Courmayeur: Mont Blanc's Wine Side

The vineyards of Morgex et La Salle, at 900 to 1,200 metres altitude, are the highest in the continent. The grape is Prié Blanc — one of the oldest documented varieties in the Aosta Valley. Here's what makes it miraculous: these vines are ungrafted. When phylloxera devastated European vineyards in the 19th century, destroying root systems from Portugal to Hungary, the extreme altitude and bitter cold of these Mont Blanc slopes kept the pest at bay. These are among the last commercial vineyards in Europe growing on their own original rootstocks.

Cave Mont Blanc, a cooperative of 70 families founded in 1983, cultivates Prié Blanc into Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle DOC — crisp, mineral, with the kind of alpine freshness you can only get from vines that have never been compromised. Ermes Pavese works about 6 hectares at 1,200m, pushing the boundaries of what 'heroic viticulture' means. Every September, the Lo Matson fair fills Courmayeur's streets with these wines alongside cured meats and fontina cheese. Two countries, one tunnel, zero phylloxera. The grapes growing in the shadow of Mont Blanc survived something that killed 70% of European vineyards. They're still on their own roots. They're still making wine.