Wijnhuizen in Zuid-Tirol

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.”

Cultivating and growing wines requires a broad range of expertise. This knowledge is deeply rooted at the Pardellerhof in Marlengo. Winemaker Anita Mitterer is a biologist and previously worked at the Laimburg Agricultural Research Centre. Her husband, Erwin Eccli, himself an oenologist, was for many years in charge of cellar management advice and further training at the Research Centre. In 2014, the couple took over the farm from Anita's parents and has since focussed on wine production. Their vineyards now cover almost 2 hectares, which are divided into three sites. Moscato Giallo, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio and several PIWI varieties are grown on the farm itself. "This location is somewhat cooler and offers the best conditions for aromatic, fresh wines with a hearty flavour and fine elegance," Anita Mitterer explains.

The second site, also on the moraine hills of Marlengo, is south-facing and so steep that only manual labour is possible. Here, the Schiava grapes grow on traditional pergolas. This site is particularly close to the heart of the wine-growing couple. The third site is located near the bottom of Marlengo hill and is therefore somewhat lower. “Here, we grow dark red varieties, such as Lagrein, Merlot and Tannat, which are suitable for deep and characterful wines," Erwin Eccli states.

A total of around 12,000 bottles are filled each year at the Pardellerhof in Marlengo. And even though winemaking here was only revitalised ten years ago, it can look back on a long winemaking tradition. The Pardellerhof is first mentioned in the records in 1285 and for around 120 years it was owned by the Bavarian monastery of Steingaden and was also its supplier of wines. In 1714, it was taken over by the ancestors of today's winegrowing family.

The fact that winegrowing has a great deal to do with tradition becomes clear with the Peter Sölva & Söhne Estate Winery in Caldaro. Since 1731, and thus for ten generations now, wine has been produced here – and it is done so today with the same passion in both the vineyard and the winery. Wines come into existence with an edge – “No mainstream wines,” as Stephan Sölva puts it, who runs the estate winery today.

Twelve hectares of grape growing areas make up the traditional estate winery encompasses, which Sölva describes looking both forward and back equally, “Having a centuries-old history in the wine industry, respecting it, and running it authentically in the present and the future,” this is the hallmark of his estate.
Tradition and authenticity are therefore the keywords according to which the work is done at Sölva, and consistency could be added as a third. Thus Peter Sölva follows his own path that is characterized by consciousness of quality and a broad palette of grape varieties, some of which are unusual for the area: Lagrein, Gewürztraminer, Teroldego, Petit Verdot, Tannat, and Grenache.

The results of this combination are two lines with a very unique signature: the designation “Amitar” is carried by Sölva’s late-harvest wines, while “Desilva” designates terroir wines from old vines. “What is important is that the origin from our vineyards can be noticed in the character of the wine, and that our wines carry the signature of our estate,” Sölva tells us.

As can be seen with this estate winery in Caldaro, that which is new can thus best be combined with tradition. And the results can clearly be seen each time.

Four-star ratings are rare for vineyards. But the Calvenschlössl Winegrowing Estate in Laudes in the community of Malles began with a vineyard at 1,000 meters and even went a step further in 2013. Or, to put it better, higher. In the monastery meadow of the Benedictine Abbey of Marienberg, Europe’s highest vineyard was planted. The German word for vineyard is Weinberg, meaning wine mountain, and that can completely be taken literally here.

In 2004, Hilde Van den dries acquired the Calvenschlössl castle. “Immediately afterward, the desire came upon us to make top-quality organic wine,” Van den dries says. But that is easier said than done, since the slopes around the house are not only steep, they also are situated at elevations between 970 and 1,005 meters above sea level.

In any case, the extreme locations have also turned out to be a stroke of luck. The southern exposure bestows upon the grapes ample sunshine, the elevation provides coolness, from which grapes with high sugar levels and prominent acidities result. In addition, in both vineyards the focus is not only on resistant grape varieties such as Solaris, Souvignier Gris, Zweigelt, and Cabernet Cortis, but also on careful dealings with nature and thus on a holistic method of agriculture.

And that also holds true in the winery. “The energy from the spontaneous fermentation from the natural yeast strains of the grapes lend our wines their unmistakable finesse and their unique character,” Van den dries is convinced. The elevation is therefore not the only special ingredient in the wine from the Calvenschlössl Wine Estate in Laudes.

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.”

Engadiner Wines, located in Gleno in the municipality of Montagna, is a fairly young wine estate—in more than just one way: Under the brand “Engadiner Wines,” the Zelger family started to produce wines, each of them imbued with a distinctly unique character, from their own grapes as recently as in 2021. And the Zelgers themselves are still young both in age and spirit and turned their hobbies – nature, agriculture, and wine – into a family business.

The Engadiner Wines wine estate has two locations. One of them is the family estate in Gleno, a location most famous for its Pinot Noir. Located in the south of Alto Adige at an altitude of 650 meters, their vineyards benefit from intense sunshine during the day and cooler temperatures at night. These fluctuations in temperature produce fresh, elegant wines.

The estate’s second location is their wine gardens in Ora, located at the valley floor, where Lukas Zelger mainly grows Lagrein, as the soils rich in porphyry and the comparably high temperatures are especially beneficial for this variety.

In addition to their varietal Pinot Noir and Lagrein, the Engadiner Wines estate also offers a Kerner characteristic for the variety. “It is our philosophy to produce wines typical of the terroir and true to our standard,” explains Lukas Zelger.

 

At 1,150 meters above sea level, in sunny Mals, lies VinVentum – one of the highest wineries in Europe. But it is not just the altitude that makes this cellar so special: it is the combination of clear mountain air, mineral-rich soils, and the daily wind that sweeps through the vines, giving the wine its distinctive character.

VinVentum is a story of passion and dedication – told by a father-daughter duo. Stefan brings deep knowledge and years of experience with the terroir, while Julia contributes fresh ideas and a modern perspective. Together they tend their vines with care, respect, and genuine craftsmanship. The name says it all: Vin stands for wine, Ventum for the wind – a constant companion that shapes the microclimate and strengthens the vines. Where alpine freshness meets Mediterranean warmth, a single grape variety thrives: Solaris. This rare, resilient grape reflects the extremes of its origin in every bottle – with brilliance, elegance, and depth.

VinVentum stands for careful manual work and organic cultivation without machines. Natural herbal teas support the vines in a living ecosystem of wild herbs, bees, and butterflies. Only limited quantities of 100% Solaris wines are gently processed each year so that the terroir, altitude, and wind are clearly perceptible in the wine – as well as the love contained in every bottle. Or as Stefan and Julia themselves say: “We don’t follow trends – we follow the rhythm of nature.” And you can taste it. Every bottle of VinVentum is an expression of their alpine homeland: clear, distinctive, and quietly powerful.

An estate from the thirteenth century and an import from Rhineland Palatinate: the Rielingerhof in Collalbo on the Renon plateau is over eight hundred years old, but only since 2011 has the grape harvest been made into wine at the estate, including Riesling. Winegrower Matthias Messner learned to love it during his years of apprenticeship in Rhineland Palatinate in Germany. And this import from the Rhine has found outstanding conditions here.

As early as the beginning of the thirteenth century, the Rielingerhof in Siffiano, a district of Collalbo on the Renon plateau, was first mentioned in a document. A wine pressing stone from that time is still in the farmhouse – as testimony to the 800 year-old tradition of winegrowing at the estate, which came into the possession of the Messner family in 1956.

And now it is Matthias Messner who holds the reins here. He learned the art of winemaking both in Alto Adige and in Germany. “From the Rhineland, I brought along my love of Riesling, which brings forth such noteworthy quality on these mineral-rich soils,” Messner says. And what provides this is not only the soils, which are ideal for fruity wines with mineral tones, but also the elevation of the two hectare vineyards (at 750 meters!), the southern exposure of the mountainside, and last but not least their slope. “It reaches up to 75 percent,” Messner explains.

In such extreme locations, work by hand is required, added to which Messner manages his Rielingerhof in Collalbo purely organically. All of the wines that originate here are certified organic: the white Blatterle, Müller Thurgau, and Kerner, and the red Schiava and Zweigelt.

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

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

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

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

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.

Grapes have been grown in Cermes since the twelfth century, the Kränzelhof has existed since the fourteenth century, and winegrowing has been an important pillar since the 1500s. And today? Today, Franz von Pfeil upholds the tradition, grows grapes and makes wine at the Ansitz Kränzelhof in Cermes, and combines that with art.

“For me, art and the enjoyment of exquisite wine have a lot in common,” von Pfeil says. “Wine works of art live, they are created through the inspiration of a master and the hands of all those who accompany the transformation of the wine.” If we stay with the image, then the vineyards of the Kränzelhof are something like the canvas upon which the wine works of art develop. A six hectare-sized canvas.

The grapevines of the Kränzelhof grow on loose moraine soils and are tended especially gently. Thus artificial fertilizers and herbicides are avoided, while field and meadow flowers between the rows of grapevines provide sustainable life in the vineyard. “In addition, we reduce the yields per hectare that are allowed by removing leaves in arduous work by hand, trimming shoots, and cutting away grapes,” von Pfeil says.

In that way, and thanks to thrifty cellar techniques that are used, wines are created with crisp acidity that are described as “savory, full of body, aromatic, and conducive to aging.” “We want to create individual wines that are filled with character,” says the winegrower from the Kränzelhof in Cermes, “wines in which the vintage and origin can be recognized, which are well received by connoisseurs, and which give them joy.” That is the art of winemaking.

The vineyards of the Klasen Hof in Nalles are steep, which makes work with machines nearly impossible. For that reason, the majority of the work is done by hand. Which may sound like great toil, but for the Thurner family, not only is that something which is self-evident, it is also an advantage. “In that way, we can have a targeted influence upon the improvement of the quality of the grapes in the vineyard,” so the family philosophy goes. At the Klasen Hof in Nalles, having so much passion is a tradition.

In the early twentieth century, Alois Mair, the great-grandfather of the growers there today, had the courage to build a farm out of nothing and, from the very beginning on, to also focus on winegrowing. “Klasen Luis”, as he was known, was thus able to lay the foundation for an operation that continues to be run successfully today. The Thurner family is aware that, “We profit form comprehensive knowledge that has been passed down from generation to generation about the cultivation of grapes and from many years of experience in the winery.”

Their motto is that high quality comes from both the grapevine and the barrel. Therefore, the focus is on the right balance between the work in the vineyard and in the winery. What emerges are thus wines with strong character in which the aromas reflect the cultivation zone – and the passion with which the Klasen Hof in Nalles makes their Lagrein, Schiava, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Blanc. For around a century.

One special feature of the Merano Winery with its 360 members catches the eye immediately: two completely different cultivation zones. They are on one hand the mild, Mediterranean Merano valley basin and, on the other hand, the dry, windy, climatically extreme Val Venosta. No fewer than twenty grape varieties grow here upon which the offering from the Merano Winery is based.

The winery itself came into existence in July 2010, and specifically from the merger of the Burggräfler Winery that was founded in 1901 with the Meran Winery that was initiated in 1952. Its headquarters is in a striking building that combines the new with the old in Marlengo in which the threads of 360 members, 250 hectares of cultivated area, over twenty grape varieties, and two completely different cultivation zones are all woven together. “The offering of many different wines is a special feature and strength of the Merano Winery,” explains winemaker Stefan Kapfinger, “but it is also associated with a higher expenditure of labor.” That begins in the vineyards, on slopes a large portion of which are steep, in which nearly all of the work is done by hand, but in any case in a sustainable manner that protects resources.

“In the winery, it is necessary to preserve the quality of the grapes that come from our vineyards,” says Kapfinger. With his wines, the origin of each of them ought to be recognizable as clearly as possible in the aroma. For that reason, the winemaker understands himself as a “midwife”: “The wine ought to go its own way,” he says, “I just accompany it on its journey. With a great deal of patience and sometimes also strong nerves.”

The Winery Cantina Merano in Marlengo and Merano: From now on, the winery has two locations that are both the perfect place for getting together and having a great time: the Panoramic Enoteca in Marling and the new City.Vinothek in the center of Meran. Enjoy the exciting wine collection, a special selection of distillates and a brisk masterpiece among the Alto Adige DOC sparkling wines, treat yourself to some unforgettable new impressions and join a tour of the winery for a behind-the-scenes look into all the finer things in life that Meran has to offer.