Wineries along the Alto Adige Wine Road

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.

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.

In 1820, the Josef Weger Eppan Winery was founded in Cornaiano-Appiano. The founder’s name was, as may be expected, Josef Weger. Let’s call him Josef Weger I, because after him, three more gentlemen with the same name have stood at the head of the estate winery. Today, the Josef Weger Estate Winery in Cornaiano is run by the great-grandson of the founder. Can you guess what his name is? Wrong! His name is Johannes.

Josef Weger I was one of the pioneers of a professional winemaking and wine dealing operation in Alto Adige, and his descendants have successfully followed in the footsteps of the old gentleman. Even before the turn of the twentieth century, wine was delivered to Switzerland and all of the crownlands of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and before the First World War, a branch was even founded in East Tyrol. After the two wars, the growth of the estate winery continued, and vacation apartments were set up in the twelfth century manor house.

Johannes Weger has been active in the estate winery since the 1990s and has run it since 2015. Under his leadership, the winery was renovated and new grape varieties were planted, above all else Burgundy varieties. They are ideal for the vineyards of the Josef Weger Estate Winery. They are located at elevations from 435 to 600 meters in and around Cornaiano and provide grapes for white and red wines which Weger makes as single varietals that emphasize terroir: with gentle pressing operations, temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, and cold maceration.

“In our wines, the interplay between landscape and climate should be reflected, as should the soul of the winegrower.” Weger says. And it is not surprising when he adds, “Our wines are the expression of years of experience that are transferred from generation to generation.” And from Josef Weger to Josef Weger. And to Johannes.

The Castel Sallegg winery certainly boasts excellent conditions for producing grand wines. The grapes are cultivated in three historic vineyards, each with its own distinctive terroir.
Seehof by Lake Caldaro, for example, lies just 230 to 280 meters above sea level, creating an ideal climate for grape varieties that prefer warmer temperatures such as Merlot, Lagrein, Cabernet Sauvignon and Moscato Rosa. The VIGNA Bischofsleiten is the origin of the multiple award-winning Lago di Caldaro, named after that very lake.

A bit higher up at 500 meters above sea level and beyond lie the Leisenhof and Preyhof vineyards. Located in the heart of Caldaro, Leisenhof is where mainly white grape varieties are cultivated, while Preyhof features mostly Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir.

In addition to the conditions set by Mother Nature, the taste and quality of the Castel Sallegg wines depend in great part on the care and skill the grapes receive from the cellarer, of course. Descending the three stories and eleven meters down into the 1000-year-old wine cellar takes you on a journey into the past. In this solemn and quiescent atmosphere, the wines ferment all year round under controlled temperature. This wine estate was founded on tradition and history, and the work ethic is infused by curiosity and a passion for innovation. That is why Castel Sallegg is the first winery in Alto Adige to fill their wines into innovative and exclusive lightweight bottles that are made from 100% recycled glass and feature details such as the s ommelier’s top.

And at the Castel Sallegg winery, the grand and elegant wines make for a truly special drinking experience.

From egg to caterpillar to cocoon to butterfly. Or, rather, from shoot to blossom to grape to wine. Armin Morandell of the estate winery of the same name in Caldaro recognized the similarities of two impressive processes of metamorphosis in nature. So it is no wonder that all of the Morandell wines are named after butterflies.

The Morandell Estate Winery is located above Lake Caldaro, and his vineyards extend across different locations and elevations from 200 to 500 meters. All of them may well be pampered by the son, but otherwise they have different microclimates and soils, the palette of which ranges from lime gravel to red loam. “This variety makes it possible for us to purposefully grow top-quality varieties that thrive especially well at each respective location and bring forth wines with strong character,” Morandell explains.

He concentrates on Pinot Grigio, Schiava, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon, “On a handful of wines,” as he himself puts it, “that we produce according to all the rules of the art.” And market. And so the butterfly was made the trademark and the wines from the Morandell Estate Winery are named after species of butterflies with the labels related to their wings. “Wines and butterflies: both of them are the unbelievable result of a completed transformation,” explains Morandell, providing the idea behind it.

And because in addition, the butterfly is a sensitive creature, it also matches quite well with the philosophy of the Morandell Estate Winery, which is: “We work according to a holistic approach, devote ourselves with dedication to the care of our grapevines, and focus on sustainable management.”

A Lagrein from Roverè della Luna, which was supposed to be better than those of the surrounding villages, was mentioned by the travel writer Max Sittich von Wolkenstein as early as the seventeenth century. So the bar for the Cantina Sociale Roverè della Luna, the northernmost in Trentino, was therefore set high. For the 270 members of today, that is more of a motivation than a burden.

Roverè della Luna is situated just south of the Chiusa di Salorno cleft on a limestone cone. Even though the Adige Valley has been predestined for winegrowing, the conditions here are rather rough. “Gravel and limestone don’t hold water very well,” says Carlo Alberto Gasperi, winemaker at the Cantina Roverè della Luna, “so the vines only grow here with difficulty.” But what is a challenge for grapevines and winegrowers is for him a stroke of luck: “Because of the slow growth, an especially fruity wine comes into existence,” the winemaker says.

The Cantina Sociale Roverè della Luna was already founded as early as 1919, at that time with 24 winegrowers with great foresight. Today, the cooperative has 270 members who tend no fewer than 420 hectares of grape growing areas and, aside from the aforementioned literarily immortalized Roverè della Luna Lagrein, they also grow Teroldego, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Schiava, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, and Müller Thurgau.

In all of the still and sparkling wines from the Cantina Roverè della Luna, the terroir and its properties can be tasted, having been finished in a modern, rational winery. With a view forward, but also back to the roots of the cooperative. As is fitting for wines for which a literary monument was already put up four hundred years ago.

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.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WeineWolf – the product of a passion for nature. “Making wine from what Mother Nature provides” – that is the philosophy that persuaded Wolfgang Ladurner to become a vintner. What was originally a dream developed over the years into a project and was finally fulfilled in the form of a winery of his own. As a boy, he spent many days in the vineyards and became familiar with the rhythm of the vines. In 1990 Wolfgang Ladurner founded W.Ladurner GmbH, a company that specialized in importing and selling recycling plants. But at the back of his mind he was always dreaming of making his own wine. In 2002 he moved a step closer to his goal by buying a first plot of land, which he started to cultivate in 2004.

How he was going to do it was clear from the start: His vineyard was to be terraced and laid out for dense planting to obtain optimum results from the site. Step by step, he hunted out other sites in Caldaro that had the location, climate and soil to offer ideal conditions for wine-growing. With the foundation of the WeineWolf company in 2013, Wolfgang Ladurner’s childhood dream of making wine out of a passion for nature finally came true. His next goal is to build his own cellar, a project that will bring the Ladurner family and lovers of wines from WeineWolf still closer together.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

Everyone knows that all roads lead to Rome, but some people also blaze trails going in the opposite direction. For instance, in 2004 Nino Motta moved with his family from the Eternal City to Gleno above Montagna in order to produce wine there at the Maso Thaler.

Although within that context, the work at the Maso Thaler, which was founded in 1812 and is located at an elevation of more than 600 meters, is anything but a walk in the park. “Our vineyards in Gleno are very steep, many of them are terraced, and just for that reason alone, only work by hand is called for in many locations,” Motta explains. So not only is a lot of sweat necessary to manage the Maso Thaler, heart and passion are also needed.

This passion, the passion for winegrowing, was also what brought Motta here from Rome nearly twenty years ago. Since that time, he and his wife Anna Maria and their sons Filippo, Francesco, and Piergiorgio have tended 3.5 hectares of grape growing areas. Pinot Noir, Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay grow here, all of them supported by Guyot trellises.

But the focus is on Pinot Noir, because Motta believes that the perfect conditions are found here: porphyry soils, high temperature differentials between day and night especially in August and September, and a constant breeze. “All of that together provides for our wines distinguishing themselves through freshness, spiciness, and being able to last long,” Motta says.

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.

The wines from Baron Di Pauli were already drunk at the court of the emperor in Vienna and that of the tsar in St. Petersburg. And in 1999, a new chapter was added to the long history of the Baron Di Pauli Estate Winery in Caldaro. That was when the foundation was laid for the cooperation with the Cantina Kaltern, which drove forward a prestige project with upper echelon wines.

The Baron Di Pauli Estate Winery consists of two farms: the 10.5 hectare Arzenhof, that is located on a hill at Lake Caldaro and, at 4.5 hectares, the substantially smaller Höfl unterm Stein in Sella above Termeno. Because the locations of the vineyards are so different, the two locations also deliver very different grapes. Thus the Arzenhof grapes are made into the Bordeaux blend Arzio, the Carano Lagrein, and the Kalkofen Lago di Caldaro, while the grapes from Sella turn into the Exilissi and Enosi Gewürztraminers and a cuvée of Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Blanc.

But it doesn’t matter which grape variety or which wine – one guiding principle holds true for all of them: no compromise! “The yields in the vineyard are reduced to a minimum so that the vines can concentrate all of their energy on a few grapes which are then harvested by hand,” explains estate manager Baron Carl Philipp von Hohenbühel. The ideal composition of the soils, the Mediterranean climate, and the considerable temperature differentials between day and night make their contribution to top wines being created at the Baron Di Pauli Estate Winery.

Wines that would also be drunk at imperial courts. If there still were any left.

No Facebook, no Twitter, just wine. Peter Dipoli needs only a few words to describe the philosophy of the estate winery in Egna that carries his name. What holds true for him is that wine is not something that can be planned over the years, but rather a natural product that varies. Chasing after the latest trend therefore makes no sense. And also does not do justice to the wine.

Vegetation periods can be hotter or cooler, drier or wetter. It would be miraculous if the grapes tasted the same year after year. Dipoli is convinced that both winegrowers and wine drinkers have to accept this aspect. Winegrowers have to safeguard the natural variation potential of the wine as much as the uniqueness of the terroir. “The producer has the task of working the grapes – as the vineyard and the vines have delivered them – into a product that corresponds with the terroir, habitat, and vintage,” says the winegrower from Egna.

In that regard, Dipoli has come to grips with the fact that he has to work with grapes from completely different locations. The vineyards of the Peter Dipoli Estate Winery are located in Egna, Magré, Termeno, and Cortaccia, they are located at elevations from 300 to 600 meters, they have southern or eastern exposures, and are planted on sandy dolomite or loamy chalky soils.

What thrives here are Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon, with the grape varieties being carefully matched to the locations, the vineyards managed prudently, and the grapes processed respectfully. So no nonsense, just wine.

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.

If someone is looking for a suitable location for a winery specializing in sparkling wine, then a former monastery would be right at the top of the list. And the Braunbach Winery specializing in sparkling wine in Settequerce near Bolzano is housed precisely in one of them. And because there is an obligation to tradition, the sparkling wine here is produced strictly according to the classic méthode champenoise bottle fermentation.

The history of the monastery building in Settequerce goes back over 800 years. Presented as a gift from the bishop of Bressanone to the Teutonic Order, at some point it had to be abandoned. But in order for it not to fall into disrepair, the former monastery winery was renovated and the Braunbach Winery was set up in it. Its specialty, sparkling wine, is produced strictly according to the traditional process. And that means: aging on the yeast, manual riddling, and then the removal of the yeast from the bottles, known in the industry as “degorging”.

At Braunbach, they are especially proud of the classically fermented sparkling wine Braunbach Brut. “It matures for 36 months on the fine yeast and is captivating through its fine-grained perlage and its fresh, youthful, and stimulating character,” explains Hans Kleon, head of the Braunbach Winery specializing in sparkling wine.

in addition to sparkling wines, the Braunbach Winery also makes white and red wines: Merlot, Lagrein, Cabernet, Chardonnay, Sauvignon, and Gewürztraminer. And Kleon also knows their secret: “The geological and microclimatic conditions of our areas of cultivation provide the basis for juicy, quaffable, but also complex wines with a strong character of the zone,” he explains.

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.

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.

When real estate agents say that a home has “potential”, then you usually think that you’re standing in front of ruins. Against this background, the Putzenhof in Laives-S. Giacomo had a heap of potential back in the 1950s. And in actuality, the Schweigkofler-Mottironi family took full advantage of it.

In 1956, Viktoria and Johann Schweigkofler bought the Putzenhof in S. Giacomo, a part of Laives. The vineyards were old, some of them hadn’t been tended for years, the buildings were dilapidated, the approach on the road was arduous. But behind that realtor’s word “potential”, the Schweigkoflers recognized the reality: “The vineyard at the foot of a porphyry wall, the slopes with a southwestern exposure, and the climatic conditions were virtually ideal for winegrowing,” says grandson Roman Mottironi, who runs the estate winery today.

The ideal conditions were exploited by the owners over three generations to turn ruins into a functioning estate winery. Today, it has grape growing areas of 5.5 hectares that are worked in a manner close to nature. For instance, herbicides have been avoided for years.

And thus the raw materials grow for a series of wines: gentle and close to nature. And likewise created gently in the cellars of the Putzenhof in Laives are a white assortment with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Kerner as well as a red line with Lagrein, Pinot Noir, and a Colli di Bolzano cuvée made from Schiava, Lagrein, and Pinot Noir. Some 37,000 bottles are filled every year. So the potential of the Putzenhof has in fact proven itself with numbers.

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.”

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.”