Vinařství v Jižním Tyrolsku

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.

“Family business” is a tag that many operations pin to their lapels. But the Hans Rottensteiner Estate Winery does so legitimately. “All of the family members are involved in some way in the success of the operation – whether directly in the winery, in the office, or as grape suppliers,” explains Hannes Rottensteiner, who runs the estate winery along with his wife Judith in what is now the third generation.

But the estate is not just rooted in the family, it is also rooted in the world of Bolzano wine and its tradition. “Our focus lies fundamentally in the single varietal indigenous wines with a strong emphasis on the two typical Bolzano wines of Santa Maddalena and Lagrein,” the winegrower says. These have found the ideal conditions in the Bolzano porphyry soils, added to which these soils provide accentuated mineral tones in the wines.

In addition to those classic Bolzano reds, the significance of Pinot Blanc is also growing for the Hans Rottensteiner Estate Winery. “In recent years, it has become more and more important for us,” says Rottensteiner. At the current time, they make around 35 percent white wine, which is rather unusual for an estate winery right in Bolzano.

So the two main pillars of the Hans Rottensteiner Estate Winery have now turned into three. And in the future, this will be emphasized even further. “We want to establish ourselves even more strongly as specialists for Santa Maddalena, Lagrein, and Pinot Blanc,” says Rottensteiner, formulating the goal for his estate winery. But nothing will change with another established tenet: they are and will continue to be a family operation steeped in tradition.

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.

When a child draws a castle, the similarity with Wehrburg Castle in Prissiano-Tesimo is astonishing. In the end, this fortress is along the lines of a storybook castle. Erected in the thirteenth century, it forms the heart of the estate winery of the same name, in which Jakob Holzner creates wines in which the terroir can be tasted.

Wehrburg Castle has been in the possession of the Holzner family since the middle of the last century. Since that time, it has been converted into a castle hotel, but winegrowing continues to play a central role here. The basis for this is provided by 2.5 hectares of vineyards at an elevation of around 500 meters above sea level. The slopes have a southeastern exposure, the soils are rocky, yet at the same time containing a good content of limestone and loam. Traditional grape varieties grow here, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Schiava, Pinot Noir, and Zweigelt.

Jakob Holzner places particular value on quality. That begins with careful work in the vineyard and reduced yields, and thus a high-quality harvest is guaranteed. In the winery, as little technical support is relied upon as possible, “And for that reason, more sensitivity is required,” as Holzner emphasizes. “And so we create authentic wines that reflect the terroir: the location, the vines, the soil composition, and the mild climate of Prissiano.”

A mineral-rich quality, elegance, and a multilayered character are the confirmation of the wines from Wehrburg Castle, which thus have gone far beyond the sour beverage that was drunk in the Middle Ages. Which makes it possible to enjoy storybook castle even more.

Two friends, three locations, one project: with the Pföstl Estate Winery in Scena, Stefan Pföstl and Georg Weger have fulfilled a common childhood dream. Weger takes care of the vineyards and the winery, while Pföstl handles sales – including in the Schenna Resort that he runs. In addition to the fact that the foundation of the Pföstl Estate Winery is based upon a sandbox friendship, there are above all else three thoroughly different locations that distinguish the estate winery. Thus there are grape growing areas in Merano, Scena, Lana, and Pochi that are managed, all of which take advantage of a great deal of sun and heat.

Each of these locations has a different climate and different soils and exposures and is therefore ideal for different grape varieties. “The fact that the whole is more than the sum of its parts also holds true for wine,” says Pföstl. “It is the interplay of soil, variety, weather, and human labor.”

A large part of this work takes place in the vineyard and in the winery, “With passion and honesty,” as both Pföstl and Weger emphasize. It is thanks to the variety in locations that such a conceivably wide product line of wines has been established at the Pföstl Estate Winery. It ranges from Merlot, Cabernet, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Grigio to Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Noir and all the way to the special Merano spa treatment grape, Schiava Grossa. Also in the range of the winery are two sparkling wines produced according to the classic method: A Blanc de Blancs and a Rosé sparkling wine.

The Wilhelm Walch Estate Winery has its headquarters in a former Jesuit monastery in the picturesque winegrowing village of Termeno. The estate has existed since 1869, and today, five generations after its founding, it is one of the largest private estate wineries in Alto Adige.

Precisely because of the lengthy history and the unusual location, it is worthwhile to first take a look at its headquarters when visiting the Wilhelm Walch Estate Winery. Not only is it housed in a former monastery, it also has one of the loveliest historical cellars in the region. In it, large wooden barrels decorated with artistic carvings age, while the barrique cellars with the small oak casks are housed in the deep vaulted cellar.

Because this area is so picturesque and puts its stamp on the estate winery but hardly even allows functional work, the manor was extended several years ago with a fermenting cellar. “Through the use of highly modern technology, the new winery makes possible the gentlest possible grape processing for the production of the finest quality wines,” explains Walch, the one who provided his name to the estate winery.

The raw material for these quality wines grows and thrives – tended in a sustainable manner in a way that is gentle on the environment – in vineyards on the Mendel Pass filled with Gewurztraminer, as well as in Caldaro and Cortaccia. These are distributed across elevations from 250 to 700 meters and the largest section is extremely steep. That already implies that the harvest takes place with great commitment and by hand. There are also advantages to the steep location. “These vineyards,” Walch is convinced, “lend our wines the fresh, precise fruit.”

Nestled between mountains and orchards, flanked by olive trees and ancient cypresses in the sun-drenched south of South Tyrol, the H. Lentsch winery is located in Branzoll.

About half of the 20-hectare cultivation area of the old estate is vineyards, thriving under optimal conditions due to their location on a large alluvial cone. Porous porphyry soil, which stores warmth during the day and releases it at night, along with natural ice holes, create a unique, natural microclimate.

Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, and the classic Lagrein find ideal growing conditions on the warm, sandy-stony soils. In harmony with natural conditions, for generations, the vines have been carefully tended and cultivated through meticulous manual labor.

The distinctive, fruity wines offer the highest enjoyment for discerning palates. The longevity of these wines has inspired the H. Lentsch winery to also fill large formats.

Only grapes from their own vineyards, grown under optimal climatic conditions, are processed for the wines. Full-bodied and powerful, elegant and fresh, they stand out for their longevity.

The Egger-Ramer Estate Winery in Bolzano has been in existence since 1880, and since that time it has followed one simple principle: cultivating indigenous grape varieties in a modern way. Peter Egger-Ramer, fifth generation winegrower at the estate winery, has expanded this goal by one dream: to create the perfect Lagrein.

Located right in the midst of the provincial capital of Bolzano, the Egger-Ramer Estate Winery has the best conditions for it – including because the focus was on Lagrein here very early on. “My father Toni already believed in the power and potential of Lagrein as early as the 1970s,” Egger-Ramer recounts, “so at a time when this grape variety was notorious for being a simple farmer’s wine with far too many sharp edges.”

Peter built upon the preparations by his father, worked tirelessly on the quality of his Lagrein, and with the Kristan Lagrein Riserva has created an extraordinary representative of its kind. But anyone who believes that with this, the Bolzano winegrower has achieved his goal will be mistaken. When asked about his dream, he responds, “It would be nice to create the perfect Lagrein someday.”

Even if Lagrein is the showpiece wine of this traditional estate winery, the palette of grape varieties in the vineyards that encompass some 15 hectares in and around Bolzano is much larger. Yellow Muscat, Pinot Blanc, Schiava, and Lagrein also grow there. With the indigenous varieties and all of the wines that reflect the particular character of the locations, Egger-Ramer says, “It combines the best of both worlds: the Alpine and the Mediterranean.”

In the only surviving Lagrein terrain of Gries in Bozen, the unique alluvial soil of the rivers Eisack and Talfer with sandy loamy porphyry provides the natural foundation for our wines. We refrain from using any kind of fertilizers, but instead produce biodiversity through specific crop sowing. Thus, soils become autarchic, allowing striking personalities to thrive here year and again.
All making and creating in the vineyard and cellar alike is marked by gentle and careful procedures to allow the end product in the bottle to remain as natural as possible.
Often planted by our ancestors, the vines here have been defying all ages for decades now. And still, they stand and persevere, even against our modern and fast-paced world of today. To guarantee winegrowing in harmony with nature, we have been raising our vines with loving care according to certified ecological principals since 1996.
Reyter stands for certified ecological wines – a result of our idealism but above all else, a guarantee for our customers to enjoy purity and nature with every sip of wine.

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.

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?

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.

The Laimburg Provincial Winery in Vadena is the estate winery of the Province of Alto Adige. It has a whole series of vineyards in every winegrowing region in the province, and it is affiliated with the Laimburg Research Center for agriculture and forestry. So its task is not just to produce outstanding wines, but also to test new paths for Alto Adige winegrowing.

In total, the Laimburg Provincial Winery manages around 20 hectares of grape growing areas at elevations from 200 to 750 meters. “For us, the main focus of our work is maintaining and improving the quality of grapes and wine,” explains winemaker Urban Piccolruaz, “and, in so doing, it is necessary to test simple methods of management that save time and costs.”

From the grapes that are grown that way, around 90,000 bottles of wine are made every year. A portion of them, the estate wines, are traditional vintage wines that are typical of the grape variety. “The Burgselektion wines, on the other hand, are individual and aged primarily in large oak barrels or else they are select wines,” Piccoluraz says.

Since the early 1990s, barrels and bottles have been stored in a special cellar. “The opportunity basically presented itself to create the cellar in the porphyry rock of the Monte di Mezzo,” the winemaker reminisces. In retrospect, this unconventional decision proved itself to be doubly advantageous: on one hand, a cellar was built in which the naturally constant room temperature prevails, while on the other hand, a huge amount of money could be saved in comparison to the classic new construction of a cellar. And because the Laimburg Provincial Winery is in fact just that, the winery of the province, the taxpayers were grateful.

Mazon, a hamlet located above Neumarkt/Egna in the south of Alto Adige, is known as Alto Adige’s most typical Pinot Noir location. This is where the pioneers first experimented with this variety, where the first renowned Pinot Noirs from Alto Adige originated, and where the best wines of this grape variety are still coming from to this very day.

So it should not come as a surprise that the Praxmarer Estate Winery located on the Fritzenhof estate in Mazon has set itself the goal of “creating our own interpretation of a Mazon Pinot Noir.” And Sebastian Praxmarer, owner of the estate winery of the same name, is well aware of the responsibility that comes with the long tradition that he is following: “Our aim is to create authentic wines that fully represent this special location with its characteristic soil conditions and its unique microclimate,” says Praxmarer.

While the location has a very long tradition, the Praxmarer Estate Winery is still new in the business here in Mazon. In 2020, they first started cultivation on some of the estate lands, which span a total area of 15 hectares. But the history of the estate winery is much longer than that. For more than 220 years, since 1800, grapes have been grown on the Fritzenhof estate. Since 2020, the Praxmarer family has added a new chapter to this wine-making tradition.

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.”

A Lagrein from Roverè della Luna, which was supposed to be better than those of the surrounding villages, was mentioned by the travel writer Max Sittich von Wolkenstein as early as the seventeenth century. So the bar for the Cantina Sociale Roverè della Luna, the northernmost in Trentino, was therefore set high. For the 270 members of today, that is more of a motivation than a burden.

Roverè della Luna is situated just south of the Chiusa di Salorno cleft on a limestone cone. Even though the Adige Valley has been predestined for winegrowing, the conditions here are rather rough. “Gravel and limestone don’t hold water very well,” says Carlo Alberto Gasperi, winemaker at the Cantina Roverè della Luna, “so the vines only grow here with difficulty.” But what is a challenge for grapevines and winegrowers is for him a stroke of luck: “Because of the slow growth, an especially fruity wine comes into existence,” the winemaker says.

The Cantina Sociale Roverè della Luna was already founded as early as 1919, at that time with 24 winegrowers with great foresight. Today, the cooperative has 270 members who tend no fewer than 420 hectares of grape growing areas and, aside from the aforementioned literarily immortalized Roverè della Luna Lagrein, they also grow Teroldego, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Schiava, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, and Müller Thurgau.

In all of the still and sparkling wines from the Cantina Roverè della Luna, the terroir and its properties can be tasted, having been finished in a modern, rational winery. With a view forward, but also back to the roots of the cooperative. As is fitting for wines for which a literary monument was already put up four hundred years ago.

Two geographical locations that share an ancient connection come together at the Wieserhof Estate Winery in Völlan/Foiana. One of the two vineyards of the winery is located in Völlan above Lana, the second vineyard in Castagnara-Masetto near Lake Garda. But what is so special about that? Both vineyards have been connected by an ancient trade route for about 3,000 years now, which is why the Wieser family named its wine project after this route: La Traversara.
Hubert Wieser and his wife, Silvia, have been working on the “La Traversara” project for about 20 years now. They are the second generation to work the land at the Wieserhof estate. And their daughters Maya and Emma are now the third generation on the Wieserhof. The family produces four wines, which, just like the vineyards of the Wieserhof, are connected in many different ways.
Both vineyards—the one in Völlan and the one in Castagnara-Masetto—are located at approximately the same altitude (600 meters above sea level) and are home to the same two grape varieties (Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc). “The grapes of both vineyards and both varieties are aged in an identical process in wooden barrels, but they turn into four very characteristic wines, which each tell their own, unique story,” explains Hubert Wieser.
Again, that perfectly fits the Wieserhof Estate Winery from Völlan, which also tells us a story: a story that started approx. 3,000 years ago and tells us of the fusion of two geographical locations and cultures.

 

Twenty-one generations. That’s how far the Schmid family at the Schmid Oberrautner Wine Estate in Bolzano-Gries can trace back their family tree. Thus without a doubt, they are among the oldest winegrowing families in all of Alto Adige. Today it is Florian Schmid who continues the heritage at the Schmid Oberrautner Wine Estate.

In 1411, and thus long before Columbus visited America, Andrä Schmid laid the cornerstone in Bolzano-Gries for the Schmid Oberrautner Wine Estate, and he did so in the truest sense of the word. He had a farm complex built with agricultural and residential buildings, parts of which still stand today. Thus it was solid workmanship that became second nature to the Schmids.

And that also holds true for the wine production which, starting from the seventeenth century, played a greater and greater role and today is the most important pillar of the Schmid Oberrautner Wine Estate – and also because of its outstanding wines: “It is important to me to bring character into the glass year after year,” explains Florian Schmid. The conditions for that are unmistakable soils in good locations, know-how, and that gut feeling. “For that reason, there is a piece of me in my wines, of my personality, of my style, and above all else of my passion for mineral-rich, fresh, quaffable wines,” the winegrower says.

The raw materials for these wines grow on a good nine hectares of vineyards of the Schmid Oberrautner Wine Estate. These are primarily Lagrein and Schiava, added to which are Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Merlot, and Chardonnay. And with them, around 95,000 bottles per year are produced from the winery at the Schmid Oberrautner Wine Estate. Right in the middle of Gries.

Annotation: 

Piazza Gries is closed until September, the winery therefore is accessible only via: 

Via Vittorio Veneto - Via Cologna - Via Michael Pacher - Via Fago

or 

Ponte Talvera - Via Cadorna - Via Fago

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 Innerleiterhof in Scena is a small, fine, broadly structured operation. In addition to the winegrowing operation, it also includes its own winery and a hotel. And as one can imagine about a small, fine operation, everything lies in the hands of a family: that of the Egger-Pichler family.

While Karin Egger-Pichler holds the scepter at the hotel, her husband Karl Pichler and her father Franz Egger are responsible for the estate winery at the Innerleiterhof. Its name is derived from “Leite”, an expression in South Tyrolean dialect meaning a steep slope.

So at least in the vineyard, the name says it all. On 1.6 hectares at 450 meters above sea level in sun-drenched Scena up above Merano, Pinot Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Schiava, Lagrein and Merlot are all grown here. “For ten years, we have been working with our grapes in our own winery, and that, in turn, is in combination with our hotel,” explains Karl Pichler.

Guests are offered such a unique experience and given that good feeling to be able to enjoy a wine whose transport path is measured not in kilometers, but rather in meters. From the vineyard to their own winery to the adjacent hotel.
What grows together goes together. Always in a small, fine, broadly structured family operation.

Storing wines underground is not uncommon, but truly underground, we mean, in a mining tunnel. This is happening at the Großkemat winery in Prissian. Soon.

On the grounds of Großkemat estate, there are several tunnels. Josef Knoll, the owner of the estate, is converting one of them and will use it as a bottle storage in the future. Additionally, the cultivation area of the estate is gradually expanding, and the cellar is being upgraded. So, the Großkemat winery is growing while embracing its roots. "We're daring a fresh start to the almost forgotten winemaking tradition at the estate," explains Knoll.

Throughout, Knoll's goal is simple: "I want to do justice to the potential of our unique location and produce the best grapes," he says. By 'unique location,' the Prissian winemaker not only refers to the special porphyry structure of the soils but also the hillside location and optimal orientation of his vineyards planted with Pinot Blanc, Solaris, and Schiava vines.

Whether red or white: The wines crafted by Josef Knoll from the grapes of the Großkemat estate reflect the terroir as authentically as possible. "I emphasize that they are natural. This gives them an appealing elegance and depth, offering enjoyable drinking," explains Knoll.

And in the future, they will also be stored underground. In the tunnel.

Luis Oberrauch is someone who did not get his passion for wine right from the cradle but nevertheless has lived it since his childhood. However, it is only since 2017 that he has run his own Luis Oberrauch Estate Winery in Ora in which all of his knowledge and experience flow together.

Already as a child, Oberrauch went hand in hand with his godfather through his vineyards, and at age 13 he made his first wine under that uncle’s tutelage. This was followed by agricultural high school, oenology studies in Geisenheim, Germany, and work at the Cantina Tramin at which even today, Oberrauch lends a hand to winemaker Willi Stürz.

Then in 2017, the opportunity presented itself to lease vineyards in Ora. “There are around five thousand grapevines in my vineyards, and even though it may sound silly, I know every single one of them,” Oberrauch says. He deals carefully and gently with his vines that grow on Pergola trellises. “In the face of more and more frequent extreme weather events, the pergola trellis has a series of advantages,” the winegrowing expert explains. These include deeper root systems (and thus less drought stress) and natural shading that prevents a burning of the grapes.

“Just like in the vineyard, it is also important for me in the winery to make only minimal interventions,” Oberrauch says. His wines are therefore only coarsely filtered just shortly before bottling, and Oberrauch does without fining. His lifelong roots in the world of wine also shows itself in his selection of grape varieties. Thus what grows at the Luis Oberrauch Estate Winery is only the indigenous varieties of Lagrein and Schiava.

The Rametz Castle Estate Winery in Merano has one of the richest traditions in the province. There is documentary evidence of wine grapes having been grown here since 1227, and Pinot Noir since 1860. Why is that worthy of mention? It’s quite simple: those at Rametz Castle were the first Pinot Noir vines in all of Alto Adige.

The fact that wine grapes have been grown here for almost 800 years is not by chance: the climate in Merano is ideal, and the soils on the moraine hill upon which the manor stands are water-permeable. These conditions are also still made use of today, with the 10 hectares of grape growing areas around Maretz Castle being planted with Pinot Noir, Riesling, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapevines are supported for the most part with Guyot trellises, although with a special feature: “We use only posts made from weather-resistant chestnut wood, and in the castle vineyard, we avoid the use of concrete posts that are broadly utilized elsewhere today,” explains general manager Stanislaus Schmid.

What is also special are the cellars in which the harvest from the castle’s own vineyards are made into wine. The large cellar originated in the eighteenth century, is made entirely of stone blocks, and without a doubt is among the most beautiful cellars in the entire province. “This is where we keep the large oak barrels, while in the small cellar from the twelfth century, the valuable barrique wines in small oak casks are matured.” So at the Rametz Castle Estate Winery in Merano, history and tradition meet the visitor at every turn. And also at the level of a museum, since for decades now, tools and equipment from winegrowing and winemaking have been collected here. Just the Winemaking Museum alone is worth a visit.