Alto Adige Wines: The best wines in 2025

345 times top in Italian wine guides and competitions

The wine producing country of Alto Adige is characterised by its variety. This variety is reflected in the most recent ratings from the 15 most renowned Italian wine guides and competitions. The 345 Alto Adige top ratings are spread across 209 wines from 78 producers. The range of varieties is also broad and provides an interesting insight: Although white wines are in the lead among the award-winning wines - unsurprisingly in the white wine country of Alto Adige - the varieties with the most awards are two red wines, Pinot Noir and Schiava.

The new Italian wine guides and competitions agree on the best Alto Adige wines. With six top scores, the 2011 Pinot Blanc Rarity Alto Adige Terlano DOC from Cantina Terlano is at the top of the list. Eight other wines are also listed in the guides with five top scores: the 2022 Lagrein Riserva Taber Alto Adige DOC from Cantina Bozen, the 2021 Pinot Noir Riserva Trattmann Alto Adige DOC from Cantina Girlan, the 2020 LR Riserva Alto Adige DOC and the Sauvignon Riserva Gran Lafóa Alto Adige DOC from Cantina Colterenzio, the 2019 Appius Alto Adige DOC from St. Michael-Eppan Winery, the 2021 Müller-Thurgau Vigna Feldmarschall von Fenner Alto Adige DOC from the Winery Tiefenbrunner/Schlosskellerei Turmhof and the 2022 Gewürztraminer Nussbaumer Alto Adige DOC and the 2022 Gewürztraminer vendemmia tardiva Terminum Alto Adige DOC from Cantina Tramin.

Turning to the producers, and taking the number of top scores into account, Cantina Terlano tops the rankings with 19 listings this year. Looking at the number of award-winning wines, the picture is a little different. In this list, the Cantina Colterenzio is top with eight wines.

Bibenda

The “Fondazione Italiana Sommelier”, the Italian sommelier foundation, also publishes its own wine guide each year under the name “Bibenda”. The best rating from the Bibenda sommeliers is the “Cinque Grappoli”. It also selects its ten best Italian wines each year.

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Doctor Wine

Daniele Cernilli, the “Pope of Italian wine”, is behind the launch of the online platform Doctor Wine, which not only provides news about wine in Italy, but also publishes its own wine guide. Wines are rated with “faccini”, with a maximum score of 100: the top wines are rated at 95+.

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Gambero Rosso

The “Vini d’Italia” wine guide, published by Gambero Rosso, is considered THE guide to Italian wines. First appearing in 1988 and issued each year ever since, it is Italy’s best-known wine guide. The highest mark awarded by the Gambero Rosso is the “Tre Bicchieri” that indicates an “exceptional wine”.

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Guida Bio

As it becomes already evident from the name, with little to no difficulty, the Guida Bio wine guide revolves only around organic wines. Guida Bio is therefore unique within the landscape of guides to Italian wine. And according to its own statement, it aims to contribute towards green, sustainable approaches in the wine industry. The best reward offered by Guida Bio is the “Foglia d'Oro."

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I Vini di Veronelli

The Seminario Permanente Luigi Veronelli publishes its guide “I Vini di Veronelli” (the “Guida Veronelli” for short) each year. This wine guide too has a special reputation – not least thanks to its size. Over fifteen thousand wines are closely scrutinized every year. The highest scores that can be attained are the “Tre Stelle Oro”, while newcomers that merit distinction are listed under “Grandi Esordi”.

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Le Guide de L’Espresso

The renowned magazine L'Espresso has been publishing a wine guide for decades now. Since 2023, it has changed format to show off the one thousand best wines from all over Italy. Over five hundred pages, complemented by digital media, the guide presents both the top products of Italian wine production and their producers.

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Slow Wine

Slow Wine originated as an offshoot of Italy’s Slow Food gourmet movement. The association focuses on enjoyment, sustainability and regionality and produces a comprehensive directory of Italian wines and wineries. It publishes an annual pocketbook containing current ratings, with the highest listing being that of “Top Wine”.

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Sparkle

The Sparkle guide, published annually for the last two decades, is dedicated solely to sparkling wines. Products in this category are given a maximum of “Cinque Sfere."

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Vinibuoni d’Italia

The “Vinibuoni d’Italia” guide is the only one in Italy to focus on native grape varieties, i.e. those that can claim a history of at least 300 years in Italy. Its highest awards – namely “Le Corone” and “Le Golden Star” – are bestowed at a public wine guide event.

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Vitae

Vitae is the wine guide of AIS, the Italian association of sommeliers, which boasts an impressive range of figures. For example, no fewer than 900 tasters are used to evaluate over 10,000 wines from 2,000 selected producers. Vitae’s best wines are awarded “Quattro Viti."

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The Search for the Best

The best Pinot Noirs, Rieslings, Sauvignon Blancs, and Schiavas: competitions are held throughout the year in Alto Adige at which the search is on to find the best wines. And for the most part, that search for the best ranges far beyond the province’s borders. A goal that The WineHunter has also set for itself as it, too, evaluates wines that can be tasted by the public at the Merano WineFestival.

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Overview Awards Italian Wine Guides