OCTOBER 2026: AUTUMN IN ALTITUDE

At the shop, we have a tendency to romanticize super high-altitude wines. It has a lot to do with the idea of sitting in a chalet atop a snow-covered mountainside, but also the magic that the shifting of elevation provides grapes. It’s difficult to generalize what altitude does to a wine beyond the sense of acid (higher) and structure (more defined), but overall, there is an alchemical process that occurs when grapes struggle to grow down a steep declension or along the spine of a ridgeline or in the glacial valley beneath snow-capped peaks. What thinner air does to wine depends also upon its context—high desert, surrounding forests (or lack thereof), diurnal shifts between cool and warmth, nearby bodies of water, sedimentary soils, and the breezes that whisper or whip. From the cliffs carved by turquoise rivers in Ribeira Sacra to the fairytale castle-studded ranges of the Vallée d’Aosta, we’ve chosen a cross section of wines over a range of altitudes throughout Europe that allow us to hear to the extremely specific things mountains, slopes, peaks, and valleys have to say. —Leslie Pariseau

Romain Chamiot "Apremont" Jacquère, Savoie, France 2025

The most mountainous department in France, Savoie is situated in the Alps and borders Italy and Switzerland. This region has always been ruggedly independent, yet, thanks to its strategic location, consistently occupied throughout history. (This is slightly off-topic, but if you are looking for a fun read about the region, I highly recommend Madeleine Kamman’s book on Savoie, published in 1989 for its overview on the history, cuisine, wine, architecture, and customs that could change from hillside to hillside. She spent time there in the late 1930s and ruminates on life before reliable train and highway access.)

Savoie is best known for its white wine, but makes a range of light, bright (Pinot Noir) to brooding reds (Mondeuse). And though the vineyards are high and the climate cool, the grapes experience a surprising amount of sunlight due to their south/southeastern aspect. Like with Alsace, this can create wine with fruity and floral notes and zingy acid. The subregion of Aprèmont translates to “rough/bitter mountain” and is thought to reference the massive avalanche that buried villages in the 13th century, which completely altered the landscape and created a unique terroir of limestone and glacial debris that retain heat and are porous for drainage. Here, Jacquère reigns supreme. Typically this varietal is low-alcohol, lighter-bodied and ever so refreshing.

Romain Chamiot, who recently took over these seven hectares from his grandparents, continues a lineage of several generations, converting the estate to organic farming. He has a little bit of Mondeuse but the majority of their holdings are old-vine Jacquère. I find this cuvée contains some heft, balanced with cold, crisp apple and broad textural apricot. Pair it with a roasted protein or the ooey gooey cheeses and gratins for which Savoie is known. —Allison Whittinghill

Foradori "Teroldego" Trentino Alto-Adige, Italy 2023

Third-generation winemaker and earth mother Elisabetta Foradori has led her domaine in Trentino, Italy since the age of 19. Thrust into the role after the untimely death of her father, she stepped in simply to protect and preserve the land her family had cultivated since 1960. Forty-two vintages later, Elisabetta and her wines have become synonymous with the great wines of the Dolomites, and she is universally lauded for elevating the native Teroldego grape into a world-class variety.

The Foradori vines don't sit on a steep hillside. They grow on the flat, sunny, gently rolling Campo Rotaliano, at 720 to 820 feet above sea level, an alluvial plain ringed by Dolomite peaks. The mountains shape the place all the same. Millennia of runoff left behind alluvial sand and gravel studded with Dolomitic limestone. Massive diurnal shifts (up to 38 degrees difference between night and day during the peak growing season) and cool mountain air currents allow the fruit to retain freshness, acidity and tension.

The benchmark family estate is now run primarily by her children, Emilio, Myrtha, and Theo, while Elisabetta's energy has turned, at least in part, to cheese sourced from a herd of Tyrolean Grey cattle. Still, most visits will find her wandering the vines or tinkering in the cellar.

Much like Elisabetta, the 2023 Foradori Teroldego is intense, focused, and elegant. A rainy spring gave way to a long, dry, hot summer, allowing the red fruit in particular to reach ideal phenolic ripeness without becoming boozy. Subtle plum and violet greet you on the nose, transitioning to a delicate, flinty lift and an underlying note of freshly turned earth. A cranberry-like alpine acidity drives the palate, and a hint of black olive rounds out the finish. Pair with roasted lamb chops, rosemary, hearty stews, or mushroom and truffle pasta. —Drew Clowney

Ottin "Petite Arvine" Valle d'Aosta, Italy 2024

When I was young, I had a calendar of fairytale castles (yes, I was that kid). I am fairly certain a few of the scenes were set in the Valle d’Aosta in the northwestern-most corner of Italy, one of the most picturesque places in all the world. It’s also the smallest wine region in Italy, tucked in above Piedmont with Switzerland to the north and France to the west. It is majestically mountainous and historically been at the center of a tug of war of influences between these three countries. Thus the impressive castles. In terms of wine the region is an oasis for native varieties such as Petit Rouge and Fumin as well as a haven for curious ones like Petite Arvine and Muller-Thurgau. It’s home to some of the highest elevation vineyards in Europe (4200 ft) and sits in a rain shadow from the Alps, which is to say that even with the elevation, during the summer the area is warm and bright and dry. With rocky soil, mostly sand and granite and very little clay, the water that does arrive drains well, and the winds keep plants free of mildew. All of this is a reverie for wine grapes as well as humans.

Ottin’s Petite Arvine is an entirely new grape variety for me. Petite Arvine is a white grape originally from Switzerland and fondly called the “grape of glaciers” for it thrives in Alpine conditions. Tricky to grow, it needs a long season to reach maturity with nuance and acidity, resulting in mountain spring freshness. Father and son Elio and Nicolas Ottin organically farm three small parcels that average at around 2300 feet above sea level. The wine itself has a flower petal softness carried along with a little salt, a little lemon, a hint of nutmeg, and that persistent Alpine freshness. I suggest not drinking it too cold to receive all the nuance in this almost autumnal moment. —Cassandra Vachon

Guímaro "Tinto" Galicia, Spain 2025

In the heartland of Galicia are the Mińo and Sil River canyons. Steep, ancient slopes, winding rivers, and soft nourishing sunlight. A perfect setting for monks looking for a little peace and quiet, and the landscape of an arduous labor of love. Carved into granite and slate, the vines of this sacred riverbank or, Ribeira Sacra, have been cultivated by determined souls for centuries. Here, much like parts of the Mosel, Douro, or Côte-Rôtie, grapes have to be hand-harvested and carried down near vertical pathways. Much like the Camino de Santiago, another ancient tradition that makes its way through Galicia, there is a sense of farming transcending into pilgrimage.

Just above the river Sil in the village of Sober, you'll find Guímaro, Pedro Rodriguez’s eight south-facing hectares of grapes, as well as a small, thriving farm founded by his parents Manolo and Carmen in 1991 with chickens, pigs, rabbits, and vegetables. Guímaro means “rebel,” a nod to a time where farmers fought the nobles for independence—and a spirit required when farming unfarmable lands.

Rodriguez has made it a mission to grow nearly forgotten indigenous grapes like Caiño, Brancellao, Merenzao (Trousseau), Sousón, Godello, Albariño, and Treixadura. He anchors the rest of his plots with mostly 40-year-old vines of Mençia. The Tinto you have in your club is an amalgamation of these, with Mençia taking the lead and the heirloom varietals guest-starring at about 15% to add brightness and honor the past. After the grapes arrive from their perilous, high-altitude journey into the winery, they are fermented in stainless steel tanks with native yeasts for eight months.

Enjoying the supple layers of peppercorn, pomegranate, and smooth river rocks in my glass I can only imagine how delicious it would be after a heroic harvest on those unforgiving hillsides—so much work yielding the enjoyment of the quiet moment I find myself in. —Beth Altenbernd

Domaine des Fables "Les Astres Invisibles" Mondeuse, Savoie, France 2023

Chalets, crystalline lakes, snowcapped mountains. The allure of the Savoie is all storybook romance. Domaine des Fables has a specific angle on this romance, one that appears a bit of a curveball amid the time-bound traditions of the French Alps. Each label is a wild little peephole into the mind of François Gilles, an artist by trade who took to winemaking on a tiny plot of land in Chautagne using biodynamic and organic practices. From sunny skin contact Jacquère to serious, barrel-aged Gamay, Gilles' wines are worth a spin if you're seeking a fresh adventure through the natural wine scene popping up in the most isolated corners of France. This deep, dark, peppered Mondeuse is a contrast in the crisp, lightness of the altitude, and is best enjoyed in a single night with friends; caution, it is wild, its ephemerality requiring a present attention that understands the moment is now! —LP