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Eight Alpine Wines We Are Drinking Right Now
September 1, 2026
Eight Alpine Wines We Are Drinking Right Now
Savoie, Valais, Alto Adige and Alto Piemonte
Every wine on this list comes from a landscape sculpted by the Alps.
An alpine climate is shaped by three forces working in unison. Elevation stretches the growing season and preserves vibrant acidity through harvest. Sunshine is concentrated by the sculpted peaks and valleys, and valley topography dictates how much warmth is retained. Bolzano is living proof of this balance: the valley sits in a natural basin that traps summer heat, transforming one of the northernmost corners of Italy into one of its warmest. Palm trees flourish here in plain view of snowcapped peaks.
Sunshine works a similar wonder in the Swiss Valais. Marie Thérèse Chappaz farms steep terraces that receive over two thousand hours of sun and more than three hundred clear days each year. The warm, dry Foehn winds sweep up the Rhône valley to concentrate the warmth. It is not a cold place; it only looks like one from a distance.
What unites these wines is not merely a coordinate on a map. It is the ancient rock and the dramatic terrain that forged them. You can taste it in the slate terraces of the Savoie beneath Mont Blanc, where Domaine des Ardoisières rebuilt an abandoned hillside stone by stone. You find it in the sheer granite slopes above Fully, worked entirely by hand because the pitch permits nothing else. You see it in the volcanic porphyry of Boca beneath the glaciers of Monte Rosa, and the steep quartz and mica slate at Kuenhof in the Valle Isarco.
Across four different alpine regions and a range of soils, these bottles speak the same unmistakable language in the glass. You will find notes of resin, cold stream water over stone, crushed botanicals, wild thyme, and damp forest floor after rain.
If you grew up near the mountains or around pine woods at altitude, you already recognize this profile.
The next time you find yourself outdoors, surrounded by trees, moving water, and crisp mountain air, pause and take a long breath in. Whatever you smell in that moment, that is the essence of Alpine wine.
Marie Thérèse Chappaz
Marie-Thérèse Chappaz is widely recognized as the grand dame of Swiss biodynamics. Her dizzying, vertigo-inducing granite terraces above Fully must be farmed entirely by hand, as no machine could hold this pitch. Her wines are studies in purity, driven by intense granitic minerality and alpine lift. These are bottles defined entirely by transparency and tension.
Petite Arvine, Marsanne and Sylvaner, grown on granite and limestone parcels across the Valais. A white with weight and salinity in equal measure. This could not be a more picture perfect alpine wine. This wants roast chicken with a lot of herbs, or a whole fish with brown butter.
Mountain Pinot Noir, translucent and lifted, with wild raspberry and that resinous mountain edge underneath. Serve it cool. Duck, mushrooms, anything from a wood fire.
Kuenhof
The most overlooked bottle on this list.
The Eisacktal is the northernmost wine-growing valley in Italy, a narrow corridor carved into steep quartz-phyllite and mica-slate cliffs.
Grown on steep terraces in the narrow Isarco valley, it is all white pepper, green herbs, quince and cold wet slate. Precise without being austere.
This is a versatile wine. Trout. Speck and rye bread. Asparagus in spring. A bowl of dumplings in broth.
Domaine des Ardoisières
In the late 1990s, a dedicated group of locals set out to replant the historic Roman-era slopes of Cévins, which had sat abandoned since the phylloxera crisis. Winemaker Brice Omont arrived in 2005 and elevated the estate into one of the most celebrated cult domains in France. Farming impossibly steep 60% grades with winches and manual labor, Omont gives native Savoie varietals the meticulous biodynamic care typically reserved for Grand Cru Burgundy. The cuvée names reflect the bedrock beneath your feet.
Jacquère, Chardonnay and Mondeuse Blanche. Clay and limestone give this wine a broader and rounder palate, with a mineral spine keeping the wine focused. This wine is bursting with orchard fruit and mineral notes. Like all wines from Ardoisières, this is quintessential Savoie. Enjoy with roast pork, aged cheeses, a long lunch.
One hundred percent Jacquère. Silica. The bright electric one. Citrus, crushed rock, a saline snap on the finish. Oysters, goat cheese, anything from the sea. This is the bottle to buy in quantity.
Jacquère, Roussanne, Malvoisie and Mondeuse Blanche. Slate, and the summit of the range. Smoke, wet stone and deep concentration held on a tightrope. Give it air and give it a real meal.
Le Piane
Boca is Alto Piemonte’s easternmost and highest appellation, nestled in the pre-alpine foothills of Monte Rosa. Long before the region was nearly abandoned in the mid-20th century, its ancient volcanic porphyry soils produced some of northern Italy’s most prized wines. Christoph Künzli stepped in during the 1990s, consolidated fractured old holdings, and brought this extraordinary terroir back to life.
Primarily high-altitude Erbaluce with a portion of local field blend. Textural, vibrant, and intensely stony, with subtle notes of bitter almond, mountain wildflowers, green pear, and alpine herbs. The ultimate "Tuesday night" wine that overdelivers across the board. Pour it alongside mushroom risotto, roasted chestnuts, or a plate of salumi while you cook.
Franz Gojer Glögglhof
Sourced from deep-rooted old vines (some over 70 years old) grown on porphyry and morainic soils. Pale, shimmering ruby with intoxicating aromas of wild strawberries, sour red cherries, almond blossom, and dried mountain herbs. Featherlight tannins and brisk natural acidity make the glass empty itself effortlessly.
Serve chilled. Pair it with speck, wood-fired pizza, or charcuterie on a warm afternoon. If you want proof that alpine reds belong at the everyday table, this is the twenty five dollar answer.
As always, we are here for any questions you may have at shop@mwcwine.com.
Cheers,
Kimberly Cavoores, DipWSET
The Wines
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2023 Marie-Therese Chappaz, Valais, Assemblage Blanc
Regular price $85.00Regular priceUnit price per -
2024 Marie-Therese Chappaz, Valais, Grain Pinot Les Dahrres
Regular price $88.00Regular priceUnit price per -
2024 Kuenhof, Eisacktaler Sylvaner, Alto Adige
Regular price $39.99Regular priceUnit price per -
2025 Franz Gojer, Alto Adige, Vernatsch Alte Reben
Regular price $25.00Regular priceUnit price per -
2024 Ermes Pavese, Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle
Regular price $42.99Regular priceUnit price per -
2023 Domaine des Ardoisieres, IGP Vin des Allobroges, Schiste
Regular price $88.00Regular priceUnit price per -
2024 Domaine des Ardoisieres, Silice, Vin des Allobroges IGP
Regular price $31.99Regular priceUnit price per -
2025 Domaine des Ardoisieres, Vin des Allobroges Blanc, Argile
Regular price $49.99Regular priceUnit price per
