Kurtatsch Sauvignon Alto Adige 2019

With the weather we’re having, it seems that summer is here early so I’ve been hunting for crisp white wines for everyone to wash down with all this sunshine. If we’re being completely honest, I set out to find you a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, so I asked a few of my importer buddies if they could help out and send some samples.

Not all of my Sauvignon Blanc samples were from NZ, a few were from the states, one from South Africa, one from Australia and the one I’m offering today– from my secret weapon region for lip-smacking whites: the high altitude vineyards of the snow-capped Dolomite Mountains in the Alto Adige.

You may know Kurtatsch already if you were wise enough to snatch up the Pinot Grigio when we offered it a few weeks back. With high elevations and intense slopes, machine farming at the winery is not possible. Instead, the low yielding vines are harvested by hand – row by row. Kurtatsch’s labor of love is well worth it.

Their 2019 Alto Adige Sauvignon Blanc unsurprisingly comes wrapped with a 91-point score — for those of you who like scores, you don’t really get higher than that for a wine that checks in under $20 on bottle 1. But forget scores, this one just dazzles out of the gates.