Don Giovanni calls out for his Marzemino.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart liked the Marzemino grape much that in the opera Don Giovanni, Don Giovanni calls out “Versa il vino! Eccellente Marzemino!” (Pour the wine! Excellent Marzemino!) before his exile into hell. Primarily grown in Isera, south of Trentino, the grape produces a drinkable red wine.

Of course, you can find Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Negro and Merlot in Trentino, but of the three reds, Marzemino is the only indigenous grape to the region. It was difficult to find any clear orgins of the variety, but it likely hails from Marzemin, a village in Carinthia. Currently Marzemino is cultivated in particular on the right bank of the river Adige and in the foothills of Nomi, Po-marolo, Isera and Mori.

Still grown today, Marzemino is briefly fermented on the skins with further malolactic fermentation and refining in stainless steel vats before six months of aging in bottle.

Medium-bodied, the wine is a ruby red color with a very intense fruit and flowers and an almond aftertaste.

If you’ve had the Cabs, the Merlots or Neros of Trentino, pick up a Marzemino–an excellent Marzemino!