Wine producers in Alto Adige are painting a very favourable picture of the 2008 vintage. They expect the quality of the wines to be good to very good, with alcohol levels lower than those in recent years.

Hans Terzer, president of the Alto Adige wine producers association, spoke of good to very good quality. Although in many cases the production volume is lower than the long-term average (five to ten per cent down, depending on the region and variety), the weather in the past weeks has at least ensured ripe grapes, with higher acid levels and lower must weights than last year. It can thus be expected that the wines will have slightly lower alcohol levels than in 2006, 2005 or 2003, this is not seen as a problem. There is praise for the mineral structure of the young wines, as well as for the healthy condition of the grapes harvested - the best in a decade, in the opinion of many producers. (WF)