Artisan winemaker Alois Lageder does not malolactically ferment his chardonnay, preferring to present the chardonnay grape in its truest form.

Alois Lageder' family has owned this estate for 150 years, their vineyards lying in the Southern Tyrol region of Alto Adige, high against the Austrian border in the northeast of Italy.

Lageder's mission is as much to craft excellent, well-balanced wines of harmony for today as it is to practice sustainable agriculture that will allow for generations of future production.

From Italy's northernmost Alpine valleys, this deliciously crisp and lively white from an outstanding estate is a fine alternative to fruity and heavily oaked chardonnays. It is a wine that seems to get better and better as the meal progresses.

Food matches: Vegetable frittatas; delicate fish and seafood dishes; mild cheeses like Asiago fresco.