Nosiola wine guide

Nosiola is the queen of Trentino, a wine that, after years of dull and colorless wines, is finally establishing itself as the true protagonist of Trentino, as a wine full of grace and potential.

If we talk about the dry version of Nosiola, it is a wine that is not particularly fragrant but elegant, with persuasive notes of flowers and hazelnut; it is not very structured but manages to find outstanding balance, excellent drinkability, and good acidity.

And precisely, its freshness is the key to interpretation, the characteristic that has allowed these clusters to become a legendary sweet passito wine, the legendary Vino Santo Trentino.

The bunches of Nosiola are left to ripen on the plants until September, when they are harvested (making a strict selection to collect only the best) and are placed on racks to dry.

The aim is to concentrate the sugars and produce a unique nectar. Our dear friend Botrytis cinerea often appears—yes, precisely the one that attacks the clusters of Furmint in Tokaji and Semillon in Sauternes.

The amount of liquid is cut down by a lot, but that’s what it takes to get the incredible concentration of sugars, aromas, and flavors that make Vino Santo Trentino so special.

Obviously, the dehydrated grapes are pressed during the Holy Week, and then the must is left to ferment in small wooden barrels. According to the law, the refinement process must last three years, but many producers take much longer.

So time manages to transform this sweet and syrupy symphony into a poem of incredible charm, where the fruity tones are ripe, candied, and dancing, and yes, they blend with spices, citrus fruits, honey, and a thousand flowers.

Thus, Nosiola has had time to develop ethereal and evolved notes of fantastic elegance.

Be careful not to get them confused with the Tuscan Vin Santo, made with Trebbiano; they are similar in process, of course, but very different, and if you miss the slip, I’m not saying that you offend them; we miss it. It is, after all, a fact of self-love.

But also of proper recognition, because even though it’s true that the Vin Santo from Tuscany is well-known all over the world, the Vino Santo from Trentino is not nearly as well-known. This is partly because there aren’t many producers or bottles, so the wine doesn’t get around much.

But let’s go back to this sunny vine: Nosiola has been cultivated for centuries in Trentino and loves hilly areas, a wide temperature range, altitude, and wind.

For this reason, the areas where it is mainly cultivated are the Val di Cembra and Valle dei Laghi, where the Vino Santo DOC Trentino was born.

But to limit this noble vine to just Vino Santo would be a terrible mistake, because winemakers like Eugenio Rosi, Fanti, Elisabetta Foradori, Cobelli, Poli, and Pedrotti have shown us that we are only tasting the tip of the iceberg.

Nosiola is in full swing and can be interpreted in a more structured way, especially if it has been macerated in a more even way. 

Organoleptic characteristics of Nosiola wine

As mentioned before, it is not an exaggeratedly whimsical wine. Still, the bouquet is delicate, fresh, and characterized by green, mineral aromas, with flowers, pears, apples, and the classic hazelnut dominating.

The palate is acidic, gritty, of medium structure, quite varied, with a savory and greedy extension, but not too complex.

History and etymology of Nosiola

It has been cultivated since time immemorial in Trentino. It was the classic everyday wine, the simple and rustic one, that was drunk after returning from work in the fields.

The earliest traces in the archives date back to 1800.

The name seems to derive from the characteristic scent in which the hazelnut stands out, so by assonance, it became Nosiola.

In Sorni and in the north of Trentino, where the wine is stiffer, Nosiola is a masculine noun; in the Valle dei Laghi, where we find more languid wines, it is a feminine noun. In both cases, it is an exquisite wine, so let’s uncork it, brothers.

Nosiola food pairings

It’s a wine with a wide range of flavors: the lighter ones go well with steamed fish and pesto pasta, shellfish, erbazzone, salmon, and fatty fish. Recommended dishes: parmigiana ravioli, spaghetti with clams, chicken tikka masala, Chicken Cacciatore, Vitello Tonnato, truffle risotto, pasta alla carbonara .