Objevte krásy Bolzana a okolí

With 224 members and 350 hectares of cultivation area in Gries, San Maurizio, Settequerce, S. Giorgio, Cologna, Santa Maddalena, Coste, S. Giustina, and Renon: the great strengths of the Bolzano Winery is its diversity. So in the higher locations that range up to 1,000 meters, Sauvignon Blanc and Gewürztraminer dominate, while at the medium elevations, it is Schiava. Further down, Cabernet and Merlot are planted, with Lagrein in the valley areas. The wines are made in the winery building with its futuristic appearance.

In narrowest terms, the Bolzano Winery is relatively young. It was launched in 2001 but is actually the result of a merger between the much older, established Bolzano wineries of Gries and Santa Maddalena. For that reason, tradition holds a major emphasis from the members, as does managing their often steep vineyards in a sustainable manner that is close to nature. “Working the soils and grapevines in a gentle manner is an important matter to our winegrowers,” says President Philipp Plattner.

In the meantime, the caution and prudence does not stop in the vineyard, but continues on in the winery. It is the first one in all of Italy to have been awarded the “KlimaHaus Wine” quality seal for energy efficiency and sustainability. Even in the winery, the focus is on slowing things down. That is where winemaker Stephan Filippi wields the baton and explains, “Because the processing takes place according to the principle of gravitation, the grapes are transformed in the most gentle way.” The result is unique, unmistakable quality wines. And great variety which in and of itself is worth a closer look.

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 50,000 bottles per year are produced from the winery at the Schmid Oberrautner Wine Estate. Right in the middle of Gries.

Strong vineyards and wines in which the terroir identity can be tasted: that is what distinguishes the Malojer Gummerhof Winery. It lies in the rural northern part of Bolzano and can look back on a long history. For five generations, the focus has consistently been on quality and identity.

When Bolzano was still small and manageable, the Gummerhof was located right in the middle of a landscape of vineyards, fields, and meadows. That was in 1480, when the farm was mentioned for the first time in a document. Precisely four hundred years later, Joseph Trafojer purchased the winegrowing farmhouse and step by step converted it into a winery and distillery. When his granddaughter, who had married into the Malojer family, took over the operation in the late 1940s, the name of the operating family may have changed, but the recipe for success stayed the same.

This was built upon two pillars. One of them is the rigorous policy of quality that has been followed for decades, while the other is the terroir identity that it should be possible to taste in Gummerhof wines. The result is a broad palette of wines with strong character: Cabernet, Merlot, Lagrein, Pinot Noir, Schiava, Müller Thurgau, Sylvaner, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Blanc.

Depending upon the variety, the wines are aged in stainless steel tanks, in small oak casks, or in the old large oak barrels that are handed down from generation to generation. Each of them imparts a character to the wines that is unmistakable – as it should be. That is also what Urban Malojer, winemaker of the family winery, says. “Our goal is to constantly be improving our wines and to make them more and more typical.”

The Pitsch am Bach Estate Winery in Bolzano lies between Santa Giustina and Santa Maddalena, and therefore right where the Santa Maddalena wine originated. And apropos of origins: the farmhouse itself dates back to the fourteenth century, and its first owner was neither a farmer nor the clergy, and not even someone from South Tyrol.

The farm was first mentioned in a document from 1350, and specifically as the property of a banker from Florence named Boccia. Over the course of the centuries, the Italian name that was unusual for South Tyrolean tongues was gradually adapted to the local language usage until “Boccia” turned into “Pitsch”.

Today, Paul Schweigkofler and his family are now the eighth generation to run the Pitsch am Bach Estate Winery. The 3.4 hectares of vineyards lie on slopes with a southwestern exposure at an elevation of around 300 meters on dry alluvial gravel deposits with a high degree of sand and a medium humus content. The best conditions above all else for Lagrein and Schiava from which – it goes without saying! – a classic Santa Maddalena is also made at Pitsch am Bach. In addition to that, Gewürztraminer and Yellow Muscat are also grown.

“We take care of our vines as naturally as possible and with the vinification, as well, we pay attention to traditional techniques,” Schweigkofler adds. So it can be seen that the long history of the farmhouse, the family tradition, and the Santa Maddalena background have all deeply left their mark at Pitsch am Bach in Bolzano. And they reach all the way into the daily work.

Right in the midst of the vineyards and yet in the city: the Zundlhof has a unique location in Bolzano. It has been run for nearly fifty years by the Ramoser family in particular as a classic winegrowing farmhouse, but also with rooms rented for farmhouse holidays.

The Zundlhof lies precisely one and a half kilometers from the center of the capital city, and since 1975, Helmuth Ramoser has been in charge. With the support of his daughter Johanna and her husband Martin, he manages half a hectare of grape growing area in Caldaro but above all else the three hectares around the Zundlhof in Bolzano “with lots of love and passion,” as Ramoser himself says.

Within that context, though, his vineyard in Bolzano is more like a wine garden. After all, although he is in fact located in the classic Bolzano Santa Maddalena zone, in contrast to most of the other vineyards there those of the Zundlhof do not cling to the slopes, but rather lie nearly flat on the valley floor.

This is where Ramoser finds the best conditions for the grape varieties that he grows. Without any surprises for this location, these are first and foremost Schiava and Lagrein, the “ingredients” of Santa Maddalena which Ramoser makes at the Zundlhof. Added to those are Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon and, as the only white wine variety, Pinot Blanc.

The best place to taste the small but excellent palette of wines is in the arcade of the Zundlhof. Right in the midst of the vineyards and yet in the city.

In the heart of Santa Maddalena lies the Waldgries manor in Bolzano. It was mentioned in a document for the first time in 1242, and is therefore one of the oldest estate wineries in and around Bolzano.

Winegrowing has been carried out here for around 700 years. In the sundrenched vineyards that lie directly at Waldgries Manor, the grape varieties of Schiava, Lagrein, and Red Muscat find the best terroir thanks to the Mediterranean climate. Among the total of 7.2 hectares which Christian Plattner tends are also grape growing areas in Ora and Appiano-Monte, in the latter of which are planted Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Blanc. The results are multilayered wines, not least of which is Santa Maddalena which is given particular attention here and which is in fact among the wines of Alto Adige with the richest tradition and the most significant history.

A piece of new old history is written by the Antheos Santa Maddalena classico, a mixed vinestock that had nearly died out which was newly planted here around ten years ago and allows us to experience a voyage into the past in a bottle. On the artistically arranged wine path that leads directly from the parking lot through the estate, visitors can experience everything that is interesting and worth knowing about Waldgries Manor.

The Arunda Winery devoted to sparkling wines is located in Meltina at 1,200 meters above sea level and is thus the highest one in all of Europe. That is not just an oddity, though, but rather part of the unique recipe for success from the founder of the winery, Josef Reiterer.

He is an oenologist but at first was on the road as a salesman of bottling equipment to the wineries of Europe. As such, he gathered a huge amount of experience, all of which flowed into the idea of setting up a mountain winery dedicated to sparkling wine. An idea which at first glance may have seemed crazy. But only at first glance. In the end, it is the natural temperature fluctuations at this elevation which make possible the calm maturation of the wine.

Added to this is the fact that Reiterer consistently produces his sparkling wine according to the méthode champenoise. “The méthode champenoise consists of carrying out the regeneration of the bottles through the addition of sugars and yeasts,” the sparkling wine expert from Meltina explains.

And because the clocks run slower up in the mountains, the sparkling wine from Arunda is given as much time as it needs. “It takes at least 24 months for the sparkling wines from Arunda to achieve the richness, elegance, and complexity that set them apart,” says Reiterer. And for some of the select cuvées, even that is much too short. They lie in the cellar for up to 70 months.

Thus a total of around 130,000 bottles are created every year of a dozen different sparkling wines made from Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Noir. Or as Reiterer himself calls them, pearly pleasures for the palate.

Wine has been made for nearly four centuries at the Unterganzner-Hof on the eastern edge of Bolzano. So it is no wonder that wine has become the great passion of the Mayr family. But in addition to that, there is a second one: “We all love music, and each one of us plays an instrument or sings,” says Josephus Mayr.

He runs the Mayr-Unterganzner Estate Winery in the tenth generation and also makes no secret of the fact that he profits from the preparatory work of his ancestors. Or, in more precise terms, from the selection of grapevines that was carried out with experience and a great deal of instinctive feeling. “Added to that is our precise work in the vineyard from pruning the vines to the late harvest and the gentle vinification in our own winery,” says Mayr.

And the ideal location, one is inclined to add. After all, the Mayr-Unterganzner Estate Winery is located in the classic Santa Maddalena zone and benefits from an outstanding red wine climate, good aeration, many hours of sunshine, and alluvial soils that warm easily. “The high plant density, the advanced age of the vines, and the pergola training also make their contribution,” the winegrower explains.

Thus what is created is Santa Maddalena as well as Lagrein that is rigorously matured in oak barrels that can age in the bottle for many years, classic wines that are still tirelessly honed. For example, making the cultivation more ecological is continuously pushed forward, and fungus-resistant vines are increasingly being planted. And where does Josephus Mayr see his estate winery in ten years? “In ten years, my son Josef will be running the estate. At that point, we will have been managing it for 401 years – hopefully with even better wines.”

Never stand still – that, too, is family tradition.

“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.

Pizza und Apulian cuisine.

History consists mostly of rock. At the Larcherhof in Bolzano-Rencio, for instance, the wines age in large wooden barrels in a cellar that dates back centuries. But even more impressive are the powerful Lagrein grapevines of the Larcherhof which themselves are more than a hundred years old. As can been seen with them, history lives.

The vineyards of the Larcherhof in Bolzano-Rencio belong to the classic Santa Maddalena cultivation zone which is distinguished by a mild, nearly Mediterranean climate, by hot days and cool nights at the time of maturation, and by warm porphyry soils and loose alluvial soils. The Spögler family has five hectares of grape growing area here. “We manage our vineyards in an environmentally-friendly way that is close to nature, without herbicides or insecticides,” explains Hans Jochen Spögler.

The vineyards are planted with Merlot, Schiava, and Pinot Grigio. And above all with Lagrein, which is to be understood as such a typical variety for Alto Adige. From the vineyards of the Larcherhof in Bolzano-Rencio, it is made into wines of different forms: Lagrein, Lagrein Kretzer rosé, Lagrein Riserva. The winegrowing tradition of the Spögler family, which runs the Larcherhof, dates back to 1893. But only since 2008 have they been making and bottling their own wines. In the meantime, production has risen to 45,000 bottles per year, a figure that will continue to grow further in coming years.

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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.”

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.

Self service at lunch with a wide choice, bar service and ice cream

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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.

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.

Traditional cuisine with a touch of internationality defines our restaurant Zum Weißen Rössl. In the morning a rich breakfast buffet awaits you: croissants, a selection of various breads, cheese, cold cuts, fruit salad, yoghurt, muesli... At lunch and dinner our head chef surprises you with fresh traditional dishes from Sarntal.

In the 1990s, Rainer Zierock was something of a rock star among oenologists. He was an agronomist, a university professor, and a winegrowing consultant in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and France. But Zierock created what for him was the ideal, perfect estate winery in Alto Adige. In a manor from the fourteenth century, he founded the Dolomytos Estate Winery in Auna di Sotto on the Renon plateau.

Along with Margret Hubmann, in the late 1990s he redid the entire estate, planting 150 different grape varieties and allowing himself to be guided with everything by Greek mythology. Thus the pentagon plays a prominent role for Zierock, his wines are produced according to the pentagram principle, and he also developed a tasting system on the basis of this geometric form.

In addition, panta rhei is regarded as the leitmotif of the Dolomytos Estate winery in Auna di Sotto: everything is flowing, and specifically in the winery, as well, which is set up according to the principle of gravitation. “All work steps can be carried out using natural slopes without outside influences – all the way to bottling,” explains Norbert Marginter, who has continued to run the Dolomytos Estate Winery as the new proprietor following the ideas of the professor, who passed away in 2009.

Three hectares of vineyards are tended as close to nature as possible, the grapes are harvested with a strict selection process, they are fermented with their own natural yeast, and they spend 10 to 14 days on the skins. After that, they mature for at least 24 months in cylinders made from French oak. “All of our wines are blends of Italian and Greek grape varieties,” Marginter explains. So it is not only with mythology that the Greeks made their mark at the Dolomytos Estate Winery.

The luck of the Ramoser family is to have vineyards available in the best locations of Santa Maddalena. The luck of their customers is that these locations can also be tasted in the wines from the Untermoserhof Estate Winery in Bolzano.

It is not without reason that Georg Ramoser, who runs the family estate winery with his son Florian, names “sincere”, “unadulterated”, and “shaped by terroir” as attributes for his wine. It ought to be possible to taste the origin in the wines: the location of the vineyards, the work that lies behind the grapes and wine. “Our wines are captivating through their fullness, suppleness, and power, but without losing any juiciness or freshness,” Ramoser says.

All of this does not just appear by chance. After all, the vineyards of the Untermoserhof in Santa Maddalena offer the ideal conditions. But they also demand a lot from the Ramosers: “The steep slopes are associated with a lot of work by hand, but in the autumn, this is rewarded by optimal grape health and maturity,” the senior winegrower says.

In that way, a constantly high level of quality can be maintained – year after year, and for all of the wines in the assortment. “Our customers know to appreciate that,” Ramoser explains, seeing no reason to abandon the path that he has followed, since it involves getting wines into the bottle that are close to nature, genuine, and shaped by terroir in an unadulterated way.

But one thing is clear: that path is bound up with hard work. Including the hard work to always get better.

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Relaxing and enjoyable hours await you in our traditional Gasthof am Tschögglberg. Surrounded by a beautiful hiking area we got down the sense of good and beautiful in the cradle. The aromatic blend of spicy South Tyrolean cuisine and light Mediterranean cuisine is framed by warm hospitality and homely rooms. A good night's sleep after a day full of enjoyment, nothing stands in the way. Thursday all day and Friday until 17:00 closed

OK, we’ll admit it: if someone reads the name of the Vinzig Estate Winery in Bolzano-Cologna, then a German-speaker will immediately begin thinking of a play on words. For example, the name also sounds like a word for “tiny.” But there is nothing tiny about their product line. Let’s just stick with the fact that the sunny slopes above what is today the Guncina Promenade in Bolzano was already called as early as 1333 the “vineyard of paradise”.

And that is precisely the location of the Vinzig Estate Winery of Stefan Veit, who knows to appreciate this privilege. “We live and work in a location that can demonstrate a centuries-long tradition of winegrowing,” says Veit, emphasizing that his estate already appeared for the first time in documents from the thirteenth century. “As a part of this rich history, we want to bring the enthusiasm for wine into today,” says Veit.

This “today” distinguishes itself with no fewer than nine different wines that are created under the Vinzig brand. As single varietal wines, these include a Yellow Muscat, a Lagrein, and a collection of Schiavas: one matured in stainless steel tanks, one in glass carboys, one in small oak casks, and one in large oak barrels (the latter, tellingly enough, carries the name “Paradis”).

Vinzig also has a rosé in their assortment. It is a blend of Vernatsch, Lagrein, and Red Muscat. Like all of the other wines, the rosé at Vinzig is only coarsely filtered before it is bottled. That also holds true for the other cuvées in the product line: a red made from Lagrein, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon, and a white with Pinot Blanc, Gewürztraminer, and Sauvignon Blanc. It seems that there are a lot of choices in paradise.

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.

You will find us 5 minutes away from the mountain station of the cable car Renon in the center of Soprabolzano/Renon