wein.plus
Attention
You are using an old browser that may not function as expected.
For a better, safer browsing experience, please upgrade your browser.

Log in Become a Member

The South Tyrolean organic scene is not (yet) large. But it is populated with top-class names. Lageder, Hofstätter and Manincor are among the best addresses in South Tyrol's wine scene. But also smaller, less known wineries with excellent wines are discovering the advantages of organic viticulture.

The aim of this report is to give a complete overview of the organic and biodynamic wineries and to present the reasons, successes and difficulties as well as the tasks still to be solved by the most important producers.

A report on organic viticulture in South Tyrol must be accompanied by

Rainer Loacker

because Rainer Loacker started organic viticulture in South Tyrol. At the end of the 70s of the last century Rainer Loacker decided to take up viticulture and it was clear to him from the beginning that he wanted to do it biodynamically. Actually nothing spoke for this decision. There was hardly any practical experience with organic viticulture. Instead of approval, newcomers tended to be ridiculed by their colleagues, and for Rainer Loacker it meant exchanging a secure existence for the imponderables of a completely new challenge.

Rainer Loacker surrounded by his sons


As co-owner of a successful confectionery factory, he was actually well provided for. However, a serious illness led him to fundamentally rethink and change his life. He chose viticulture for this purpose and because he successfully conquered his illness with homeopathic methods, he also wanted to apply these methods in his work as a winemaker. "A lot of things," says his son Hayo Loacker, who is now in charge of the winery, "he had to figure out through trial and error back then, and sometimes the results weren't necessarily satisfying." Out of curiosity, I too bought a bottle of Loacker wine from time to time in the organic shop back then. 20 years is a long time, so I really don't remember what those wines tasted like back then. They certainly didn't make me an organic wine lover at that time. "Top wines they certainly weren't back then," says Hayo Loacker. "In the organic sector, some experience still had to be gained at that time in order to produce really special qualities."

In my opinion, Rainer Loacker's work deserves the greatest respect above all because he took this difficult path and did not throw in the towel instead of switching to the safe (= conventional) side. He consistently stuck to his decision once it was made. And the results in terms of wine quality and the economic success that has occurred in the meantime prove him right. One can always argue about style in wine, and I would wish some red wines to have a little more elegance. But what leaves the Loacker winery today is rightly no longer ("only") in organic shops, but in well-stocked wine shops and every bottle deserves attention in terms of quality and individuality. In addition to his South Tyrolean estates in Sankt Justina near Bolzano and in the Eisack Valley, Rainer Loacker now also owns two wineries in Tuscany, which are of course also farmed biodynamically.

Part 2 "The green comrades

Related Magazine Articles

View All
More
More
More
More
More
More
More
More
More
More

EVENTS NEAR YOU

PREMIUM PARTNERS