Wineries in South Tyrol

Wine may not be the drink of the gods, but it is always the drink of the church. And that also becomes clear through the history of the Biedermannhof in Cermes. For centuries, it was in the possession of various convents and monasteries and provided them with their wine for mass. Today, fruity white wines and full-bodied red wines come from its winery.

For more than two hundred years, the Biedermannhof in Cermes has been in the possession of the Innerhofer family, and today it is Hannes Innerhofer who runs the winegrowing operation with its deep roots. The farm was already mentioned in a document as early as the fourteenth century; as property of the convent of the order of St. Clare in Merano. The estate winery then changed owners again and again, although the proprietors always remained convents and monasteries to which the Biedermannhof provided their drinking and mass wine.

Today, the ecclesiastical sales channel has run dry, and the Biedermannhof in Cermes has turned into a normal private estate winery. One in which great value is placed upon maintaining the biological balance in the vineyard. “Planting greenery between the rows of grapevines helps, for instance, to regulate the air and water balance in the soil, to promote the formation of humus, and to protect against erosion, and it is a welcome habitat for beneficial insects,” Hannes Innerhofer explains.

This method of management, along with the sedimentary soils, the southeastern exposure of the vineyards, and the relatively low elevation (350 meters), leaves its traces in the wines of the Biedermannhof. Thus the white wines are fruity and mineral-rich, while the red wines present themselves as deep and full-bodied.
Are the centuries of divine presence to be thanked for that? God only knows...

It may well sound like a cliché, but: when one door closes, another one opens. When transferred to the Kandlerhof in Santa Maddalena/Bolzano: when in the late 1960s, grape buyers were putting the financial screws on, the Spornberger family decided to make their own wine. And that’s how success stories begin.

But the roots of this success story of the Kandlerhof in Santa Maddalena/Bolzano reach far deeper. As early as 1278, the estate already existed which, in the eighteenth century, was renamed “Kandler” because this is where a tinsmith (in German, “Kandler”) carried out his handcraft. The Spornberger family took over the estate from him in 1793, and since that time it has remained in the possession of the family.

Gregor Spornberger made the switch from pure grape production to winemaking and to being one of the forerunners of the increased use of machines in Alto Adige winegrowing. He hands over the Kandlerhof in Santa Maddalena/Bolzano to his son Martin, who learned the work by hand in winegrowing and oenology from the very bottom up, all the way to his university degree.

In 2023, the generational story continues. Martin has passed the farm on to his son Hannes. The trained winemaker is full of thirst for action. You can already taste his more modern interpretation of the wines.

In addition the two hectares of grape growing areas in Santa Maddalena, which are planted with the indigenous red wine varieties of Schiava and Lagrein, with Merlot, and with the white variety Sauvignon Blanc, the current project covers 2.5 hectares and is located in the municipality of Fiè allo Sciliar. A new farm site, acquired in 2020, is being completely converted from livestock farming (pastures) to viticulture. The farm is located at an altitude of over 700 m above sea level. It is a south-facing site with very calcareous soils. Chardonnay is the main variety there. The first wines will be on the market in a few years.

There is one thing – and only one thing – in which Manni Nössing of the Hoandlhof in Bressanone is a traditionalist: he grows classic white wine varieties such as those that belong to the Valle Isarco.  Otherwise, he is accustomed to pursuing new paths with a small group of like-minded winegrowers, of experimenting with new processes, and of following new ideas.  “We are the wine rebels in the Valle Isarco,” Nössing says with a smile.

In everything that he does, there is one goal on which he sets his sites: making a wine with its very own character.  And what does that mean in concrete terms? “A wine has to taste good,” the winegrower says, “and it has to taste good to me!” On the pathway to this wine, what helps Nössing is his experience but also the insights that he has gained on trips through the most important winegrowing regions of the world.

All of this has flowed since 2003 into the 5.5 hectares of vineyards and the winery of the Hoandlhof, and all of that leads to individual wines which from the very beginning onward have been cause for great attention.  One of Nössing’s first wines, his Kerner, already achieved a distinction from the Italian wine guide Gambero Rosso.  And the Hoandlhof wines that followed the premiere also made quite an impression on the experts: with fresh acidity, a strong mineral-rich quality, and differentiated fruit.

In addition to the Kerner, Nössing’s assortment also includes Sylvaner, Gewürztraminer, Veltliner, and Müller Thurgau.  Nothing else.  As has been stated, with the selection of grape varieties, the rebel is a traditionalist.

Since its inception, Franz Haas winery has tirelessly worked to express the quality of the grapes at their finest. Founded in 1880, the winery has been handed down for eight generations to the firstborn son, to whom has always been given the same name, Franz.

In the 1980s most of the vineyards were renewed, leaving space to new varieties more suitable for the type of “terroir”. The grapes are sourced from 60 hectares of vineyards, divided between estate-owned properties, rentals and contract farmers. The vineyards start at an altitude of 220 meters, ascending to 1,150 meters with a great variety of microclimates and soils, from porphyry to clay and limestone.

In the year 2000, due to climate change, several hectares were rented at altitudes that reach up to 1,150 meters above sea level; these are among the highest vineyards in Alto Adige today. Now, more than twenty years later, the choice of planting vines at these altitudes has proven to be optimal to produce long-lasting, aromatic wines with a strong acidity. This is supported by the wide thermal excursions between day and night and the four additional hours of sunshine per day. The vineyards are all located in the municipalities of Montagna, Egna, Trodena and Aldino.

We have always given immense attention to our vineyards; we grow them exclusively with organic substances to enhance the natural process of cultivation and fertilization. Our vineyards do not always look like impeccably manicured gardens and often the grass among the rows grows high, but by doing so we bring forth the biological magic of nature, the pollination, the reproduction of flowers and insects that were otherwise absent, and, above all, we continue to make possible the opportunity for our children to see the beauty of blossomed fields.

Franz Haas has always been recognized as a leading enthusiast and an expert of the most arduous, sensitive, and most satisfying grape variety of all: Pinot Nero. Despite all the attention, commitment and hard work, the product is not always up to its original standards and therefore our selection, the "Schweizer", does not always get to the market. Various varieties belonging to the whole range of Alto Adige’s wines are vinified with the same attention.

Another detail that distinguishes Franz Haas is the connection with the brilliant artist Riccardo Schweizer who designed the winery’s labels. During his career, he collaborated with well-known artists such as Picasso, Chagall, Cocteau, Paul Éluard and Le Corbusier.

In the middle of the nineteenth century, when Franz Morandell built a farmhouse, he at the same time also immortalized his wife. Her name was Elisabeth, which in its loving nickname becomes “Lisele”. Today, the Lieselehof Estate Winery in Caldaro is an imposing estate in which the winegrowing knowledge of three generations meets together and where Werner Morandell has the say. He is the great-grandson of “Lisele”.

The fact that with this story, the Morandells inherited their passion for wine right from the cradle may sound like a platitude. Except that it is true. Werner’s grandfather was a winegrower, while his father Gottlieb-Amadeus attended to the grafting of young grapevines and produced rootstock for surrounding vineyard nurseries.

Werner Morandell also thoroughly devoted himself to winegrowing. He even wrote a book about it and along with his vineyard, he is a contractual partner of the Freiburg in Breisgau State Viticultural Institute in Germany. Within that context, the main attention lies with fungus-resistant varieties, on the organic cultivation of traditional grape varieties (such as Schiava and Cabernet), and on wines that are made in an ecologically friendly manner. “That means that during the vinification, only a few natural treatment agents are permitted, and we completely do without synthetic materials,” Morandell says.

The particular pride of the Morandells is wines that are made from exclusively fungus-resistant grapes for which no chemical herbicides are used in the vineyard and for which strict conditions are met for grape yields per vine. A separate brand name has even been developed for them: Green Mountain Wine.

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.

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.

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.

Standing out through continuity and quality is the goal which the Cornaiano Winery pursues with its H. Lun brand. It took over the traditional winery of the same name and continues the brand in the same way as the founder.

In 1840, Alois H. Lun launched a wine product line for the first time that bore his name and combined exquisite wines from the best locations. Since that time, H. Lun has been regarded as a brand that has to meet the highest standards. Thus the grapes are carefully selected by winemaker Gerhard Kofler by location and quality in order to fully express the multifaceted terroir. “Both earlier on and today, the art has lain in growing each variety at the right location in order to reinforce the independent character of H. Lun wines,” Kofler says.

Thus a broad product line has been created: Pinot Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Müller Thurgau, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Yellow Muscat, Lagrein, and Schiava – a cross section of the great variety found in Alto Adige wine. And not only do they find the ideal climatic conditions, the variety of soils also provides the best preconditions: “The spectrum ranges from volcanic porphyry to weathered primitive rock soils to sandy marl,” winemaker Kofler explains, “and thus every grape variety finds the most suitable substrate.”

All of this flows into the H. Lun wines, all of which still pushes the top line of the brand all the way to the pinnacle. It bears the name “Sandbichler” and stands for white wines that are intense in aroma and refined, and red wines with “comfortably lengthy aging”. But for all of them, the words of Gerhard Kofler ring true: “They are the result of a tradition that goes back many years.”

One farm in Pochi, another in Chiusa, plus grapevines in Termeno and Cortaccia: under the roof of the Haderburg Estate Winery in Salorno, variety reigns, and at the same time a leitmotif: the entire estate is run biodynamically. “That means that we correspondingly follow the rules of life and also take into consideration the forces which are in the materials and have an effect upon them,” explains Alois Ochsenreiter, proprietor of the Haderburg Estate Winery in Salorno.

It is obvious that the biodynamics have their effect first and foremost upon the animals that are kept at and around the estate, but also with the selection of the preparations with which the soil and vines are treated. For instance, medicinal herbs but also dung and silicon are utilized, all of them natural substances, which are put to use on the nearly 13 hectares of grape growing areas.

These are divided between the Hausmannhof in Pochi and the Obermairlhof in Chiusa, as well as vineyards in Termeno and Cortaccia. What emerges is a product line consisting of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Sylvaner, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Müller Thurgau, Pinot Grigio, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
And as if that were not enough special features, the Haderburg Estate Winery serves up another one: for nearly fifty years, sparkling wine has been produced here, and specifically with the classic méthode champenoise bottle fermentation process with maturation periods of two to eight years. “In order to remove the residual yeast, the bottles are turned by hand and disgorged,” explains Ochsenreiter, who adds, “Up to the final topping off and sealing, we pick up each bottle more than forty times.” A great deal of effort for very special enjoyment.

Lorenz San Nicolò was actually successful as an entrepreneur in Milan. But because his passion from wine never left him, since 2012, along with his wife Sissi, he has been running the Corahof in San Paolo – “as a politically motivated criminal” as he himself says.

And yet, the San Nicolò family did not leave the urbane completely behind them. Thus the main room of their small winery is dominated by a sparkling Art Nouveau chandelier that originated from what was left behind from the venerable Hotel Bristol in Merano and is completely out of place with the rest of the furnishings, machinery, and tractors. “The chandelier is a symbol for our love of elegance, to what is festive and exhilarating in life,” San Nicolò explains. And it is also for that reason that the chandelier was chosen as the logo for the Corahof in San Paolo.

So it decorates the labels of the wines, that basis of which is half a hectare of grape growing areas. And their basis, in turn, is formed by very particular Ice Age sediments. “‘Battle soil’ is what we call it in our dialect,” says the winegrower. “Hard and difficult to work, but fertile. And with the southeastern exposure of our vineyard and the intense sunshine in the early morning hours, they form the ideal conditions for our wine.”

The wine from Corahof is made in their own winery, where the harvest of Merlot and Yellow Muscat is processed cleanly and gently thanks to the most modern technology. Moreover, the minimalist approach of the San Nicolòs is also applied to the vinification, since, “Only in that way can we bring the precious aromas of the grapes into the bottle in as unadulterated manner as possible.”

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.

The Eberlehof above Bolzano was mentioned in a document for the first time in 1312, and thus more than 700 years ago. It has been in family possession since 1668 and for just as long, the family’s coat of arms has been decorated by a pruning hook. And that is not surprising, as the Eberlehof lies right in the middle of the classic Santa Maddalena winegrowing zone.

And it is also not surprising that the 700 years of estate and family history have left their legacy behind and they are accompanied by an obligation to uphold tradition and family. The latter becomes clear when it is realized that at the Eberlehof, three generations of the Zisser family are involved at the same time in winegrowing. The elder Horst and his wife Lisi bring along their experience. His son Tomas and his wife Margit manage the vineyards and the winery along with their sons Christian and Lukas and also take care of three vacation apartments at the estate winery.

As far as upholding tradition is concerned, at the Eberlehof it is first and foremost indigenous grape varieties that are typical to the zone (Schiava, Lagrein, and Blatterle) which are grown on pergola trellises, added to which Merlot also finds a spot in the product line. “Just because of the steep location on the slopes, the use of larger machines is already impossible, which is why we tend our vines, some of which are very old, almost exclusively by hand,” explains Tomas Zisser. In addition, because maturation takes place in large oak barrels, the red wines from the Eberlehof are full-bodied and strong, and they express their origins. Precisely as tradition would desire.

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

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

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

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

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

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.”

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.

Only few wineries can look back on seven hundred years of tradition. But the Josef Brigl Winery in Appiano can. Founded in the early fourteenth century and with four farmhouses and 50 hectares of cultivation area, it is among the largest private wineries in Alto Adige. And among the leaders.

Year founded: 1309. Just that figure alone gives rise to a tremendous amount of respect for the operation. “The name Brigl is doubtlessly characterized by seven hundred years of winemaking culture,” says winemaker Alberto Fortarel. “But our credo continues to remain: investing in the future.” Translated into practice, that means that the grapes are grown traditionally, strictly inspected during the harvest, and then gently made into wine with the most modern of vinification techniques.

“Our goal is that the uniqueness of the grape is shown to its full advantage in the glass,” Fortarel describes. The gentle processing is one step in that direction, and the purposeful vinification – in either stainless steel tanks or old or new wooden barrels, depending on the wine – is a second. Because the extensive grape growing areas offer the ideal locations for a broad palette of grape varieties, the product line of the Josef Brigl Winery is also an extensive one. It comprises all of the usual Alto Adige varieties, but the main attention is on the three classics: Lago Caldaro, Schiava, and Santa Maddalena.

Seven hundred years of history do in fact provide for a deep rooting in tradition – both their own and that of Alto Adige winegrowing in general.

For wine to mature underground in the cellar is not especially impressive. But the fact that this wine cellar was created by hand is, in fact, extremely impressive. To that extent, the wine cellar of the Dominikus Estate Winery in Caldaro is something special. And the wines that come into existence there are, as well, not least of which is the Dominikus Lago di Caldaro superiore, which was also named “Schiava of the Year. ”

Georg Morandell is responsible for the wines of the Dominikus Estate Winery in Caldaro, but the infrastructure in San Giuseppe al Lago is the work of his father. “His life’s work,” as Morandell puts it. With only a pick and shovel, the elder Morandell spent over thirty years digging out a wine cellar under his vineyard. “An unbelievable human accomplishment,” Georg Morandell finds it to be.

He inherited from his father not just a unique winery, but also a passion for wine. “For decades, we have been making wine ourselves from the grapes from our vineyards, and we sell our wine exclusively from the estate,” the winegrower says. All of the work is carried out by the family – with a great deal of experience and a healthy portion of know-how.

Thus what is created are top-quality wines filled with character: Pinot Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Schiava, Lagrein – and the Dominikus sparkling wine, for which Morandell is again and again traversing new paths. “In 2017, I tried for the first time to age a portion of our grapes in clay amphorae,” the winegrower recalls. He place the amphorae in a niche in his cellar labyrinth and awaited the result with excitement. His conclusion: “In the clay caves, the wine can mature at a constant temperature and ideal humidity – just like centuries ago.”

“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.

There is a vineyard in the Passiria Valley. One single one. It belongs to the Unterwirt Winery of the Martinerhof in S. Martino, by which the Fontana and Schweigl families have expanded their universe that previously consisted of a beer experience hotel, pizzeria, and in-house brewery. At the same time, they brought back to life an inn in which Tyrolean freedom fighter Andreas Hofer came and went.

The Unterwirt Winery of the Martinerhof carries two names at once. That of the Martinerhof is used because it is a part of the gastronomy world around the farmhouse, but it is also right at home with Unterwirt. The inn was first mentioned in a document in 1694, and it was renovated in 2012. “Because the vineyard of the neighboring Hianhof is the first one in the valley and also the only one, we set up a winery in the Unterwirt, and also to breathe new life into the establishment,” says Florian Fontana.

A remarkable assortment of wines are produced in the winery today. They range from Schiava and Pinot Noir to Sylvaner and all the way to Kerner and Pinot Blanc. So even though there is only one estate winery in the Passeier Valley, its results can easily be seen. And speaking of being seen: at the Unterwirt Winery of the Martinerhof, experience tours are also offered.

Even if the significance of winegrowing in the Passiria Valley is easy to understand, the importance of the wine there is not. Andreas Hofer, the Tyrolean hero from this valley, was a wine dealer and wine connoisseur. Perhaps it is also for that reason that before his execution by Napoleon’s troops in 1810, he ordered, “For all good friends, there will be soup and meat at the Unterwirt, along with a half bottle of wine.”

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.

The Moser winegrowing estate in Pianizza di Sotto (Caldaro) was inaugurated in 2018. That makes it one of the youngest in Alto Adige, but it is also among the largest and, without a doubt, the most ambitious. The vines, for example, are grown on two different locations on 10 hectares of land. The red varieties thrive on the heat and the Mediterranean climate of Lago Caldaro whereas the whites find optimum conditions on the glacial moraine in Monticolo. They all are then matured in different wooden barrels.

Everyone at the Moser winegrowing estate is striving for perfection, and it shows—for example, in the new, fully equipped cellar and the identity of the cellarer: none other than Gerhard Sarin is in charge here, the man who already achieved international renown as the cellarer of ERSTE + NEUE.

Approximately 55,000 bottles a year are produced at the Moser winegrowing estate under his aegis. The varieties on offer range from the fungus-resistant (PIWI) Souvignier Gris and the classics Ruländer, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon to Lagrein Rosé, Kalterersee, and Lagrein Riserva as well as the Toscarosso and Merlot Cabernet cuvées.

Those who have always wanted to be a fly on the wall in the cellar can take one of the weekly tours (tasting included). And those who love not only wine but beer, too, will be delighted to learn that the Moser wine estate is home to the only brewery-in-a-winery in Europe.

That which is more and more gaining a foothold today was still being laughed at forty years ago. Rainer Loacker, the patriarch of the estate winery of the same name in Bolzano, didn’t care. He had already gotten started with biodynamic winegrowing back in the 1980s. Or, to put it better, he revved it up.

That term is a much better description of the development that the Loacker Estate Winery has gone through up to today. For instance, in addition to the historical pillar in Alto Adige, two more were added. In the form of two estate wineries in Tuscany: one in Montalcino and one in Maremma.

But it doesn’t matter where Loacker grapes grow: they are tended strictly biodynamically. “Because we have been doing that for so long, we have soils filled with life and we are also among the very few who use homeopathy in the vineyard,” Loacker explains. Added to that is a very particular form of green manure. In plain language, that means that in the winter, greenery is sown in the vineyards which makes artificial fertilizers superfluous. “We are open-minded thinkers and rebels, we challenge the status quo and the mainstream society,” the Loacker family announces.

And it goes without saying that the open-minded thinking also continues in the winery. Thus all wines, including the bold Tasnim Sauvignon Blanc and the outstanding Gran Lareyn Lagrein are fermented only with their own natural yeast from that vintage. “Our natural wines are simply different,” the Loackers explain. “They have their own character, and they have a soul.”

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.

At the end of the fifteenth century, an artist from Nuremberg hiked from Salorno to the Val di Cembra. His name was Albrecht Dürer. As an homage to the artist and his cross-border journey, it is not only the path which Dürer covered at the time which today bears his name, but also the Dürer Weg Estate Winery in Salorno. A project that truly crosses boundaries.

The Dürer Weg Estate Winery may in fact be located in Salorno, at the extreme south of Alto Adige, but it is a part of the LaVis Winery which, in turn, has its headquarters in the town of the same name, Lavis, in Trentino. So this is where two historical parts of old Tyrol grow together. The winery itself is a cooperative that is broadly structured: with vineyards that cover elevations from 200 to 800 meters and an assortment that ranges from Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, and Müller Thurgau through Merlot and Pinot Noir to Schiava and Lagrein.

The Dürer Weg Estate Winery in Salorno plays a special role in this portfolio – not least because of its particular climate. “This is the place where the mild Mediterranean climate meets its harsh counterpart from the Alps,” explains Pietro Patton, president of the LaVis Winery. “Along with the special composition of the soils, this forms the basis for a mineral-rich flavor tone through which the wines from this region stand out.”

The mountainous area thus puts its stamp on the wines from the Dürer Weg Estate Winery, just as it also influences the way of doing business. For instance, it is necessary to be thrifty with resources. “Our wines reflect a tradition of winemaking in which nature and technology are united,” says Patton. So here, as well, boundaries are crossed.

The winegrowing tradition of a family being older than that of the estate winery itself is rare, but that is the case with the Waldner family. The family has been growing grapes in Marlengo for 350 years, but it was only in 2007 that Josef Waldner built the Eichenstein Estate Winery in Merano, to which its own winery, a wine bar, and a guest chalet were added step by step.

The vineyards of the Eichenstein Estate Winery lie in Montefranco above Merano at an elevation of 550 to 600 meters. “The interplay between microclimate, terrain, geology, and soil composition is extraordinary at Eichenstein,” Waldner explains. In concrete terms, that means that the estate winery’s grapevines grow on porphyry-quartzite and granite soils, in a Mediterranean climate, and on an Alpine landscape.

Added to these natural conditions is the know-how of the experienced winegrower, who focuses on a consistent quality policy, harvesting by hand, and vinification that is adapted to each grape variety. Thus the white wine grapes are pressed gently, fermented in stainless steel or wood, and the new wine is kept on the yeast for several months. The red wine grapes, on the other hand, are kept in maceration vats for around three weeks in contact with the skins, and only after the completion of the alcoholic fermentation are the red wines placed in small oak casks for biological malolactic fermentation, where they are aged for an additional twelve months. “Our selections age for up to two years in the winery before they are put up for sale,” Waldner explains.

The results are authentic wines filled with character which, as the winegrower says, “remain in the memory”. “The soul of our wines,” Waldner says, “has to move the drinker.”