Vinařství v jižním Tyrolsku

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.

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.

The history of the Pitznerhof in Cardano is almost like the story of beating swords into plowshares. The name “Pitzner” is a corruption of “Büchsner”, referring to someone who makes shotguns who was active earlier at the farm. So for both pacifists and gourmands, that is good news, since at the Pitznerhof, they turned their back on tradition and made wine instead of weapons.

The brothers Markus and Thomas Puff are responsible for the wine production at the impressively 700 year-old Pitznerhof in Cardano at the entrance to the Valle Isarco. Their farmhouse lies at an elevation of precisely 350 meters, but the three hectares of grape growing areas are on steep slopes with deep, sandy weathered porphyry soils. “We attempt to integrate the local conditions and the microclimate into the production process in the best possible way,” says Markus Puff.

And in the winery, there is also the underlying principle of working with the grapes gently. Thus the overall picture comes together of production that is close to nature along the entire chain. “We try to fulfill our responsibility by stressing nature as little as possible,” Puff says.

This approach also forms the cornerstone for the quality of the wines from the Pitznerhof in Cardano. The product line includes Pinot Grigio, Pinot Blanc, Schiava, and Lagrein: potent, fine-structured white wines with pleasant freshness and a fine mineral-rich quality, but also spicy, pleasantly fruity, and lively reds.

With 50 hectares of grape growing areas, the Manincor Estate Winery in Caldaro is one of the largest in all of Alto Adige. And also one with some of the richest traditions: grapes have been grown here for more than four hundred years, a tradition which Count Michael Goëss-Enzenberg continues – along new paths that are actuality old.

Count Goëss-Enzenberg, who is himself a trained oenologist, has focused on biodynamic cultivation in his estate winery since 2005, and that means: the revitalization of the soil with compost, special sowing of greenery, allowing chickens, sheep, and bees in the vineyard, and last but not least creating herbal teas with which the grapevines are treated. Chamomile helps the plants to overcome situations of stress, stinging nettle tea gives them energy, and horsetail herb supports the healing of injuries.

But as old as the knowledge about cultivation is at the Manincor Estate Winery in Kaltern, that’s how modern the winery is, which was built underground three stories below the vineyards. In the end, the grapes from a half million vines are brought together here, and a total of fifteen different grape varieties are made into wine here. But in spite of the size, the work in the winery is still always work by hand – with a particular attention to small scale: “Also trying and doing our best possible work even down to the smallest detail is our path to the highest natural quality,” says Count Goëss-Enzenberg. Because, “For me, wine is the greatest sensory expression of agricultural culture.”

And at the Manincor Estate Winery in Caldaro, they know their way around with focus on the senses, with passion, with authenticity, and with heart. For more than four hundred years. After all, a free translation of Manincor is “hand on heart. ”

Three and a half hectares provide what can be called the liquid foundation of the Planitzer Buschenschank farmhouse inn in Gleno above Montagna. The use as a farmhouse inn is relatively young, but the winegrowing on the other hand is older. Much older. Its history dates back over three hundred years and is also tied to a convent in the Val Pusteria.

At the Sonnenburg (Castel Badia) convent near Brunico, wine from Planitzer in Gleno arrived for a long time on the table and in the chalice. In the end, the farm was obligated to pay taxes and therefore had to provide a portion of its harvest to the Val Pusteria which was not especially blessed with winegrowing.

Today, the situation here high above the Bassa Atesina is completely different. “Our farm complex comprises the upper house, the lower house with the added chapel of St. Cosmas and Damian, around three and a half hectares of vineyards, and more than four hectares of woods and meadows,” explains Judith Ainhauser Weissensteiner. Along with her family, she is responsible not just for the winegrowing at the farm, but also for the Planitzer Buschenschank farmhouse inn which was opened in the spring of 2014 – as the second pillar of the historical winegrowing farmhouse.

The Planitzer winegrowing and farmhouse inn operation in Gleno above Montagna is thus a genuine family-run operation in which three generations are assigned their respective tasks. Two of them, for instance, are in the kitchen: mother Doris is a trained chef, and daughter Judith lends her a hand. While the grapevines therefore provide the liquid foundation for the farmhouse inn, they take care of the solid one.

Creating a typical wine: it sounds simple, but it’s actually highly complex. Because “Typical wines have to reflect the uniqueness of the grapevine, the soil, the microclimate, the people, the location, and the specific vintage,” says Hansjörg Donà, who is responsible for his family’s Donà Estate Winery in San Paolo.

Therefore, anyone who wants to create typical wines has to not only be familiar with the location, soil, and climate down to the last detail, but also know which grape variety feels especially at home where. At the Donà Estate Winery in San Paolo (in the community of Appiano), the decision was made for Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Blanc, and the indigenous varieties of Schiava and Lagrein. “The foundation of our wines is formed by the traditional grape varieties,” Donà explains.

The harvest also takes place traditionally. The grapes of the Donà Estate Winery are harvested by hand – with a great deal of commitment, help from the family, and particular attention to quality. “We focus on top-quality grapes, gentle and modern winemaking technology, and long-term, sustainable planning,” explains the winegrower, who brings his many years of experience and all of his wine know-how into the winery. The goal of the efforts is authentic wines with an independent character which, both with white wines and red wines, are aged in 500 liter medium-sized oak barrels.

The aging is also a part of creating an authentic, typical wine. Which sounds simple, as was said, but is actually highly complex.

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 Radoin 1560 winery is situated between the deep canyon of the Bletterbach, a Unesco World Heritage Site, and the enchanting Trudner Horn Nature Park in Radein in the south of South Tyrol. Of course, the conditions for growing grapes at 1560 metres above sea level would be too harsh, despite the many hours of sunshine - but the grapes from which the noble wine Radoin 1560 is made come from estates of the Perwanger family in the municipality of Montan. The village on the South Tyrolean Wine Road with the settlements of Pinzon and Glen lies in the broad and bright Adige Valley.

In the 15th century, the name Radoin stood for the mountain on which Sepp Perwanger's winery is run with high standards. He followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, Josef Perwanger, who pressed his grapes on the farm in two barrels for decades. The grandfather's vineyard still belongs to the family - despite the massive political and economic upheavals and despite the wars of the past century. Today, Gewürztraminer and Chardonnay are grown in the Kühmösl estate, as the one site is called. Sepp Perwanger has acquired two more vineyards in the nearby Glen. This is where the Pinot Noir Riserva, the signature wine, and the flagship of the young winery, grows.

Wines are not made, they are accompanied. That is the credo with which Joachim Wolf and his team work at the Oberstein Estate Winery in Cermes. “Our vision is to make wines without a lot of technology and to give them the necessary time to mature in the large wooden barrels,” says Wolf. “In the end, it is not we who determine the maturity. It is time.”

But one thing is clear: this concept only applies if the quality of the raw materials – that is, the grapes – is right. And that quality begins in the vineyard. In keeping with the concept, at the Oberstein Estate Winery in Cermes that is achieved through prudence and restraint, which leads to reduced yields and high quality.

Added to this is the fact that Mother Nature has been especially kind to the Oberstein Estate Winery in Cermes. The estate’s vineyard is located on steep slopes with a southeastern exposure at an elevation of 400 to 500 meters (1,300 to 1,600 feet) above sea level. Its foundation is formed by light, permeable, loamy sandy soils that are pervaded with porous, slaty, granite rock material. The latter lends the wines of the Oberstein Estate Winery a prominent mineral-rich quality.

The location, elevation, and soils shape the terroir as much as the great temperature fluctuations between day and night, which are especially noticeable in the autumn. “All of these factors and our extensive philosophy of work both in the vineyard and in the winery yield a unique combination and form the basis for excellent wines with great recognition value,” Wolf says.

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.”

“Wasserer” is not the German word for someone who waters, but rather the name of a farm in Novale di Fiè which has a view of the southernmost end of the Valle Isarco. The Wassererhof in Fiè allo Sciliar is run by the twin brothers Christoph and Andreas Mock. Christoph takes care of the agriculture (and thus of winegrowing), while Andreas handles the cooking at their Buschenschank farmhouse inn.

The Wassererhof in Fiè was once called “Hof zu Wasser”, meaning that it was close to a spring which promised sufficient water and thus fruitfulness. Built in 1366 by the lords of Lichtenstein, the historical farmhouse fell more and more into a state of disrepair until 1996 when, greatly in need of renovation, it was purchased by Franz Mock, the father of twin brothers.

Because the senior in Coste near Bolzano was running his own estate winery and Christoph had furthermore completed the Technical College of Agriculture, the decision was obvious to also turn the Wassererhof in Fiè into a winegrowing farmhouse. Since that time, Christoph has run it with determination, expert competence, energy, and a philosophy all his own. “Our goal is to create wines with aspirations, beauty, and grace,” he says, “and flowing into this goal is all of our knowledge that has grown over generations and our passion for the vineyard and the cellar.”

It is out of knowledge and passion that a product line has come into existence at the Wassererhof in Fiè that consists of Schiava, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet, and Pinot Blanc – wines, in fact, with aspirations, beauty, and grace.

It is not without reason that the Monte Mezzo dì-Sonnenberg carries its name [“Midday Mountain” in Italian, “Sun Mountain” in German]. More than 250 days of sun per year can be counted here, the temperature differentials between day and night are extreme, and the amount of precipitation is lower than anywhere else in Alto Adige. These extraordinary conditions are used by Markus Fliri at the Himmelreich-Hof in Castelbello in order to produce wines with strong character.

Even if Castelbello does not lie within a typical winegrowing zone, wine has been produced at the Himmelreich-Hof since time immemorial. At least for their own use. But in 2004, that was no longer enough for the winegrower Fliri. He wanted to increase the production of quality wines at his estate and also offer them for sale – “interesting, top-quality wines” as the winegrower himself says.

The vineyards of the Himmelreich-Hof, just precisely two hectares, lie at an elevation of 650 meters, and the moraine soils, a remnant of the last ice age, have a high mineral content which can be tasted in the grapes. And thus also in the wine. “It is a matters of importance to us to produce natural, sincere wines with strong character,” says Fliri.

His assortment comprises Zweigelt, a red cuvée to which he has given the name “Himmelreich” [“Kingdom of Heaven”], and Pinot Noir. The young wines are transferred into small oak casks to age there and be able to mature in complete tranquility. In addition to those, there is also Pinot Blanc and, new to the Himmelreich-Hof’s assortment, Riesling.

So its name was not chosen by chance. At least for wine connoisseurs.

Down-to-earth and cosmopolitan: the fact that someone can be both is proven by Markus Prackwieser. Although he runs the Gump Hof Estate Winery at Fiè allo Sciliar, which is nearly half a millennium old, with a great deal of respect for tradition, he also gets his inspiration from abroad: from Wachau, Austria, from Burgundy, or from the Loire Valley. “Those are the exemplary regions,” Prackwieser says.

Since 2000, he has been responsible for the Gump Hof Estate winery in Fiè, and since that time, he has sought exchanges which do not always have to cross borders. Thus along with Günther Kerschbaumer of the Köfererhof and Christian Plattner of the Ansitz Waldgries, Prackwieser forms a wine trio that exchanges information, consults with each other, and makes use of synergies.

So new paths are not a strange thing to the winegrower, nor are deep roots in history. After all, the Gump Hof dates back to the sixteenth century. “That characterizes the estate, it has an effect with respectful dealings with the environment, with typical grape varieties being grown, with classic cultivation methods, and with laborious work by hand,” Prackwieser says. Within that context, the winegrower can fall back on vineyards from 400 to 550 meters in elevation, up to 70 percent of which are steep, in which Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer, and Schiava grow.

In the wines of the Gump Hof Estate Winery in Fiè, being down-to-earth and cosmopolitan flow together. Or, as Prackwieser says, “The knowledge that has been acquired, our own experience, time, and patience; and the honing of an independent flavor profile all lead to the character of the landscape being reflected in our wines. And that of the winegrower.”

Agriculture, and winegrowing in particular, has always played an important role since time immemorial for the Bertol family. And the work continues with great enthusiasm and diligence.

The Spiegelhof Estate Winery is located directly on Lake Caldaro and is among the best locations in Caldaro. In recent years, the operation has grown continuously and has now come to comprise somewhat more than five hectares.

Earlier on, the Schiava (Vernatsch) variety was grown almost exclusively, from which the Lago di Caldaro denomination is obtained. Today, it is the varieties Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, Yellow Muscat, Lagrein, Merlot, and Cabernet that dominate. And the training method has also changed: before, the vines were grown on pergola trellises, but now it is almost exclusively the Guyot trellis that is used. “This has had a positive influence on grape quality, and work can be made easier through the increasing use of machines,” says the winegrower Reinhild Bertol.

The wine itself is made with great care in the Spiegelhof, which is located right in the midst of the vineyards on the path around the lake. Anyone who strolls by the Spiegelhof will not have a hard time recognizing the families passion: the collecting of vintage tractors. Gerold Bertol, the master of the house, began this hobby more than thirty years ago. At the current time, the collection numbers over a hundred models – and there is no end in sight.

The heart of the Spiegelhof Estate Winery is “Reinhild’s Farm Shop”. The idyllic wine shop is located right on the lake and is surrounded by the winery’s own vineyards. It is the perfect location for tasting the excellent estate wines.

The Seppi family has run the Oberpreyhof in Caldaro since 1885. So it’s no wonder that particular attention has been paid to tradition here. Or, as Markus Seppi puts it, to “maintaining the heritage of the forefathers to pass on to the next generation.”

For the Seppi family, those are more than just pretty words. Thus the vineyards in the Caldaro locations of Prey, Barleith, and Lavason are managed gently, there is a focus on undergrowth that is rich in species, and herbicides are avoided. “In the end, only a healthy, living soil brings forth healthy, resistant vines which, in turn, bear good grapes,” Seppi says.

The vines are supported in the classic pergola system, although not only as a nod to the predecessors at the estate, but also for practical considerations. Thus the Seppis consider the pergola trellis to be the optimal training method in the estate’s vineyards with a southern exposure. They distinguish themselves by hot days and cool nights which guarantee a regular maturation of the grapes and foster the development of extracts and aroma substances.

And in the end, an eye is also kept on tradition with the selection of the varieties, with the Seppi family greatly concentrating (and in fact even more and more) on indigenous varieties. Thus Lagrein and Schiava form the foundation of the Oberpreyhof in Caldaro. The latter is used for the classic Lago di Caldaro, and in addition to that, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Yellow Muscat are also found in the assortment. In addition, grappas that are produced at the estate can be tasted in the vaulted cellar from the fifteenth century.

In the heart of the Funes Valley, where the rhythm of nature sets the pace of daily life, lies this farm – a place where passion meets expertise and every action reflects a genuine connection to the land. Rosmarie Prader and Gregor Tappeiner work side by side, united by a shared goal: to farm in harmony with the environment, preserving and enhancing what nature provides with care and respect.
A project that brings together viticulture, agriculture, and biodiversity. With great attention and in line with the principles of biodynamic farming, vines, fruit, and vegetables are cultivated – always in dialogue with nature and its cycles.

Rosmarie and Gregor each contribute their strengths: while knowledge and experience in biodynamics guide the work in the vineyard, the sales and distribution are managed with entrepreneurial spirit and enthusiasm. This creates an authentic concept that combines quality, sustainability, and a genuine joy for the land.
Together, Rosmarie and Gregor manage the farm using biodynamic principles as the foundation for sustainable practices and healthy soils. “For us, the farm is not just a workplace, but a living organism that we manage with responsibility and help to evolve,” says Rosmarie Prader. Their work blends practical knowledge with a clear goal: to produce quality, protect resources, and prepare the farm for the future.

“Organic” can be a marketing gimmick, but for Karoline and Patrick Uccelli of the Dornach estate in Salorno, it is a philosophy of life. From Karoline’s education as a biologist through their diet and the – of course! – biodynamic winegrowing up to an agreement that Patrick made with the animals in the woods.

No, don’t worry: Patrick Uccelli is not a Dr. Doolittle, he doesn’t talk with the animals, but he knows about the significance of organic balance which from time to time can even endanger the financial element. “Our grapes seem to taste good to the deer,” Uccelli says, although he has not built any fences against the chewing, but rather, as he explains with a grin, he has struck a deal with the deer: “I won’t do anything to them if they keep out of the vineyards. They apparently understand this.”

And Uccelli, who is both a winegrower and an oenologist, is accustomed to traversing new paths. “I gladly experiment with different vinification methods, with the fermentation in large and small barrels, with different lengths of aging periods,” he says. Along those lines, the goal always remains the same: the production of wines that are as natural as possible.

And the production at the Dornach Estate is widely varied: the wines carry serial numbers on the label to underscore their uniqueness. Crispy wines with earthy, mineral-rich tones that they in fact draw from the soil with a particular composition: yellow and red loam mixed with iron oxide.
Is that the reason why the grapes also taste good to the deer?

For thirty years, Franz Josef Pfeifhofer has dedicated himself to organic and biodynamic cultivation. At the organic Zollweghof Estate Winery in Lana, he makes wines of the highest quality from fungus-resistant varieties and creates completely new wines – including one with lemon balm.

The Zollweghof in Lana is a small, family-run winegrowing operation whose winery dates back to the fourteenth century. In these historical surroundings, winegrower Pfeifhofer matures his wines in old large wooden barrels and clay amphorae. In so doing, he uses long-established methods which only enhance the biodynamic cultivation at the estate. “My grapevines are fungus-resistant, so I hardly need to treat them: applying sulfur twice at the most suffices,” Pfeifhofer says.

And doing all of the work in the vineyard by hand also fits in with this philosophy. And for the grower, there is no alternative, since the vineyard areas are so steep that work by machine would in any case be impossible.

As a winegrower, Pfeifhofer has set for himself the goal of making “great, modern top wines” from fungus-resistant varieties. And to do so, he is prepared to travel unconventional paths. His glowing rosé sparkling wine “Swing”, for instance, is intended as an aperitif, while “Melissa gold” can be drunk as a digestive. “We have refined this wine with bee balm, thus combining the knowledge of organic wine with the knowledge of nature and herbs,” Pfeifhofer says.
“This knowledge is ancient,” he adds. And yet totally new.

For an impressive 27 years, Thomas Dorfmann was the winemaker at the Eisacktaler Winery. A dream job in the wine sector, and yet in 2018, he turned his back on it. The reason for the decision was an even bigger dream: that of his own estate winery.

And that dream was fulfilled on one of the warmest spots in the whole Valle Isarco, at which the former lord over the cooperative winery went independent with the Thomas Dorfmann Estate Winery in Velturno. With two hectares of grape growing areas at an elevation from 550 to 650 meters, the estate winery is small. The vineyards, up to 70 percent of which are steep, are surrounded by dry stone walls and tended only by the Dorfmann family.

“I can bring all of my experience and live out my own wine philosophy in my estate winery,” Dorfmann waxes enthusiastically, “and thus create wines that are specific to the area and the variety: through sustainable working of the vineyards and being extremely protective of quality in the winery.”

Because Dorfmann’s focus lies on typical Valle Isarco varieties, his product line is first and foremost white: Sylvaner, Grüner Veltliner, Gewürztraminer, and Riesling. But Dorfmann also grows and makes Pinot Noir – “a rarity in the Valle Isarco”, as he himself says. And there is another rarity at the Thomas Dorfmann Estate Winery in Velturno: the white wines are delivered with a screw-top. “For me, that is the seal of the future,” the winegrower says.

The grapevines that are tended at the Strasserhof Estate Winery in Varna are up to 45 years old. From the grapes of these vines, Hannes Baumgartner, winegrower at the Strasserhof and, at the same time, president of the Independent Winegrowers association, makes youthful-fresh wines. White wines, of course, since we are in the Valle Isarco after all.

The strictly white assortment of the Strasserhof Estate Winery is a thankfully broad one. It ranges from Müller Thurgau and Grüner Veltliner to Sylvaner, Riesling, and Gewürztraminer all the way to Zweigelt. And of course includes Kerner, upon which Baumgartner has placed particular focus. “Our characteristic Valle Isarco wines can without a doubt be described with three attributes: a strong mineral quality, great juiciness, and pleasant, youthful freshness,” Baumgartner says.

Since 2003, he has been producing wine at the Strasserhof, an operation whose history in any case dates back much further. “The farmhouse was already built in the eleventh century,” the winegrower explains. Today, the estate winery encompasses five hectares of vineyards that are distributed over sunny locations with a southwestern exposure at elevations from 650 to 700 meters. “The lightly sandy gravel soils contribute to the elegant, fruity freshness of our wines,” says Baumgartner with conviction.
Thus around 45,000 bottles of white wine are produced each year, for which the chairman of the Independent Winegrowers in Alto Adige has developed a broad market. So today, wines from the Strasserhof are drunk not only in Italy, Austria, and Germany, but also in the Netherlands, Japan, and the USA.

Thomas Plack was precisely nineteen years old when he took over the estate in Colsano at the foot of Monte Mezzodì in the Val Venosta in 1989. Today, in addition to five hectares of fruit orchards, he also manages three hectares of vineyards upon which, as Plack himself says, “new Val Venosta wines” are created.
But what exactly does the winegrower understand “new Val Venosta wines” to be? Plack attempts to provide a definition. “Our wines are fine-structured mountain wines with character that reflect their terroir in an impressive way.” And which are obtained with a great deal of work and diligence, it could be added. Since 2006, Thomas Plack has operated the estate in Colsano exclusively organically. “We hold sustainability and working as close as possible to nature to be near and dear to our hearts,” says the winegrower.
Two of the estate’s own vineyards and one area that is leased currently provide the grapes for the wines. It is exclusively Riesling that grows on the terraces of the steep Tonnerberg mountain. “It is among our highest vineyard locations and thus predestined for Riesling vines which love cool nights but also deal well with the high daytime temperatures,” Plack says. The Krebsenrauth location, on the other hand, provides Schiava, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Blanc grapes.
And finally, one special feature is represented by the leased area around the Kasten manor, which today is planted with Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc as well as Riesling. It was the absolutely first vineyard area in the Val Venosta, dating back to 1974.
And as we have learned from this, new Val Venosta wines also completely go hand in hand with the traditions.

Thomas Pichler knows wine in all of its facets and, in fact, in greater detail than most others. And that is not just because he comes from a family of Caldaro winegrowers and therefore himself grew up with wine cultivation. Rather, it is because he has worked for nearly three decades in different wine laboratories. But since wine under laboratory conditions obviously was not sufficient for him, he also now produces wine himself – at the Thomas Pichler Estate Winery in Caldaro.

The question that immediately comes to mind with such a career is: how does the know-how from the laboratory get transferred into practice? And the answer from Pichler is surprising: “With winemaking, I do not depend very much upon theory,” he says, “but rather with all of my decisions, I rely upon feeling, upon my nose and mouth.” In the end, it is not about bottling some trendy wine with all sorts of aids, but rather producing independent wines that are characteristic for the variety, area, and grower.
 The winegrower places correspondingly great value upon the selection of variety, whereby his heart lies above all else with indigenous grapes and classic wines.

Thus Lago di Caldaro and Lagrein make up nearly half of the production, followed by Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. And with sales, as well, Pichler follows the long-established routes. His wines are sold at the winery, at select wine bars, and to dining establishments.

The name of the farm originates from the Middle Ages, but Hännsl am Ort in Lana has only been an estate winery since 2003. At that time, the Kerschbamer family decided to give winegrowing a chance – and to bring their own wines to the market by themselves.

With winegrowing, the family decided to provide their farm with an even broader economic foundation. Earlier on, this already consisted of apple and asparagus growing, and grapes were added shortly after the start of the new millennium, with the desire, however, not deliver them to one of the large cooperative wineries, but rather to work with them themselves. “Since that time, we have been growing grapes and making our own wines: whites, reds, rosés, and cuvées,” says Norbert Kerschbamer, winegrower at the Hännsl am Ort Estate Winery in Lana.

With regard to grape varieties, Kerschbamer follows the path that is rich in tradition. He thus focuses on the classic varieties with Schiava and Pinot Noir, Lagrein and Merlot, Pinot Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc. They are made into varietal wines, for instance a fresh Chardonnay, an aromatic Sauvignon Blanc, or a fruity Schiava, which is absolutely the Alto Adige classic.

In contrast, “Ogethn” is Kerschbamer’s name for his cuvée of Merlot and Cabernet grapes with which he has expanded his product line by a deep red wine. The name of the farm may therefore be medieval, but the wines that are produced at the Hännsl am Ort Estate Winery in Lana most definitely are not.

Wines that are matured in a bunker and an air raid shelter, wines that are served at state banquets, wines that bear the seal of the Republic of San Marino: all of these are wines from the Korb Castle Winery in Appiano. It is first and foremost winegrower Fritz Dellago who puts his stamp on them with his creativity.

Along those lines, all of that begins in the vineyards of the castle winery, which encompass only four and a half hectares but also a broad selection of grape varieties: Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Schiava, Zweigelt, Pinot Noir, Lagrein, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Manseng. “I like the diversity, and I also don’t have a favorite grape variety,” Dellago says. “Each one has its own character, and I am fascinated by any successful wine.

So it’s no wonder, then, that the focus in the winery is on emphasizing the character of each wine that is typical for the variety. “Nothing should be faked, the wines should be genuine,” the winegrower says. As down-to-earth as the philosophy is, that’s how creative the methods are. Dellago matures his wines in a former bunker and makes use of an old air raid shelter as the cellar for small oak casks and the riddling racks where his sparkling wine is riddled by hand.

The results have drawn great attention – worldwide, it could be said. The Korb Castle Winery is the official wine producer of the Republic of San Marino. And at the Olympic Games in both Beijing and London, wines from this Appiano winery were served at state banquets.

The three letters CEO are not the abbreviation for the boss of a company. They can also stand for a winery in Salorno at the extreme south of Alto Adige. These letters were borrowed from the name of Dietrich Ceolan, who runs the winery along with Michael Scalet. For the two of them, wine is something that makes life better.

The basis for this, around which the lives of Coelan and Scalet revolve, is provided by the loam which the Adige River has deposited in Salorno over the centuries. Once the river was regulated, these loamy soils became accessible and turned into valuable agricultural land. Today, the vines of CEO grow on them, the source of the grapes for lovely, elegant white wines and full, intense reds: Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Lagrein, Merlot.

“The ideal conception that we have of our wines is that they are fresh, direct, and honest,” adds oenologist Dietrich Ceolan. It is for that reason that in the winery, in addition to his know-how and top-quality handicraft, he also lets a helping of creativity run free. “And our unbridled passion also belongs to the secret recipe of our wines,” he says with a smile.

Guests can be most convinced of the fact that this secret recipe works in the wine bar that also belongs to the CEO winery. So it’s no wonder that Ceolan also includes among the most lovely parts of his profession not just watching wines come to life and guiding them to the highest level of perfection, but also “satisfying merry customers. ” Giving voice to the southern joie de vivre.

Sometimes it’s best to let figures speak for themselves. With the Cornaiano Winery, for instance, which was founded in 1923 as a cooperative, today two hundred winegrowing families cultivate 230 hectares of grape growing area and concentrate on five varieties. Figures that are impressive but do not tell the whole story.
They don’t say everything, for example, about the Oltradige and Bassa Atesina, those zones in which the vineyards of the Cornaiano Cooperative Winery are located. Protected to the north and open to the south, a mild climate dominates here. “The high temperature differentials between day and night, above all else in the autumn, lend the wines a fine, prominent aroma and the capability to last long,” explains winemaker Gerhard Kofler. Infertile gravel as well as loamy soils and vineyards with a good airflow make their contribution.

“Starting out from these characteristics of our area of cultivation, our focus is on five leading varieties,” says Kofler: with the white wines, these are Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay, and with the reds Schiava and Pinot Noir. It is above all the latter which has bestowed great international attention upon the Cornaiano Winery, winning praise year after year from leading wine critics.

This recognition, along with the mineral-rich freshness, fruity structure, and prominent authenticity have led to the wines of the Cornaiano Winery having acquired a worldwide market, being sold in no fewer than thirty countries in the world. What are esteemed are wines with character or, as Kofler puts it, down-to-earth top wines.