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by Andrea Battaglini
Vin de Morgex, also called "glacier wine", is produced at an altitude of 1300 meters, at the foot of Monte Bianco in the heart of Valle d'Aosta. This is the highest region from which wine is produced in all of Europe
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Only a few kilometers from the trendy alpine resort area of Courmayeur,
at an altitude of nearly 1300 meters, is the tiny town of Morgex.
Its vineyards produce "the highest white wine in Europe". Straw-yellow in color, with pale green nuances, its delicate flavour evokes mountain herbs with a noteof fresh hay. It is pleasant to the palate, and the aftertaste is agreeably acidic and refreshing. The alcohol content of the "glacier wine" ranges between 10 and 11 percent Due to the altitude, Morgex receives the fresh breezes blowing from the mountain tops of the majestic Monte Bianco chain. Its most peculiar characteristic is that its vines thrive at an altitude of over 1000 meters. The scant acreage which constitute the sole production area for this wine are situated at altitudes almost unheard of in vine cultivation. The Vin Blanc de Morgex has consequently become a small phenomenon, famous throughout Europe. 
The production zone is limited to an area between the two alpine towns of
La Salle and Morgex; the wine is bottled and sold by the Local Wine Producer's
Cooperative, based in Morgex (Cave de Vin Blanc de Morgex, tel. +39-165-800331).
The entire production is limited to only a few
thousand bottles.Among the few producers who defy the area's adverse conditions in order to produce but a few hundred bottles each, are Albert Vevey and Carlo Celegato, as well as Marziano Vevey (strada Villair 52, tel. +39-165-808931) who has produced a rather good wine, recommended by the "Vini d'Italia" guide edited by Gambero Rosso, Agricola, and Slow Food Publishers. Each
year, in August, Morgex and La Salle are united in celebration: the venue of the festivities alternates from year to year between first one town, then the other.
What better occasion for tasting the "highest wine in Europe"
as well as savouring other specialties typical of the valley, among which the most
famous is the fontina fonduta... |
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