Wineries in South Tyrol

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Less is more – at least sometimes. For that reason, the Gojer family restrict themselves with their estate winery Glögglhof in Santa Maddalena above Bolzano to doing only what is necessary and otherwise giving their wines peace. Peace and enough time to be able to develop.

The Glögglhof Estate Winery is a small, family-run operation that is located right in the heart of the Santa Maddalena winegrowing zone which is blessed with a long tradition. Here, just a bit above the provincial capital of Bolzano, every detail counts, Franz Gojer is convinced: “Every single step of the work, be it in the vineyard or in the cellar, makes it possible for us to have an influence upon the results. In the end, the bottled wine is nothing other than the sum of all of these steps.”

And with all of the steps that the Gojers take, the consideration of nature and care are in the topmost position. “We act according to the principle that quality originates in the vineyard,” says the winegrower of the Glögglhof Estate Winery in Bolzano.

His minimalistic approach then comes to fruition in the winery. “We restrict ourselves to the most necessary of interventions and give the wine time to develop,” Gojer explains. In that way, authentic wines that are typical to the location are created at the Glögglhof, at the same time elegant and harmonious. “We are constantly trying to safeguard the character of the origin and the differences between the vintages,” Gojer says, “and thus with their unadulterated character, our wines distinguish themselves from industrial wines or wines that are only good at the tasting bar.”

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.

In the late 1980s, Franz Pratzner took a risky step. He turned his back on solid fruit growing and transformed his operation to focus completely on wine. He turned an apple farm into the Falkenstein Estate Winery in Naturno.

If Pratzner is asked why he replaced his last apple trees with grapevines in 1989, he make reference to a societal development. “Just like others, I realized at that time that wine had gone from being a routine food accompaniment to a gourmet item and for that reason, other wines were coming into demand than was the case before.” By the age of twenty, he had already made his first own wine and felt the fascination that comes from the profession of being a winegrower. “It has to be more than just a job,” he says. “Only then will challenging wines be successful.”

Today, the Pratzner family of the Falkenstein Estate Winery manages no fewer than 12 hectares of grape growing areas at elevations between 550 and 900 meters which are planted with Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Noir, but first and foremost Riesling. The entire harvest is made into wine in their own winery – according to Pratzner’s own philosophy: “Wines are like children,” he says. “During their development, they both need support until they are mature enough to assert themselves on their own.”

Thus at the Falkenstein Winery, 90,000 bottles are made every year which are now sold all over the globe and also brought to the table at their own Buschenschank farmhouse inn. So the risky step from fruit to wine has proven to be worthwhile. Especially for the guests.

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.

It was only in 2019 that Stephan Rohregger took over the Prälatenhof Estate Winery in Caldaro from his parents. But to believe that the young winegrower was lacking in experience would be totally wrong. After all, not only did Rohregger have an education as an oenologist behind him, he also had a huge amount of experience as winemaker at a large, renowned private winery in Alto Adige.

Rohregger describes himself as “determined and quality-oriented.” In concrete terms, that means: the goal is quality and the winegrower and winemaker in one consistently heads for it. “All wines are made by us in a characteristic and authentic manner in ceramic or wood and are matured for at least a year,” Rohregger says. That which is created are not only wines of high quality, but also those with a high degree of recognition value. They are also not mainstream, but rather wines which reflect well the vineyards of the Prälatenhof Estate Winery in Pianizza di Sotto in the community of Caldaro.

These vineyards are described by the winegrower at the Prälatenhof in Caldaro with the term “very interesting”. On one hand, the vineyards are located in Caldaro at an elevation of 440 meters. Schiava is grown there on vines that are up to 90 years old, as is Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc. On the other hand, the Prälatenhof had vineyards in the community of Cortaccia, and specifically in Corona, at 800 meters above sea level, where Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Blanc grapes are grown. Two vineyards, two completely different locations, five grape varieties, and yet just one challenge for the three generations of Rohreggers at the tenuta Rohregger: to produce top-quality wines.

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

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

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

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

Welcome to Bethlehem! No, not the one you’re thinking of, but rather in Termeno. In the local vernacular, its oldest quarter is called – yes, really! – Bethlehem, and that is where one of the oldest farmhouses is found in the winegrowing village in the south of Alto Adige: the Rynnhof. And even if there is an obligation to history, the operation is more than modern.

The historical estate “an der Rynnen” appears in a document for the first time in 1438. Not only is it located right in the middle of the vineyards of Termeno, at the time it was in fact at a watercourse from which its name is derived. The watercourse is no longer there today, but the vineyards are. And since 2011, they have been managed by Johann and Nathalie Bellutti strictly according to organic guidelines. “This method of cultivation and our connection to nature make our wines something special,” Johann Bellutti says with conviction.

He was born at his parents’ Rynnhof with its medieval heart of a building, the stone-framed window flanning, and rounded arch gates, and this is where he also discovered his calling for winegrowing. And he cultivates his career and his calling, as he himself says, “In the Termeno tradition and the carefree quality of young ideas.”
And thus wines with great character come into being: Pinot Blanc, Lagrein, Schiava, and, it goes without saying for Termeno, Gewürztraminer. For them, for his products, Bellutti has coined a slogan that is as simple as it is catchy. He calls it plain and simply “Free Wines”.

A lovely manor, a wine history going back more than seven hundred years, and the history of the settlement dating back a full two thousand years: all of that may be found at the Kornellhof in Settequerce, which has been run by Florian Brigl since 1996. For nearly twenty years now, he has made his own wines and has set himself the goal of creating an Alto Adige Super Merlot.

The basis for the wine production at Kornellhof is formed by the vineyards of the Brigl family, 11 hectares at elevations from 270 to 550 meters in Settequerce, Appiano-Monte, and Gries. “Our grapes enjoy more than 2,100 hours of sunshine per year, while cool nights provide the temperature differentials that lend them their prominent character,” Brigl explains.

The grapes that are pampered in this way form the foundation for the wines of the Kornellhof. After fermentation in stainless steel tanks, they are aged for 14 to 18 months in small oak casks and large oak barrels. Before they can be sold, though, they age again for nearly ten months in the bottle. In addition to Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and Gewürztraminer along with Lagrein and Cabernet Sauvignon, Brigl focuses above all else on Merlot, with which he pursues an ambitious goal: to create a Super Merlot, an Alto Adige Pomerol which will serve as the calling card of the Kornellhof.

So there are no sour grapes in the process at the Kornellhof. Brigl considers working with them to be a privilege. And a guiding force: “For me, Kornell means home, this is my pole of calm,” he says, adding, “The estate winery also has to continue to be both home and a source of energy for our children and future generations.”

Bernhard Pichler wanted to not only produce grapes, he wanted to keep the production of wine in his own hands from the vine to the labeling of the bottle. He has been doing so since 2003 at the Messnerhof in Bolzano and knows, “If the quality is good, then that is to our credit, and if sometimes something goes wrong, then we are just as responsible for it.”

Pichler is not the first one to make wine at the Messnerhof in Bolzano/San Pietro. Rather, they were producing wine themselves there up to the postwar period, after which the Pichlers concentrated upon the production of grapes. That is, until Bernhard came along. With the step to being independent, he realized a childhood dream.

The foundation of the wine production at the Messnerhof is formed by two vineyards. The first is located in Missiano in the community of Appiano, and at 0.8 hectares, it is only about half as big as the other one, which is found on a sunny slope with a southwestern exposure around the farmhouse in San Pietro. The climate is ideal at both locations. “Warm and then cooler winds provide prominent temperature fluctuations between day and night, which is optimal for the formation of aromas in the grapes,” Pichler says.

Within that context, the assortment of grapes is a broad one: Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Merlot, Syrah, Tempranillo, Schiava, Lagrein, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot are grown and then made into wine according to a clear guiding principle: “Our goal is to produce expressive wines,” Pichler says, “which preserve their independent characters of variety, location, and vintage.”

The Föranerhof estate is located at 800 meters above sea level in the village of Unterinn/Auna di Sotto on the Ritten/Renon plateau. At this altitude, you would not typically expect to find any vineyards, but the Föranerhof has been a wine-growing business (among other things) for several generations. “Our estate is located close to the altitudinal limit up to which wine growing is still possible, which means that not all varieties can be grown here successfully,” explain Verena Plattner and Toni Mittelberger, who run the farm together with their daughter Cecilia and her family.

The area under vine of their business amounts to 8,000 square meters, and they grow four carefully selected grape varieties – two red and two white – which are adapted to the special conditions present at the Föranerhof estate. In terms of white wine, the Sylvaner is particularly resilient, just like the Müller Thurgau, which by no means only barely survives here: “At these altitudes, the wine develops especially pronounced flavors,” says Cecilia, who, together with her partner, is responsible for turning the family’s grapes into wine. Wine growing has been her passion ever since she was little.

The red varieties grown here are Schiava (Vernatsch), a grape absolutely typical for Alto Adige, and Zweigelt. “This grape variety from Austria is one of only very few strong red wines that can be grown at 800 meters above sea level,” says Toni Mittelberger.

But wine is not the only line of business at the Föranerhof. For more than 30 years now, the farm has had its own little nursery growing garden and balcony plants. The family also grows fruit, which is then either dried or used to prepare syrups, fruit spreads and jams.

A tradition that goes back to 1764, when the Campi estate was built on the site of our current winery. Nals Winery was founded in 1932 and with the merge of Margreid Winery in 1985, Nals Margreid was established. The vineyards are distributed throughout 14 areas with a total of 160 hectares cultivatet by 138 wine-growing families between Nalles in the Adige Valley and Magré in the southern part of Alto Adige. Because of this, the Nals Margreid Winery draws from the unique potential of the entire region along the right bank of the Adige. In this very particular strip of land, at elevations between 200 and 900 meters, the grapes mature with multilayered terroirs, each having its own soil composition, microclimate, and sunshine.

The protective arc of the Alps to the north, the Mediterranean influences from the south, the 1,800 hours of sunshine each year, and temperature differentials between day and night of up to 20° C allow the grapes to thrive with unique characters that reflect their terroirs in the flavor spectrum of Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot Noir: from Alpine-fresh to fruity-elegant. The demand for quality and uniqueness is also expressed in the architecture of the winery building at the Nals Margreid Winery. Reddish-brown exposed concrete walls rise up nine meters into the sky. In between is the barrique cellar with the small oak casks, spanned by a colossal, asymmetrically folded roof.

With the careful restoration of the old manor into the headquarters and the “1764” wine bar, the synthesis of the historical buildings with the international prizewinning contemporary architecture has achieved perfection. This is where the wines of the Nals Margreid Winery can be experienced with professional sommelier advice at various levels. These include, for example, Sirmian, which was crowned as the Best White Wine in All of Italy by the renowned Italian wine guide Vini d’Italia from Gambero Rosso.

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.

An estate winery in the midst of the city? The Nusserhof is precisely that. Its areas of cultivation lie in Piani di Bolzano and in Costa di Sotto. Heinrich Mayr and his daughter Gloria work here under strict procedures, which in plain language means: only with indigenous grape varieties and organically certified since 1994.

Just the father-daughter team already shows that the Nusserhof is a pure family-run operation. Heinrich and Gloria function as agronomists, oenologists, sales force, and office managers at the same time. That is also possible because with four hectares, the grape growing areas of the Nusserhof are manageable.

The head boss Heinrich Mayr speaks of “harmonious vineyards” and of “warm, airy soils” on the Isarco River on which he grows exclusively indigenous grape varieties: Blatterle, Lagrein, Schiava, and Teroldego. when asked about his goals for the estate winery, Mayr responds, “Our goal is to completely exhaust their potential and to increase even further the quality of our wines through adapted cultivation and winemaking methods.” So already today, the bar has been set high. Thus the Mayrs place great value upon the highest quality of the grapes, low yields, and a long aging of the wines in barrel and bottle. The result is structured, mineral-rich, elegant, lasting wines that are not heavy with a moderate alcohol content – “very personal wines,” as Mayr says.

And by the way: the Nusserhof is the home farm of the beatified resistance figure, Josef Mayr-Nusser.

The name of the Villscheiderhof in Bressanone is derived from the Ladin language and refers to cutting hay with a sickle. Although that continues to grace the coat of arms of the farm, it is not used so often with winegrowing. At the Villscheiderhof, they focus on the white wine tradition of the Valle Isarco.

Since 1997, Florian Hilpold has run the Villscheiderhof in Bressanone, which he took over from his father, with its steep vineyards with southern and eastern exposures. “The soils here at an elevation of 700 meters are rocky, low in lime, not fertile, and water-permeable, and they produce very interesting wines,” says the winegrower.

The wines to which Florian and also his son Meinrad refer are first and foremost white, primarily Sylvaner, Kerner, and Riesling, which are typical varieties for the Valle Isarco. Some 25,000 bottles leave the winery each year, with part of the production being served up in the family’s own inn which was set up in 2004 in the Villscheiderhof’s former barn. Anyone who tastes the estate’s own wine there will notice that it is a fresh, fruity, elegant white wine with a good sugar to acidity balance. Winegrower Hilpold’s particular pride, though, is the late harvest passito from the Villscheiderhof. “It tastes like honey and candied fruits, an unending reverberation in the nose, an extraordinary combination of roasting aromas and the perfect sugar-acidity relationship,” says Hilpold, describing this particular wine.

When winegrowers go into raptures...

The family history of the Carlottos reads like a novel, with the dust cover blurb saying, “In three generations from sharecroppers to an estate winery dynasty.” Ferruccio Carlotto takes responsibility for this today in Ora – right in the heart of the Alto Adige Pinot Noir cultivation zone.

The cornerstone for the family’s success story was already laid by Umberto Carlotto as early as 1940 when he signed up as a sharecropper at the Schlosshof in Mazzon. As such, he did in fact work the estate under his own responsibility, but the financial risk lay with the proprietors – as did the profits. In spite of that, Umberto carried out his tasks with passion for fifty years, flanked at first by his brother and then by his son Ferruccio.

And the latter was also the one who ventured to make the leap into independence in 2000 – new millennium, new luck – along with his daughter Michela and on the basis of six hectares of winegrowing area in Ora. The two of them devote 70 percent of this area to Pinot Noir – and not by chance. “The north-south alignment of the vineyards and the soil with its clay content are good preconditions for a round, spicy Pinot Noir with pleasant tannin and fine tones of fruit,” Ferruccio Carlotto explains.

Aside from the Pinot Noir, Lagrein makes up a quarter of the annual production of the Ferruccio Carlotto Estate Winery. His grapes grow on the rocky alluvial soils of the Rio Nero, while the winery’s Schiava is raised in a small vineyard, also in Ora, that was planted in 2013. As a bow to tradition.

Roberto Ferrari came into winegrowing from a different field. And yet not exactly. After all, he has been active forever in the world of wine, specifically as a winemaker. “After having done that for years, I wanted to create wines under my own name,” Ferrari says. For that reason, he runs the Profil Wine Factory in Termeno.

In 2007, Ferrari made the leap, quit his position in a renowned winery, and went independent with four hectares of vineyards. Since that time, he has been growing Chardonnay, Lagrein, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Merlot, tending them organically even if not certified. The former employee now makes three lines of his own: Profil, Pulsar, and, as a select wine in the best vintages, RF Selection.

In the winery, Ferrari pursues the goal of creating extraordinary wines, wines which, as he himself puts it, are characterized by passion, expertise, and creativity. “I always attempt to mix that extra breath of personality into my wines, and in that way, wines are created with my name, my signature,” explains the head of the winery.

Today, around 18,000 bottles per year leave the Profil Wine Factory in Termeno: aromatic and mineral rich, surprising and genuine, but above all else natural wines, That was also the reason why Ferrari wanted to go independent. He wanted to create his own wines: with strong character, individual, but not overbearing.
If winegrower Ferrari’s life had a navigation system, it would now announce, “You have arrived at your destination.”

“Fritz” was not just the first name of the founder of the Kupelwieser Estate Winery in Cortina sulla Strada di Vino. It is also the name of the fresh, youthful line of this estate winery. Through his passionate commitment, as early as the founding in 1878 Fritz Kupelwieser already paved the way for later developments, and his enthusiasm for people, nature, and environment can still clearly be felt even today.

Kupelwieser’s wines clearly express the characteristics of the terroir and the varieties, whereby excellent soils, numerous hours of sunshine, and prominent temperature differentials between day and night are the guarantee for the constantly high quality. What is bottled is exclusively the core varieties that are typical for Alto Adige, the unambiguous representatives of their kind. Within that context, attention is paid to traditional processing and adherence to the strictest quality standards. 

In “Fritz”, the spirit of innovation of Kupelwieser is shown: stylish, tasteful bottles designs bring out the exquisite quality wines in an appealing, contemporary form. The connecting element is value. Which creates trust – as it did yesterday, so it continues to do so today.

In the 1930s, the Ebnerhof in Campodazzo was purchased as a ticket to freedom. Today, it is the realm of Brigitte and Florian Unterthiner, who since 2013 have been making the grapes from their vineyards into wine completely on their own. And that, too, is a form of freedom.

Josef, Florian’s grandfather, was the first Unterthiner to be a farmer at the Ebnerhof in Campodazzo. His family purchased the farm in order to bring an early end to his military service in Rome. Indispensable as a farmer, Josef was provided with his discharge papers, he was allowed to return to Alto Adige, and he could build an existence at the Ebnerhof.

Since that time, a great deal has occurred at the farm (and not just there). The two generations after Josef lent a hand here, devoted themselves to winegrowing with heart and soul, the basis of which is 4.5 hectares of grape growing areas on a rock terrace above Campodazzo at the southernmost edge of the Valle Isarco. “Our red wine varieties grow on the southern slopes, and the white wine grapes are on the well-ventilated southeastern locations,” explains Florian Unterthiner.

The Unterthiners manage their vineyards gently. Only cow manure is used as fertilizer, herbicides are completely avoided, and the grapevines are irrigated only in situations of drought stress. “In that way, they get all of the nutrients from deep down in the soil, which supports the root system of the vines,” Unterthiner says.

And work in the winery is similarly consistent. “With the preparation of the wine, it is important for us to test the boundaries without going beyond them,” the winegrower from the Ebnerhof says. “We trust our experience and our feeling and in that way create wines that are profound, full-bodied, and well structured.”

The Fliederhof ["Lilac Estate"] in Bolzano/Santa Maddalena really ought to be called “Tulpenhof” ["Tulip Estate"]. “Twenty years ago, we planted some tulip bulbs, and now in the springtime, the vineyard below the farmhouse turns into a whole sea of tulips,” recounts Stefan Ramoser. But it doesn’t matter whether it is lilacs or tulips: the Fliederhof in Bolzano/Santa Maddalena does not have any flowers in their product line, but rather produces genuine, natural wines.

In the possession of the Ramoser family since 1930, grape growing areas of three hectares are currently managed, whereby it is nature who sets the tone. “The method of operation and the planning of all production steps both in the vineyard and the winery should not influence the course of things to the greatest degree possible,” says Ramoser.

The vineyards of the Fliederhof in Santa Maddalena have a slope of up to 40 percent, so as a result of the steepness, they can only be tended with a great amount of work by hand. Ramoser is therefore convinced that precise work in the vineyard contributes to success as much as the natural conditions do – soil, rain, wind, and sun, and his own concept of sustainability. Added to that is greenery management that is adapted to the location for the building up of humus, but also the application of compost from their own production.

All of this ought to be tasted in the result: “Wines from the Fliederhof ought to enjoy special drinking pleasure,” says the winegrower Ramoser. “Sincere, natural, and with character, without any special styling that could mask these properties.” And in view of the location, the fact that these wines also include Schiava – Santa Maddalena is a given. Or, as Ramoser puts it, “We view ourselves as a genuine champion of this indigenous grape variety.”

The Angergut farm is located in Castelbello. Its grape growing areas are spread out along the sunny slope of the Val Venosta between Castelbello and Sluderno and range up to 900 meters (3,000 feet) above sea level. They are thus among the highest situated vineyards in all of Alto Adige. Within that context, although the elevation is in fact a prominent feature, it is by far not the only one that distinguishes the estate winery in the Val Venosta. “Our vineyards are typical for the Val Venosta: sunny, dry, and windy,” explains winegrower Tobias Mitterer.

The interplay of sun, location, soils, and wind form the natural foundation for outstanding wines. But with sustainable and gentle management that is close to nature, the Mitterer family does their part for their well-organized, practical, and carefully arranged vineyards. In that way, classic Alto Adige wines – first and foremost the reds Schiava and Pinot Noir primarily in the higher situated vineyards, but also Zweigelt, and then also the white wines such as Kerner and Riesling – are made in the old family tradition and served up in their own farmhouse inn. And in addition to the wine, it goes without saying that other products from their own farm also show up on the table there.

The Angergut is therefore far more than “just“ an estate winery. It is a classic Alto Adige mountain farm, a farmhouse inn that is popularly frequented, but first and foremost a deeply rooted family operation.  
 

Noafer in Cologna (San Genesio) is known for miles around as an inn and estate winery. It is located on the southwestern slope of Monzoccolo on a sunny, flat, natural terrace at an elevation of 770 meters [2,530 feet] above sea level and – also because of this unique location – it is a favorite destination for an excursion. Not everyone who stops in for a refreshing drink or a bite to eat realizes that 2.7 hectares (6.7 acres) of vineyards also belong to the estate.

Within that context, the roots of the farmhouse reach far back. As early as the Middle Ages, Noafer was one of the farms supplying the nearby Greifenstein Castle, so at that time, it had to provide the broadest possible palette of products. Today, the farm is run by Andreas Lamprecht, and the inn of the same name by his sister, Maria Lamprecht.

Andreas is responsible for the farm and the winegrowing. He makes use of the ideal location of his vineyard, which profits from both the mild temperatures of the Adige Valley and the high elevation. These ensure that the soils, vines, and grapes can cool down at night, even in the middle of summer. “In the autumn, shortly before the harvest, the temperature differentials between day and night are especially tangible, which lends our wines a lot of aroma and a lively freshness,” Lamprecht explains.

When the Noafer grower speaks of “our wines”, then he means Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, Schiava (Vernatsch), Zweigelt, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Grigio – a thoroughly impressive assortment that is grown by Noafer in Cologna (San Genesio) and then makes its way to the wine list of the Noafer inn. Much to the pleasure of the guests.

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.

Getting the aromas which nature provides the grapes into the bottle: that is the goal which the Rohregger family has set for itself at the Prälatenhof Estate Winery in the Pianizza di Sotto district of Caldaro. A goal that sounds simple, but one which requires a lot of work, passion, and a large quantity of know-how.

And that know-how has been handed down within the Rohregger family from generation to generation. It was in 2019 that Stephan Rohregger took over the Prälatenhof Estate Winery from his father, Roland. Stephan is a third generation winemaker and oenologist, he has collected a great deal of experience as the winemaker at renowned wineries, and he now puts this experience to use in his own estate winery.

With a great instinctive feeling and a lot of work by hand, the vineyards at the Prälatenhof are worked and tended. On the hill of Pianizza di Sotto, with its amble air circulation and abundant sunshine, Schiava (Vernatsch) is grown on the traditional pergola trellis, with some vines having reached sixty years of age, while Cabernet Sauvignon and the white varieties Yellow Muscat, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Blanc are trained on Guyot trellises.

And at the Prälatenhof Estate Winery, that same care that is given to the vines and grapes is also exercised as they then make their own wines. “With our wines, we focus on characteristic, authentic vinification in ceramic or wood,” Rohregger explains. Only in that way, only if the particular individual characteristics of the grapes are respected, do the “right” aromas in the end make it into the bottle: those which nature has provided the grapes.

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.

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.