There are more than 200 wineries in South Tyrol where tasting, purchasing and discovering everything about outstanding South Tyrolean wine is on the agenda. Some are smaller operations that grow only one type of grape as well as cooperatively managed, larger wineries. In South Tyrol, wine and architecture are issues which are becoming increasingly interrelated. For example, many wineries are architecturally magnificent constructions that have been carefully integrated into the rural landscape. Details about South Tyrol’s many wineries, including opening times, bars and wine tastings, are available here.
The Kuenhof in Bressanone makes no
less than four white wines, each filled with character. The grapes are grown on
steep terraces on the slopes of Valle Isarco and vinified in the
estate’s historic cellar, which is protected as a historic monument and has
roots going back centuries. Eight centuries, in fact.
The Kuenhof in Bressanone was first mentioned in a document in the 12th
century. Back then, like so many other Valle Isarco estates, it was owned by
the bishop of Bressanone. For approximately 200 years now, however, the Pliger family has run things at the
Kuenhof, which has been gradually transformed into a wine-growing estate. The
last, most important step in that direction was taken in 1990: ever since then,
the Kuenhof grapes have been pressed on-site and the estate wines marketed
independently.
All that is made possible by the cultivation area of roughly six hectares.
The steep south-east-facing terraces are located at an altitude of 550 to 890 meters.
“The climate is rough, but it is virtually ideal for our whites,” explains
Peter Pliger, who runs the Kuenhof together with his wife Brigitte and their
son Simon. By “our whites,” he is referring to four varieties: Sylvaner,
Riesling, Veltliner, and Gewürztraminer.
“It is very important to us that our wines are born from a well-balanced
symbiotic relationship between humans, the cultured plant, and nature,” says
Pliger. And this credo also includes vinification with natural yeasts, which
makes the Kuenhof whites turn out particularly long-lived and digestible.
“Long-lived” being the operative word here—considering the estate is
800 years old.
Blueberries, apricots, cherries, peaches, plums, pears, apples, chestnuts, but also fruit spreads, juices, syrups, and preserves: there is hardly anything you cannot find at the Runsthof in Lana, situated directly by the hiking trail from Lana to Foiana. So it is hardly surprising that the Lobis family, who has run the Runsthof since 2017, also cultivates vines as well as produces wine in their own cellar—at least in part.
The vineyards which supply the grapes are located above Lana on a steep slope, which means that cultivation depends very much on manual labor. But no matter how strenuous, it guarantees a very special kind of quality control, seeing as the winegrowers are, quite literally, very close to their grapes.
At an altitude of 350–500 meters, a broad range of grape varieties grow on those steep parcels of land, and they are ideally suited to the site. At the Runsthof in Lana, the favored grape varieties are Pinot Noir, Sauvignon, Sauvignon Gris, Bronner, and Chardonnay. “The location and the climate are ideal for very special wines which retain their own special characteristics typical of the variety but whose flavors also bear hints of the terroir,” explains Günther Lobis.
By the way: winegrowing, like all other work at the Runsthof, is a family affair, as the estate is run by Günther Lobis, his wife Helga, and his daughters Johanna and Lisa. Diversity is very important, after all.