Wineries in South Tyrol

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.

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.

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.

Creating wines with character. That is the goal of Paul Huber at the Griesserhof in Varna. The winery is one of the northernmost in Alto Adige and focuses above all else on white wines. But Zweigelt and Pinot Noir are also grown there.

The foundation for winegrowing in Varna was created by the Ice Age. Gigantic glaciers left behind a fertile moraine hill there on which today primarily white wine grapes grow. Huber uses three separate vineyards at his Griesserhof: Gols, Gall, and Rigger.

The Gols hill lies in the middle of the valley, with the vineyards directly at the farmhouse. Wine grapes were grown here as early as the fourteenth century, as was recorded in the records of the Novacella monastery. So it is no wonder that the loamy, sandy soil is in fact ideal for a series of grape varieties. “For us, Gols is the best location for our Sylvaner,” Huber says. Gall, on the other hand, which is located at an impressive elevation of 800 meters, is the cultivation area for the Kerner of the Griesserhof, while Rigger in the warm basin in the Val Riga provides the best conditions for expressive Veltliner wines.

“It holds true for all of our locations that we only press the grapes with the best quality and work with them according to the most modern of standards of winery technology,” the winegrower explains, and adds with a few clear words, “It is important to us to make wines with their own character.”

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”.

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.

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.

How can an operation that was founded in 2005 have deep roots? The Bellutti Vineyard Estate in Termeno shows how it’s done: with an uncompromising path to the highest quality and their concentration on indigenous varieties. Exclusively indigenous varieties.

So the Bellutti Vineyard Estate is not even twenty years old, and with grape growing areas of 2.8 hectares in Termeno, it is also substantially manageable. And because the vineyard area is small, the product line is also not exhaustive. But that also has a second reason: winegrower Christian Bellutti concentrates only on indigenous varieties – on Lagrein, on Lago di Caldaro and thus Schiava, and on Gewürztraminer. Above all else Gewürztraminer.

The local varieties have the advantage of finding their optimal terroir here, and in the winery, Bellutti places great value upon it being possible to taste this terroir in the wines. “Our goal is to produce single varietal, elegant, genuine wines that do not have an overpowering effect and which reflect the individual varieties and locations as well as the vintage,” he explains.

For Bellutti, an uncompromising orientation toward the highest quality is furthermore necessary. In both the vineyard and the winery, the work is carried out with expertise, commitment, modern technology, and a love of detail. In the end, therefore, by following traditional, tried and true values.

Only with the sales does Bellutti follow an unusual path: the wines from his vineyard estate go over the counter in his own wine bar. But it is not within the property of the vineyard estate, but rather right in the middle of Termeno – at the main town square.

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.

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.

“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?

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.

The motto at the Michael Puff winegrowing estate in Cornaiano is “Keep it chill!”. The addressee of that instruction is not, however, the founder of the winegrowing estate of the same name but the vines, some of which are grown in high grass here: wild shoot distribution, no pruning, and as little defoliation as possible. “Our method is unconventional, but our ultimate goal is always to put the vines under as little stress as possible,” says Michael Puff.

And Michael’s philosophy in the cellar is not much different: his wines are spontaneously fermented in concrete barrels and then aged for twelve months in small oak barrels before they go back in the concrete barrels for another six to nine months. “We are going entirely without fining and filtration in the bottling process,” says Michael Puff, “so our wine is very much a no-frills product.”

Michael Puff founded his own winegrowing estate in Cornaiano/Ronchi in 2020 after completing vocational training at the Laimburg professional school, some internships at winegrowing estates and wineries, and conducting experiments at his own parents’ estate. Today, Michael’s winegrowing estate is based on locations in Cornaiano/Ronchi and Appiano Monte. He has focused exclusively on Pinot Noir—and a vision of fresh and new Pinot Noir stylistics.

The Pinot Noirs from the Michael Puff winegrowing estate bear a dragonfly in the label that symbolizes elegance, power, and timelessness—and is also at home on the winegrowing estate.

 

In Santa Maddalena, tradition is written with capital letters, and the Plonerhof Estate Winery in Bolzano is no exception to that. On the contrary, the farmhouse itself goes back to the thirteenth century, and the vines with which Simon Geier works are over seventy years old. So with so much history, a careful, gentle approach is practically a self-evident fact.

In the vineyard of the Plonerhof Estate Winery in Maddalena di Sotto, therefore, prudence and work that is close to nature are called for, which in turn means: a lot of work by hand. That is in fact associated with a certain degree of toil, but it also has its effect upon the quality of the grapes. “When we work in the vineyards by hand, we achieve a great degree of control because we experience the grapes with all five senses,” Geier explains.

Added to work by hand is the fact that herbicides are totally avoided, and they almost completely do without insecticides. “We only have to act against the spotted wing drosophila, because otherwise it would destroy the entire harvest,” the winegrower tells us.

Once the harvest is brought in, classic Santa Maddalena is made from Schiava and Lagrein grapes in the estate’s own winery, as well as a fruity Lagrein and a cuvée of Yellow Muscat and Pinot Blanc. With their wines, the Plonerhof Estate Winery has also brought home a whole series of prizes and awards. So anyone who understands how to deal with ancient grapevines is rewarded with the highest quality. The Methuselahs are, so it seems, in a generous mood.

In the only surviving Lagrein terrain of Gries in Bozen, the unique alluvial soil of the rivers Eisack and Talfer with sandy loamy porphyry provides the natural foundation for our wines. We refrain from using any kind of fertilizers, but instead produce biodiversity through specific crop sowing. Thus, soils become autarchic, allowing striking personalities to thrive here year and again.
All making and creating in the vineyard and cellar alike is marked by gentle and careful procedures to allow the end product in the bottle to remain as natural as possible.
Often planted by our ancestors, the vines here have been defying all ages for decades now. And still, they stand and persevere, even against our modern and fast-paced world of today. To guarantee winegrowing in harmony with nature, we have been raising our vines with loving care according to certified ecological principals since 1996.
Reyter stands for certified ecological wines – a result of our idealism but above all else, a guarantee for our customers to enjoy purity and nature with every sip of wine.

The Widum Baumann winegrowing estate in Avigna, high above Bolzano, is a bit of a pocket-sized version of the wine country Alto Adige: located at a high altitude, characterized by the mountains, run in a sustainable manner, with a diverse range of varieties on offer and a long history. That history begins in the mid-13th century when the Widum Baumann farm in Avigna was first mentioned in a document. Back then, this used to be the seat of the administrator of ecclesiastical property; the farm itself was a typical mountain farm, however. This would not change until the Widmann family took over. Thomas Widmann, an agricultural economics professional, recognized the potential of the farm and began experimenting with apple farming. In 2012, he added winegrowing to the mix, which was only made possible by climate change considering the altitude of 1,048 meters above sea level. “We began by cultivating eleven different varieties and maturing them in different ways in order to understand which variety and method would yield the best results,” recalls Thomas Widmann. It eventually came down to seven remaining varieties, which are matured as a mixed set (gemischter Satz) according to ancient tradition. “They are harvested together and fermented in wooden tubs or amphoras,” says Widmann. Tradition also rules how cultivation is organized at the Widum Baumann winegrowing estate, dictated by nature, the weather, plants, the moon, and the seasons. The production follows strict biodynamic rules: “We realized something very simple very early on,” says Thomas Widmann. “Keeping chemical treatment to an absolute minimum will yield the most authentic products.”

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.

Three generations that all produce wine together? What may sound like the potential for conflict works quite well with the Pfitschers in Montagna. “Perhaps because we’re a little bit like our wines: different in character, but always direct and honest,” says the manager, Klaus Pfitscher, with a smile, the head of the Montagna “wine fools”, as he himself calls his family.

Thus every generation at the Pfitscher Estate Winery brings along something of their own: new ideas from one, a lot of experience from another, new knowledge from the former, the advantage of having already been through it all from the latter. But the most important thing for good cooperation is a common goal, says the senior member: “For us, it is filling the glass with elegance, character, and the best that nature can offer.”

For 150 years, the Pfitscher family has pursued this goal, of producing clear, linear wines with their very own identity, above all Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. The fact that this has been successful may be due to the steep vineyards or the cool climate at elevations between 500 and 900 meters. Or perhaps a mixture of both, combined with a particular focus on nature. Thus the Pfitscher Estate Winery was the first in all of Italy to be awarded as a “ClimateHouse wine. ” This distinction is conferred not just for adhering to particular requirements for the energy efficiency and sustainability of the building, but also for producing in an especially environmental friendly and resource-conserving manner.

So when in Alto Adige, do like the locals! In the vineyards of the Happacherhof in Ora, the students of the Agricultural High School learn how a vineyard is managed and how the grapes that are obtained are turned into wine. Really good wine.

The Happacherhof Estate Winery thus stands out and represents something special in the landscape of Alto Adige winegrowing. It is managed not by a committed winegrowing family, but rather by just as committed teachers and their students who can learn the techniques of winemaking right from the very bottom up.

In order to make it possible for the students to have the broadest possible and also most detailed view of winegrowing, different varieties were planted on the approximately four hectares that belong to the Happacherhof (as well as those in the immediate vicinity), specifically with different trellis systems and according to different criteria. The palette of varieties comprises Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay, and Lagrein, whereby the latter occupies a special position. It is produced along organic guidelines so that the students can also gain experience with this method of management that is becoming more and more important.

Regardless of the variety, trellis system, or method of cultivation, the grapes that are produced at the Happacherhof are then made into wine at the school’s own winery. “The preparation of wine is an important part of the practical lessons of our students, who have decided upon winegrowing and oenology as the direction of their main focus,” explains school director Christian Gallmetzer.

In the winegrowing village of Cornaiano, it’s always appropriate to have passion for wine – but of course only if the passion has already been in the family. With Lorenz Martini, that is precisely the case. He earned his stripes in the family’s own winery and then took the next step: to sparkling wine.

Within that context, it goes without saying that his many years of experience came in useful, and the fact that he had started from the very bottom up to learn to work with his hands. And from all of this it can be seen not least from the fact that Martini consistently focuses on quality. In his winery specializing in sparkling wines, grapes from Cornaiano, Appiano-Monte, and Cologna are processed. “In spite of the Mediterranean climate, these locations provide our sparkling wine with a pleasant freshness and an unmistakable aroma,” Martini says.

To make the sparkling wine, he uses 30 percent Chardonnay, another 30 percent Pinot Blanc, and 40 percent Pinot Noir, with four vintages aging in his vaulted cellar at the same time. Because in the Lorenz Martini Winery dedicated to sparkling wines in Cornaiano, production is according to the classic méthode champenoise bottle fermentation, so the wine is on the yeast for three years. After that, it continues to age in the bottle, with each one being riddled by hand.

In that way, a sparkling wine is created which has been described by experts as “having a scent of fresh bread crust and honeycomb with light tones of citrus fruit” and “a good mouth-feel, full-bodied, and harmonious in taste.”

Sparkling wine which, as can be read by this description, awakens the poet in us.

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.

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.

Winegrower, wine connoisseur, wine drinker: what Matthäus Ladurner’s great passion might be can be guessed without a great amount of difficulty just from this list alone. And he can live it out at the Partaneshof estate winery in Merano, an historical estate winery in the health resort city to which a bed and breakfast hotel also belongs.

Merano was once regarded as the southern balcony of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and its particular climate has turned the city into a health resort that is renowned and popular throughout all of Europe. And more than just that: a lot of sunshine, very little precipitation, mild temperatures, and good air circulation are also optimal for winegrowing, which also emphasizes the century-old wine tradition at the Partaneshof estate winery in Merano. A tradition which proprietor Matthäus Ladurner continues to cultivate today with passion.

So it is not only organic fruit that grows in the orchards around the Partaneshof, but also the basis for top-quality wines. “We make a comparatively broad palette of varietals, ranging from Lagrein and Pinot Noir to Chardonnay, Schiava, and Cabernet all the way to Shiraz,” Ladurner explained.

And it is specifically from the indigenous Schiava grapes that an extraordinary wine is made at the Partaneshof in Merano. “With the ‘Merano Küchelberg’, we produce the typical light Merano Schiava variant,” explains the winegrower, who also has a second favorite in his assortment on offer. “Chardonnay is one of our preferred Alto Adige wines: a fruity, noble white wine that goes with all occasions.”

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.

When Lake Caldaro is mentioned, those whose ears perk up are not just people who love a beautiful landscape, but above all else wine connoisseurs. At the Rösslhof, both will completely find what they are after: the former thanks to the ideal location of the estate winery right on the lake, and the latter because of the outstanding wines that are made at the winery.

It is Emma Ambach Psenner who has taken over the baton there and leads the estate winery today, which has been run by her family for generations. Building on this tradition, what is found in the product line of the Rösslhof are above all else the classic varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc, Schiava, and Lagrein. And for these, one clear guiding principle holds true: “It is a priority for us to best reflect the special landscape of Lake Caldaro, the location, and the climate in our wines,” the winegrower says.

Wine connoisseurs can best be convinced that this is successful right on site. After all, the Rösslhof runs its own farmhouse wine bar at which it is possible not only to taste your way through the entire product line, but also enjoy doing so with traditional Tyrolean home cooking. And if the wines from Emma Psenner turn out to be convincing, they can be purchased at the winery shop. And whoever would like to know how they are made will enjoy an excursion through the vineyards. Nothing is left out in terms of what plays a role in the world of winegrowing.