Trentodoc Moser: the ‘sprint’ from Chardonnay to Pinot Noir

When I met brothers Carlo and Ignazio Moser I was impressed by the determined way they spoke about their wine, their history and their way of feeling and living the family estate that bears the name of their father, cycling champion Francesco Moser. But even with that name, they were aware the estate had to have its own voice and identity in order to establish itself among the wines of Trentino.

When tasting Moser wines, I found a few that pleasantly surprised me and I thought that in writing about them I should, like everyone does, introduce the estate by talking about the cycling legend and the records he set. Then something occurred to me. In Italian, one often says someone did something “for sport” to indicate that it was either not important or not difficult. This could explain why, in some cases, producers the world over add sparkling wine to their line. However, this is a contradiction because a true sport feat involves three basic things: dedication, effort and preparation. And from this point of view it is much easier to understand the similarities between winemaking and sport.

Winemaking in Trentino has found a convincing voice in the Moser family which is establishing its new identity with the current generation. Carlo, who studied economics, runs the estate, Ignazio is an agronomist but has a vocation for sales and marketing, Francesca is responsible for the hospitality activities, while cousin Matteo and Leonardo are involved in the winery and in the vineyard. The estate was created in 1979 Val di Cembra, where the family’s vineyards were, with the winery in Palù di Giovo. At the time, Francesco worked there with his brother Diego. In the 1990s, the winery was moved to Maso Villa Warth, a former bishop’s residence in Gardolo di Mezzo. In 2008, Francesco’s offspring obtained complete control of the estate although they continue their collaboration with Matteo (who supplies some of the grapes needed).

The estate has vineyards in four different locations, each producing grapes with their own particular characteristics. From the area of Somi come Cabernet, Merlot and Teroldego grapes, while Maso Villa Warth produces Riesling, Moscato Giallo and Chardonnay white grapes and Pinot Noir and Lagrein red ones. The steep vineyards of Palù di Giovo in Val di Cembra and the cool ones on the more level Lavis plain produce the grapes for their traditional method bubbly, in particular Chardonnay.

For me, the Moser estate does not produce its Trentodoc “for sport” but wanted, studied and developed it, starting from the vineyards and the expressive characteristics of the grapes, in order to transfer into a wine the extraordinary resource the area of Trentino represents. The result was 51,151 which after a few years was joined by a Rosé, the production of which is small and utilizes a selection of Pinot Noir from Maso Warth and spends 40 months on the lees. Their next Trentodoc will be a Nature but not in the near future given that the bottles are still in the cellar and will not be ready at least until September. Aside from sitting on the lees for 60 months, 20% of the base wine ferments in wood. Another example of dedication, effort and preparation.

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