For all the riches it has to offer the wine world, the alpine melting pot of Alto Adige remains a secret largely guarded within Italy’s borders. Founded a century ago as a small co-operative winery with 23 growers on their books, Girlan is based in the heart of Italy’s striking mountainous borderlands. Set amid the sawtooth limestone peaks of South Tyrol, this region’s wine culture, like its language and cuisine, has more in common with its neighbours Austria or Germany than with the rest of Italy. Combined with the cool, rocky alpine terroirs, these cultural influences play out in a wide range of distinctive wines: pulpy, mineral, mouth-watering whites and intriguing, gastronomically slanted reds from local grapes Lagrein and Schiava.Girlan was one of the first cantinas in the region to pay a premium based on the quality of grapes it receives. That charter has only been strengthened under the current direction of Oscar Lorandi and locally born cellarmaster Gerhard Kofler. Today, they work with 200 families who farm around 215 hectares of vines, meaning the average grower’s holding is still under a single hectare. If the grower delivers grapes worthy of a premium Girlan bottling, they get a generous bonus. This incentive clearly goes a long way. Girlan holds a cast-iron reputation as one of the region’s front-runners and is a regular feature on the Gambero Rosso red carpet and Italy’s Michelin-starred wine programs.The Adige produces many outstanding wines, the best of which deservedly sit in the upper price ranges. Many of these wines represent traditions that reach back centuries. So, to have a producer that offers such value, and wines made with serious purpose, is something to cherish—especially in days like these. The style of the wines is very much in the zeitgeist—aromatic, textural, snappy whites and delicious, fragrant, crunchy-fresh reds—and each release speaks loudly of its mountainous, stony terroirs. For buyers looking to Europe for diversity and value, these count among the best-value wines we ship each year.