Nusserhof Heinrich Mayr Elda Vino do Tavola 2018 750ml

90% Schiava/10% "other". Known locally as Vernatsch, Schiava is a thin-skinned grape native to the Alto Adige but down to only about 200 hectares in the region. The Mayrs of Nusserhof have a 1.5-hectare plot of 90-year-old Schiava vines a few kilometers from their home vineyard (mixed in are Lagrein, Merlot, Blatterle and unidentified varieties). The vineyard is on a very steep hillside and planted in pergola on red volcanic porphyry soils. The farming is certified-organic and all work including harvest is strictly, only possibly, by hand. Yields are naturally low at 30hl/ha max. The bunches are destemmed and co-fermented with natural yeasts in stainless steel tanks. Maceration lasts 5-6 weeks. The wine is aged in 20-hectoliter French oak botti for 2 years and then for another 2 years in bottle. "Elda" is named for proprietress Elda Mayr from whose family this plot came. The local Santa Magdalena DOC permits astronomic yields of 150 hl/ha, so the Mayrs choose to classify the wine as a Vino Rosso (thus variety and vintage are not allowed on the label, where a tiny lot number indicates the vintage).