nero "Segni di Langa", from Piedmont, gained the tenth place.

Girlan, the winning cellar, was established in 1923 in a chalet from the fifteenth century. Their slogan is "Modern technologies between walls of the ancient flavour". They harvest grapes from Mazzon, just above Egna, in a grapevine belonging to the family Holzknecht. They produce around twenty thousand bottles per year. The average retail price is ?25.

San Michele Producers Cellar was founded in 1907. Every year they produce two million bottles, divided among thirty-five different brands, especially white wines. Since 1977, the oenologist is Hanz Terzer, one of the most well known in Italy for his strive for quality. Sanct Valentin Pinot Noir DOC has strength of 14%, just like Trattmann.

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