Trentino - Alto Adige is Italy's northernmost region with only about 15 percent of the region's land cultivable. The difficulty of growing vines on steep, often terraced hillsides compels growers to emphasize quality. About three-quarters of production is DOC and a major share of the wine is exported. Trentino - Alto Adige, with borders on Austria and Switzerland, is split into two distinct provinces: Trentino to the south, historically Italian in language and culture, and Alto Adige to the north with a prominently German-speaking population.