Over the years I've had the opportunity to visit some of the most dramatic wine landscapes in the world. The Mosel in Germany and the Douro Valley in Portugal certainly rank up near the top of my list. Not only for their beauty, but also the perilously steep slopes the vines are planted on. I'm often left wondering who it was centuries ago that thought these locations would be good places to plant vines. I guess the ancient Romans as well as the civilizations before them knew a thing or two about making wine.A couple of weeks ago at VinItaly, Brad Lewis and I had a meeting with Aldo Rainaldi, a wine maker in the Valtellina region of Italy. After a very positive presentation of his wines, Aldo suggested we visit his winery someday. Brad and I immediately took him up on his offer and set out the next day for Valtellina. I knew from my studies that Valtellina was a mountainous region but I had no idea how incredibly breathtaking the region was.

Valtellina is an Alpine valley in the far north reaches of Lombardy on the Swiss boarder. They have been producing wine here for over 2,000 years. Just as in other wine regions where ripening grapes is a challenge, only those vines planted on sunny south-facing slopes have any chance of producing good wine. Most Valtellina vineyards sit at altitudes between 230 meters and 765 meters on inclines so pronounced that just the act of walking is difficult, never mind tending to vines and harvesting fruit.

Once Brad and I finally arrived at Aldo Rainoldi's winery, his uncle Giuseppe was anxious to give us a tour of his vineyards. I think Giuseppe is part mountain goat because at 77 years young it was all we could do to keep up with him as he proudly showed us the Rainoldi family vineyards.

All of the Rainoldi wines are made from Nebbiolo grapes, known by the name Chiavennasca (named after the nearby mountain town of Chiavenna). The wines are relatively light in body with grippy tannins and bright cherry scented aromas. We currently do not carry any wines from this incredible region, but if Brad and I have our way, we soon will have these wines in our stores.

Paul Quaglini, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits wine supervisor

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