Manni Nössing's Kerner has become sort of a cult wine among Italophiles which is pretty remarkable considering he's really sort of a newcomer in a region rich with great old school winemakers. This particular wine is far and away the most sought after Italian white wine I sell as well. Before making wine with fruit from his own domaine, he was selling grapes to one of the best co-ops in the country, the nearby Abbazia di Novacella, hard up against the Austrian border. He made his first wine under his name for the market in 1999 and now farms some 6 plus hectares of which about half is planted with Kerner. This is a varietal you may not be familiar with because it's one of those grapes that really lacks interest everywhere else but here where it's not just a local workhorse but the varietal behind some of Italy's most interesting white wines. 

  Manni comes from a long line of farmers but has no formal training in viticulture or winemaking. His vineyards are all planted on high altitude, steep hillsides of glacial origin between 650-800 meters a.s.l. in a patchwork of micro plots he’s managed to cobble together. Farming is sustainable and winemaking here means preserving as much of the terroir as possible. Only stainless steel for the Kerner and a few months on the lees to develop flavor and preserve the delicate aromas of these Alpine whites. 

Manni’s 2021 Kerner is just lovely. Silver/green tinged and very clear wine indicating its generous acidity. Delicate perfume of stone fruit and mineral with wisps of high toned citrus and a beguiling chiseled texture.  Clean and refreshing with great purity and layered complexity. Really a world class white wine that will age beautifully but drinks so well now I wouldn’t bother. Very limited, 36 bottles available.