Jídlo a pití

Hofcafé

Wineries are something almost sacred for wine connoisseurs. And at the Muri-Gries Monastery Winery, that impression may be even stronger. After all, up until the end of the eighteenth century, the rooms which are used as a winery today were the church of the Augustinian seminary at that time. And even today, the winery is reached directly through the cloister of the monastery.

The connection between wine and monastery which has already existed for centuries therefore also becomes clear at the monastery complex. Thus the heart of the vineyards, the monastery meadow, is still a part of the monastery complex today in the Bolzano district of Gries. In addition, the grapes from other vineyards in and around Bolzano and the Oltradige also come to the monastery winery.

The proprietor of the winery and the estate is the Benedictine Community of Muri Gries, while the daily work concerning wine lies in the hands of laymen, first and foremost winemaker Christian Werth. He describes the wines from the monastery winery as “elegant, linear, emphatically typical to the variety, powerful, and closely connected with their origins.”

Special attention is due to the Lagrein. “We want to display this traditional variety in all of its facets: from the rosé known as Kretzer to the Lagrein that is traditionally matured in large wooden barrels to the Riservas, which are carefully aged in small oak casks,” says Werth.

Thus it is no surprise that great emphasis is placed upon tradition at the Muri-Gries Monastery Winery. As well as on continuity, striving for quality, and the bond with nature and the cultural landscape. Values, it is to be understood, are upheld in a monastery.

The motto at the Michael Puff winegrowing estate in Cornaiano is “Keep it chill!”. The addressee of that instruction is not, however, the founder of the winegrowing estate of the same name but the vines, some of which are grown in high grass here: wild shoot distribution, no pruning, and as little defoliation as possible. “Our method is unconventional, but our ultimate goal is always to put the vines under as little stress as possible,” says Michael Puff.

And Michael’s philosophy in the cellar is not much different: his wines are spontaneously fermented in concrete barrels and then aged for twelve months in small oak barrels before they go back in the concrete barrels for another six to nine months. “We are going entirely without fining and filtration in the bottling process,” says Michael Puff, “so our wine is very much a no-frills product.”

Michael Puff founded his own winegrowing estate in Cornaiano/Ronchi in 2020 after completing vocational training at the Laimburg professional school, some internships at winegrowing estates and wineries, and conducting experiments at his own parents’ estate. Today, Michael’s winegrowing estate is based on locations in Cornaiano/Ronchi and Appiano Monte. He has focused exclusively on Pinot Noir—and a vision of fresh and new Pinot Noir stylistics.

The Pinot Noirs from the Michael Puff winegrowing estate bear a dragonfly in the label that symbolizes elegance, power, and timelessness—and is also at home on the winegrowing estate.

 

Merano is not just a health resort city with a tradition dating back centuries, but also one of the classic Alto Adige winegrowing areas. Above all else on the more or less steep slopes around the cities, grapes have been grown since time immemorial, finding their optimal conditions here. In the district of Maia Alta, for instance, the scree cone from the Rio Val di Nova provides fertile soils with a rich skeleton, added to which the climate here seems almost Mediterranean. And the Riedingerhof in Merano thrives from all of this.

So it is no wonder that as with so many farms in the Burgraviate, the roots of the Riedingerhof are to be sought in fruitgrowing and winegrowing, even if the farmhouse has developed more and more over the years into a hospitality establishment. But with this development, the Verdorfer family has not sacrificed their passion for winegrowing and wine. Quite the contrary: It is the young winegrower Hansi Verdorfer who continues to live with it today, not just growing grapes on his own vines, but also making his own top-quality estate-grown wines at the Riedingerhof in Merano.

And when asked about his passion for winegrowing and winemaking, he also says, “For me, the care of our vineyards, the grape harvest in the autumn, the work in the winery, and the weekly wine tasting with our guests are very special moments.” And that is hardly astonishing. In the end, he can not only live out his great passion, but also share it.

The Burgerhof Meßner wine estate in Bressanone is a prime example of the fact that combining the old and the new will invariably lead to something exciting. The old in this equation is represented by the Burgerhof itself, which is located on a glacial terrace at 750 meters above the episcopal town of Bressanone in Valle Isarco and has records going back as far as the 13th century. Since 1843, the Meßner family has owned the estate, which has now been in the family for five generations.

The face of that fifth generation—at least when it comes to viticulture—is Johannes Meßner. His passion for wine and sustainable operations is the leitmotif of wine production at the Burgerhof, which has been an organic farm since 1983. Johannes Meßner combines this heritage with know-how acquired at wine estates in Australia and South Africa, in North and South America, in Germany, and in Alto Adige.

And his credo is as simple as it is memorable: “A good wine is born on the vine itself,” says Meßner, a bona fide cosmopolitan on a quest for wine expertise. “Every little step in the process, from the plant to the wine poured in a glass, will characterize the wine in some way or other.” And because all wines start out on the vines, the only varieties cultivated at the Burgerhof are fungus-resistant (PIWI). The selection includes Johanniter, Solaris, Muscaris, Souvignier Gris, Regent, and Cabernet Cortis.

On the whole, however, that kind of variety is actually rather unusual at the Burgerhof, one of the tenets of organic viticulture being “as much as necessary and as little as possible.”

“My family’s roots are also the foundation of my wines.” With his winegrowing estate in Cortina sulla Strada del Vino, Manuel Taddei has committed to going back to those roots. He is a third-generation winegrower, and he firmly believes that the character of a wine is always influenced by the people working on the estate. And its development, too: “A mix of patience, endurance, and passion helps us to grow continuously and improve our estate,” says Manuel Taddei.

In 2013, he replanted his grandmother’s vineyards in Val di Cembra, which had been lying fallow for more than 50 years—another testament to his return to his roots.

Because it is not just the reuse of old vineyards that is so special, nor is it the “cross-border” cultivation in Cortina in Alto Adige and Val di Cembra in Trentino. What is really special is the location of those vineyards: The area under vines of newly planted Müller-Thurgau is located at approximately 900 meters above sea level; the area where Taddei has planted Sauvignon vines, at approximately 750 meters. Taddei’s range of varieties is completed by Chardonnay.

2022 saw the first harvest brought in at the Manuel Taddei Winegrowing Estate in Cortina sulla Strada del Vino. “We are striving to create extraordinary and harmonious high-quality wines that are full of character,” says Taddei with regard to his philosophy. That also means that the wine is given all the time it needs to mature and unfold its potential. Accordingly, the Müller-Thurgau and Sauvignon wines go on sale one year after the harvest whereas the Chardonnay even takes two and a half years to mature.

 

Stop in and linger: our farm tavern in Jenesien/San Genesio As befits a traditional South Tyrolean farm tavern, we treat our guests or passing visitors to a small but hearty snack of regional cuisine. We also serve homemade juices, local wine or a fresh beer. Our farm tavern in Jenesien welcomes you with its panelled parlor in Swiss stone pine and a cosy ambience. Here you will find just the right refreshment for in-between meals and a welcome stop after a long day of hiking. At our rustic wooden tables, you will gain a good insight into how hard work, the magic of a unique landscape and a hearty meal with a good drink go hand in hand here in South Tyrol.

There are a total of eleven wineries from Trentino that find room under the roof of the Cavit consortium, which was founded in 1950. The area covered by Cavit extends over no less than 6,350 hectares of grape growing areas, of which 5,250 are managed by winegrowing families. But one thing is clear: the palette is extremely broad, but a couple of pearls nevertheless stand out – first and foremost Vino Santo and Spumante.

There were first of all a few cooperative wineries that launched a consortium in 1950 in which forces were to be bundled together and synergies exploited. It became a model of success which additional wineries joined little by little. Today, Cavit guides winegrowing in broad sections of Trentino.

The oenologist who takes responsibility for this is Anselmo Martini, who is especially proud of the Cavit line “Maso”: “We developed this line with the researchers at the San Michele Institute,” Martini says. “They represent our top product – genuine crus that are tied to clearly defined terroirs.”

Cavit has over a dozen varieties in the line, and it thus reflects the entire breadth of the wine that is grown in Trentino. To be emphasized as a particularity within that context is the dessert wine Vino Santo Trentino DOC. The harvest for it takes place for the most part late in October. In addition, the Cavit consortium is renowned for its sparkling wines. The basis for this is provided by the countless grape varieties that are classically fermented in the bottle.

Dall'osteria Ortl godete una vista meravigliosa sulle cime al Monte Tramontana della Val Venosta. La luminosa sala da pranzo e la terrazza soleggiata vi invitano a rilassare. I piatti tradizionali vengono serviti con prodotti coltivati in casa provenienti da agricoltura biologica

For generations, the Seppi family has had strong ties to wine growing—even stronger than usual in a village such as Caldaro, where wine plays an important role to begin with. These days, the family-owned Seppi Vineyards in Caldaro are run by Werner Seppi—supported by his family—, and have been for more than 20 years.
In 2005, it was decided to venture away from the conventional ways and lead the vineyards down a new path. “Gradually our wish grew to remold the vineyards according to our personal, more individual ideas. We wanted to depart from well-trod paths and develop something special and sustainable,” says Werner Seppi. And so they switched to biodynamic agriculture—first in the vineyards and in 2016 in the wine cellar, too.
This second milestone was born from the decision to take a portion of the grapes for the wine in their own cellars to create wines that reflected the special characteristic of the wine estate and its locations. They even go so far as to vinify the grapes from the different vineyards separately. “In Caldaro, we refer to small geographic units as ‘riegel’,” says Werner Seppi, “and we mature the grapes grown in those riegel units separately.”
Consequently, wines from the Seppi Vineyards can be traced back to the smallest geographic unit. Gewürztraminer and Pinot Blanc, for example, are grown on the Panigl riegel; Sauvignon, on the Prey riegel; Schiava (Vernatsch), on the See riegel, and Cabernet Franc on the Feld riegel. In other words: they are taking the idea of terroir very seriously at Seppi Vineyards.

Anyone who talks about the Castelatsch wine estate in Cengles, Val Venosta, must first talk about construction. The construction business, that is. After all, the owner of the wine estate, Werner Schönthaler, has a background in construction and has been researching ecological construction materials for a decade. “It has always been our goal to find alternatives for existing construction methods, so we started producing bricks made of hemp and lime,” explains Werner Schönthaler.
This construction material is sustainable through and through—and it was also used to build the Hof Castelatsch estate located on the slopes above Cengles. However, sustainability is not only skin-deep here: Werner Schönthaler pursues his agricultural activities with the same approach (and passion) which he already applied to his attempts to revolutionize the construction business.
And so the values at Hof Castelatsch reflect all those buzzwords that have become more and more popular since the climate crisis: future-friendly, for example, or health and well-being. And these values are, in turn, reflected in viticulture. After all, it is very important to Schönthaler to produce his wines in harmony with nature; in other words, sustainably …
… while following his own rules. His disinterest in conventional methods, which he already demonstrated in the construction business, also extends to wine, prompting him to tread on different paths. His grape varieties are all fungus-resistant (PIWI). His Eschkolot wine, for example, is a spontaneously fermented cuvée containing the Solaris, Muscaris, and Souvignier Gris grape varieties. And marble powder. Different paths, remember?

The Widum Baumann winegrowing estate in Avigna, high above Bolzano, is a bit of a pocket-sized version of the wine country Alto Adige: located at a high altitude, characterized by the mountains, run in a sustainable manner, with a diverse range of varieties on offer and a long history. That history begins in the mid-13th century when the Widum Baumann farm in Avigna was first mentioned in a document. Back then, this used to be the seat of the administrator of ecclesiastical property; the farm itself was a typical mountain farm, however. This would not change until the Widmann family took over. Thomas Widmann, an agricultural economics professional, recognized the potential of the farm and began experimenting with apple farming. In 2012, he added winegrowing to the mix, which was only made possible by climate change considering the altitude of 1,048 meters above sea level. “We began by cultivating eleven different varieties and maturing them in different ways in order to understand which variety and method would yield the best results,” recalls Thomas Widmann. It eventually came down to seven remaining varieties, which are matured as a mixed set (gemischter Satz) according to ancient tradition. “They are harvested together and fermented in wooden tubs or amphoras,” says Widmann. Tradition also rules how cultivation is organized at the Widum Baumann winegrowing estate, dictated by nature, the weather, plants, the moon, and the seasons. The production follows strict biodynamic rules: “We realized something very simple very early on,” says Thomas Widmann. “Keeping chemical treatment to an absolute minimum will yield the most authentic products.”

Typical homemade meals like Schlutzkrapfen or Knödel (dumplings) and homemade juices.

Edmund Pomella could have chosen an easier path: As a third-generation winegrower, he had the opportunity to take over a thriving winery in Cortaccia in 2016. The vineyards boasted old grapevines of classic varieties, so it seemed a no-brainer to just continue as it was. Yet what he wanted was something more natural. Pomella is passionate: passionate about nature, passionate about protecting our environment. And, as a consequence: passionate about natural, digestible wines.

But Edmund Pomella also values old treasures, so he decided to graft the vines in his vineyards, some of which are up to 100 years old. The old rootstocks formed the basis for modern PIWI varieties: Bronner, Johanniter, Muscaris, Souvignier Gris, Prior, Cabernet Cortis. These varieties can be cultivated without using chemical pesticides. And Pomella did not only keep the rootstocks, he also continues to use the old pergola training system, which offers significant benefits in locations exposed to intense sunlight and scarce in water.

Cultivating natural wines helps accomplish two goals simultaneously: Promoting human well-being without harming nature. And it doubles the quality: “This is not just about the quality of our wines but also about quality of life, respect for nature, our vines, our soils, and all life on our planet,” says Pomella, who also offers farm tours and runs his own farm store, where consumers can buy his wines and other natural products.

 

Blueberries, apricots, cherries, peaches, plums, pears, apples, chestnuts, but also fruit spreads, juices, syrups, and preserves: there is hardly anything you cannot find at the Runsthof in Lana, situated directly by the hiking trail from Lana to Foiana. So it is hardly surprising that the Lobis family, who has run the Runsthof since 2017, also cultivates vines as well as produces wine in their own cellar—at least in part.

The vineyards which supply the grapes are located above Lana on a steep slope, which means that cultivation depends very much on manual labor. But no matter how strenuous, it guarantees a very special kind of quality control, seeing as the winegrowers are, quite literally, very close to their grapes.

At an altitude of 350–500 meters, a broad range of grape varieties grow on those steep parcels of land, and they are ideally suited to the site. At the Runsthof in Lana, the favored grape varieties are Pinot Noir, Sauvignon, Sauvignon Gris, Bronner, and Chardonnay. “The location and the climate are ideal for very special wines which retain their own special characteristics typical of the variety but whose flavors also bear hints of the terroir,” explains Günther Lobis.

By the way: winegrowing, like all other work at the Runsthof, is a family affair, as the estate is run by Günther Lobis, his wife Helga, and his daughters Johanna and Lisa. Diversity is very important, after all.

 

Mauracher Sand in Bolzano is (literally) built on the fertile alluvial soils formed by the Talvera river where the Mauracher vines grow. In a more figurative sense, it is also built on the history of this wine-growing region as well as the wine expertise and love of experimentation of Thomas Widmann and Elisabetta Foradori.
For decades, these two have been accumulating experience in wine growing and wine production until they set up the first Mauracher vineyard in 2003 using the autochthonous Lagrein grape variety. In 2011, they introduced the first vintage from their new project to the market: spontaneously fermented, prepared with a minimum of enological intervention, and naturally matured.
The fact that Alexander Widmann joined the team in 2020 goes to show that Mauracher Sand is, indeed, a family project. Alexander Widmann not only brings fresh new ideas to the table but shares the same philosophy which inspired—and keeps inspiring—the two founders. At the heart of that philosophy are respect for and appreciation of nature, which is also made clear by the fact that the project was officially certified as organic in 2022.
The young age of the Mauracher Sand project is also indicative of its scope: it yields a total of approx. 3,000 bottles of wine every year, which will include a Riserva vintage for the first time in 2024. And thus Mauracher Sand keeps growing every year thanks to its fertile foundation—both in a literal and in a figurative sense.

Warm temperatures during the day, cool nights, ideal soils, and grapevines some of which are over a hundred years old: it’s no wonder that Roberta, Cristina, and Giuseppe Fugatti decided to set up the Von Blumen Wine project in Pochi above Salorno. With the Millesimo 2013, they began with the bottling of their first wines.

The Fugattis have over twelve hectares of grape growing areas in Pochi. Their foundation is formed by limestone and porphyry soils, and the climate here in the extreme south of Alto Adige is ideal for winegrowing: during the vegetation period, average temperatures of 18 degrees C. are registered, and the cool nights give the grapes a lot of aroma. “In our wines, you can taste the terroir”, declares Giuseppe Fugatti. “The mineral-rich quality combines with a natural spiciness and thus imparts to the wine a lively and refreshing balance in flavor.”

In addition, the special features of the various grape varieties are noticed with Von Blumen Wine, above all else the Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir, and Lagrein, but the management that is close to nature is also apparent. “The protection of the soil and the habitat is of fundamental importance for the quality of the raw materials and for the sustainable protection of the vineyards,” says the winegrower.

In the end, it’s not just about thinking of today. Fugatti adds, “We have the task of preserving the foundations so that future generations are also provided with the gift of a whole gamut of wines which reflect the love for the region of origin as well as for the culture of the people who take care of them.”

There is a very good reason why the wines of the Untermaurerhof estate in Santa Maddalena, Bolzano, carry the earth pyramids of Renon in their name and their logo. After all, this natural monument—the highest and probably most beautifully shaped earth pyramids in Europe—can be found in Soprabolzano, right above the Katzenbachgraben, which is also where the vineyards of the Untermaurerhof are located.
The wine-growing area is centered around the steep and sunny terraces of Santa Maddalena in Bolzano. They are among the oldest wine-growing sites in the capital of Alto Adige—unsurprisingly so, seeing as they can offer everything vines and grapes love best: lots of light and sun, warm temperatures, and not to forget substantial temperature differences between day and night.
In addition, there is the soil, and one does not have to be a geologist in order to understand its structure due to the earth pyramids: they consist of glacial moraine rocks and weather-beaten porphyry, and they can store heat like none other. “Low harvests are typical of these hillside sites. This requires careful selection and extremely careful processing of the grapes,” explains Wolfgang Hofer from the Pyramidis wine estate.
Consequently, its wines are the result of careful selection and only come in limited editions. The range of varieties is small, too. It includes—and that should almost go without saying considering the location—a Santa Maddalena Classico as well as a flowery, fresh and aromatic Müller-Thurgau, an elegant and intense Pinot Noir Riserva, and a Pinot Blanc which wins over wine lovers with a fruity range of aromas and a well-structured body.

On the sunny slopes above the Valle Isarco in Velturno is found the Garlider Estate Winery. Christian Kerschbaumer follows a very particular philosophy here having to do with maintaining the characteristics of the grapevine and soil in the wine. Organic cultivation is one puzzle piece of this philosophy.

But sustainability is not the only topic which, in the eyes of Kerschbaumer, speaks for organic growing. The effects upon the wine are also smaller with this type of cultivation than with the conventional. In the winery, the Valle Isarco winegrower also uses primarily indigenous yeasts – another tile in the mosaic of an unadulterated wine.

And incidentally, “wine” at the Garlider Estate Winery stands for white wine. First and foremost, but not exclusively. On a small plot, the only Pinot Noir in the Isarco Valley is grown, with the large remainder of the vineyards bringing forth five white varieties. “In the Valle Isarco, the white wines find hard but very good conditions that substantially shape their character,” Kerschbaumer says with conviction.

These conditions include warm days, fresh, cool nights, good aeration, and soils that consist of a mixture of quartz phyllite. “All of this together gives the whites their fruity, subtle aromas, sleek elegance, and individual, dry tanginess,” explains the head of the Garlider Estate Winery in Velturno.

So it is no wonder that the Garlider wines are making headlines. For English wine critic Stuart Pigott, Kerschbaumer is one of the ascending stars in the Valle Isarco. He writes, “Above all, his white wines are in a special class.”

Less is enough: Klaus Schroffenegger only needs three short words to describe the philosophy behind the HochKlaus Estate Winery located in Karneid/Cornedo all’Isarco above the city of Bolzano/Bozen. This does not come as much of a surprise, because Klaus has always been a no-nonsense type of guy. “I let nature speak for itself. In my opinion, a winery has a natural cycle that I want to disturb as little as possible,” he says and adds: “I want the finished product to be authentic, honest, and vibrant.”

His parents, who have been tending to the vineyards for many years, laid the foundations for the HochKlaus Estate Winery. Klaus Schroffenegger is more than grateful for all the work they did: “Taking care of a vineyard means investing a lot of time, energy, and patience,” he says, “and having old, healthy vines makes your life considerably easier.”

Thanks to his parents being in the same business, he not only got healthy, strong vines, but also acquired a profound knowledge of the world of wine growing – and when we say “world,“ we mean it literally: Klaus Schroffenegger gathered experience in Australia, the United States, and France before taking over his parents’ business.

His philosophy of “less is enough” is not only his credo out in the vineyards but also down in the cellar. All wines produced at the HochKlaus Estate Winery are subject to spontaneous fermentation, come without any additives, and are not filtered before bottling.

The young winemaker uses clay amphoras to make sure none of the terroir is lost. “Our wines are absolutely vibrant, which perfectly reflects our passion for typicity and our close connection with nature,” says Schroffenegger.

 

The Hof Pomaria estate in Caldaro has an unusual name which refers to the Latin “pomus,” which means “fruit tree.” That comes as no surprise: the estate is located in the Palude di Caldaro area and is surrounded by orchards. But the Rellich family business has a second leg to stand on, and not just in the geographical sense: the grapes, which are then single-handedly matured into top-quality wines, are cultivated in Cortaccia.

Regarding wine, Klaus Rellich took over from his ancestors, who had been cultivating grapes and making wine for generations. Rellich uses an area of approx. 1,500 square meters for that. “The calcareous gravel and loamy soil in the hills of Cortaccia create ideal prerequisites for winegrowing; moreover, the sunny site and good ventilation are conducive to bringing forth excellent grapes,” explains the winegrower, who cultivates Pinot Blanc, Merlot, and Schiava grapes in his vineyards.

The reference to the excellent suitability of the area for winegrowing is not just a marketing trick employed by the Rellich family, by the way: it is historically documented. The old field name “Frauenrigl” was already mentioned in very old documents; today, it is the single vineyard that forms the foundation of the wines produced—and mainly sold—at the Hof Pomaria estate in Caldaro: from Pinot Blanc and a classic Schiava to a Merlot Rosé.

 

Engadiner Wines, located in Gleno in the municipality of Montagna, is a fairly young wine estate—in more than just one way: Under the brand “Engadiner Wines,” the Zelger family started to produce wines, each of them imbued with a distinctly unique character, from their own grapes as recently as in 2021. And the Zelgers themselves are still young both in age and spirit and turned their hobbies – nature, agriculture, and wine – into a family business.

The Engadiner Wines wine estate has two locations. One of them is the family estate in Gleno, a location most famous for its Pinot Noir. Located in the south of Alto Adige at an altitude of 650 meters, their vineyards benefit from intense sunshine during the day and cooler temperatures at night. These fluctuations in temperature produce fresh, elegant wines.

The estate’s second location is their wine gardens in Ora, located at the valley floor, where Lukas Zelger mainly grows Lagrein, as the soils rich in porphyry and the comparably high temperatures are especially beneficial for this variety.

In addition to their varietal Pinot Noir and Lagrein, the Engadiner Wines estate also offers a Kerner characteristic for the variety. “It is our philosophy to produce wines typical of the terroir and true to our standard,” explains Lukas Zelger.