Local Products

CHERRIES
Cultivation of cherry trees is a long tradition in the Valsugana Valley and chiefly on the sunny hills that surround Caldonazzo Lake, in the area of Susà, Costasavina, and Castagné (in the Municipality of Pergine Valsugana), which also offers an extraordinary landscape. The sweet cherry tree is the most widespread cultivation here. Among the most delicious varieties in the area you can taste Durone Nero primo, Durone dell’Anella, Mora di Carzano, Bella Italia, Durone Costasavina, Bolognese, Cardinale, Kordia, Schneiders and Regina. Cherries in the area of Pergine are characterized by firm flesh, aromatic, sweet flavour and shiny skin. These characteristics derive from altitude (400-600 m.a.s.l.), sun exposure, soil composition and daily thermal excursion

SMALL FRUITS OF THE FOREST
Small size but great flavour. We are talking about strawberries, wild strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, blueberries and currants that have always grown spontaneously in this mountain area. Strawberries are mainly cultivated in the Val dei Mocheni (the Mocheni Valley), in the Valsugana Valley and on the Pinè Plateau from 500 up to 1,200 metres of altitude and above. The same applies to wild strawberries, the most characteristic fruit of the forest, which are fragile and delicate, but with strong flavour and odour. Up to 1,500 metres of altitude and during all summer a peculiar type of raspberry grows, which is called "ampomole" and is deep red in colour and sligtly long in shape. Blackberries belong to the same family and are bright black in colour and very juicy. Cranberries and Blueberries grow above 1,000 metres of altitude, mainly in the Alta Val dei Mocheni (the Mocheni Valley) and on the slopes of the Lagorai Chain. Currants are characterized by grapes of red, white or black berries and flavour varies accordingly

CHESTNUTS
Chestunts are another key product in the Valsugana Valley and mainly in the area of Roncegno Terme, where they have been cultivated for centuries thanks to the peculiar climate and to the acid soil. It seems that Romans introduced the chestnut tree in the Valsugana Valley while travelling along the Via Claudia Augusta Altinate. However, clear evidence dates back to 350 years ago. Chestnuts were precious food for Roman Legions, thanks to their nutritional properties and easiness of transportation and preservation. Chestnut trees in the area of Roncegno are well known for their imposing size and some of them are hundreds of years old.
The variety cultivated in the area is very savoury both to be eaten as roasted chestnuts or used in cakes

MOUNTAIN HONEY
Honey, known as nectar in past times, is particularly rich in beneficial properties. It is rich in sugar that can be easily assimilated, in vitamins, mineral salts and enzymes that are vital elements for our health.
Bee farming is really important in the Valsugana Valley and it is carried out by using modern techniques. The main products are honey, which is harvested three times a year (in the spring, in the summer and in the autumn), pollen, royal jelly and propolis. Among the most delicious honey varieties in the Valsugana valley there are rhododendron honey, acacia honey, chestnut honey, all-flower mountain honey and apple honey which is really nice as sweetener and with Vezzena cheese.

VEZZENA CHEESE
The art of cheese making is well rooted in the Trentino region. An ancient passion which secrets lie in the quality of milk and in the traditional technique to have genuine products. The healthiness of our mountain and dairy products is fostered by the clean air of the Alps and by the natural feeding of cattle and safeguarded by the strict rules wanted by the association of dairy farmers of the Trentino region. Respecting traditions Vezzena cheese is made on the Vezzena Plateau in the dairy farms of Lavarone and Folgaria. Vezzena is delicious both eaten as it is and also when grated on top of dishes. It is savoury, slightly hot and can be aged up to two years, and its flavour depends on the period of grazing. Seeing that it is made with raw milk, at present it is also protected by Slowfood.

SAUSAGES AND COLD PORK MEAT
Processing of pork meat has been a tradition for generations of farmers and cattle farmers. You can find local cold cuts typical in the Trentino region, such as the 'luganega' (a typical sausage), but also other products which are made according to old recipes of the Valsugana valley, such as the 'noce di prosciutto al pepe spezzato' (ham and pepper) and the 'capocollo' (pork neck salami), which 'copertura' (covering), being made by hand with the utmost accuracy, gives to products unmatchable flavour and odour. In the area of Caldonazzo we have another typical product called 'mortandela', which is made using pork fillet and liver with the addition of salt, pepper and mixed spices. It is wrapped in the 'redesel', a net derived from the gut of the pig. It is typical food in the autumn, i.e. in the period of pig butchering. Mortandela is browned in white or red wine and can be drizzled with vinegar or dusted with yellow cornmeal before browning. It is serverd with 'polenta pania', a type of flour which is very nourishing and obtained by chopping millet seeds (panicum miliaceum), or with 'polenta zalda', made with cornmeal.
Game products are very savoury, too; for example boar salami, boar, goose and venison raw ham, which are slightly smoked. A well-known product is the 'speck' (Tyrol smoked ham), obtained from the best part of the pork ham, put in barrels with salt and spices, let there to rest for one lunar cycle, accurately smoked by using wood and juniper berries and then let to age in cellars for several months.

LEVICO CASARA WATER
Very pure and light water springs from the very heart of the Trentino region, amidst green woods at an altitude of more than 1,600 metres, and it is very rich in beneficial properties: a true mountain unspoilt elixir: from the first cool sip, the Acqua Levico reveals its beneficial quality.
It is slightly mineralized, good when drunk alone and during meals, and thanks to its composition and origin, it is a precious ally to beauty and well-being.
Mineral water is very important for our body: it ensures the correct exchange of substances among cells, it helps to eliminate drosses and to absorb nutrients. Drinking enough water, that is at least 2 litres per day, cleanses the body and helps it function better, eliminates toxins, protects organs and skin beauty.
Choosing the best water, therefore, means more health and well-being: Acqua Levico, thanks to the purity of its Trentino origin, is the best ally to keep fit in a natural way.
Still mineral water is the truest organic product, always D.O.C.G. (Denomination of Controlled and Guaranteed Origin), simple and unspoilt like its spring. Acqua Levico springs by one of the most famous Italian spa centres, which has a long history and is located in the charming Alps of the Upper Valsugana Valley, amidst fir woods in a fantastic mountain climate.
Acqua Levico is bottled at source in glass bottles, which is a choice of clear transparency in any sense: glass is chemically inert and does not release substances that modify water composition, and it is environmentally friendly by being completely reusable and recyclable.

WINE, GRAPPA AND LIQUEUR
Wine stands out among typical products as made using carefully selected grapes. Trentino wines range from dry white ones such as Chardonnay, Pinot bianco, Pinot grigio, Nosiola, Müller Thurgau, Traminer, Moscato giallo to Spumante with high organoleptic quality, to rosè and red ones such as Teroldego, Marzemino, Lagrein, Pinot nero, Merlot and Cabernet. Then, only in the Valsugana valley you can find 'Vini dell’Angelo? ('Angel's Wines'), such as the excellent red wine 'Pavana della Valsugana' and the delicious white wine 'Blanc de Sers', both derving from autochthonous grapes.
Just after finishing a meal, you should really taste the famous 'grappa valsuganotta' (grappa from the Valsugna Valley), which represents an ancient tradition and is made by distilling grape marcs. This grappa can have different flavours, such as sweet woodruff, rue, juniper, honey, blueberry, pear. At Christmas do not miss the opportunity of tasting the 'Grappa dell’Avvento' (Advent grappa), which recalls ancient legends.
Anyway, the true typical drink in the Valsugana Valley is the 'Carampampoli' or 'Parampampoli', an aromatic drink made by mixing coffee, grappa, sugar, wine and other ingredients, which is served flaming in characteristics cups.

FLOUR FROM THE VALSUGANA VALLEY
LEADER PLUS Valsugana Project, De Bellat Foundation and Istituto Agrario S. Michele all’Adige (Agricultural Institute) have been cooperating for some years now in order to test ancient maize types for polenta, which were usually farmed in the Valsugana Valley up to some decades ago, and they succeeded in re-introducing the farming of this ancient and traditional maize type.