South Tyrol

Hans Terzer has achieved this success through rigorous and consistent action. When it comes to implementing what he considers sensible and important, he sometimes resorts to unusual measures. At a members' meeting, it was once a question of switching a certain area to Pinot Grigio, because considerable additional quantities of this wine were needed. When the individual members could only decide very timidly and in too small numbers to make this switch, Hans Terzer simply kept the doors of the meeting room locked and no one out until enough of the members present were ready to make the switch. Today, many are probably grateful to him for the uncompromisingness with which he pushed through his decisions, because the St. Michael Winery is in an excellent position and can pay its members good prices for their grapes.

The range is very extensive and includes all the classic South Tyrolean varieties. Prices range from 5 to 25 euros.

Direct sales: Mon. - Fri. 8 - 12 h and 15 - 18 h 30,
Sat. (from Easter to All Saints' Day also in the afternoon from 14 - 17 hrs.
Bypass road 17/19, I-39057 Eppan
Tel. +39 0471 664466
e-mail: kellerei@stmichael.it
Web: www.stmichael.it

Sankt Pauls Winery: Ambition and passion

The Sankt Pauls Winery was founded in the same year (1907) as the Sankt Michael Winery. At that time there were 36 members. To date, the number has risen to 201, and since 2005 a new staff has been in charge of the winery, which has set out to firmly establish the business in South Tyrol's top class with new innovative products. The new cellar master, Wolfgang Tratter, wants to "fully exploit all the potential that our vineyards offer." To this end, a lot of work has been invested in locating the best sites for the respective best grape variety and improving the work in the vineyard even further. The word cellar master is actually no longer quite appropriate for Wolfgang Tratter and his team. For a large part of their work now consists of enabling the members to produce ever better grape qualities through intensive training and advice.

The new team: Wolfgang Tratter% Dr. Alessandro Righi% Leopold Kager (Source: St. Pauls Winery)

And a new top line was also created. Its name is the current programme of the St. Pauls Winery: PASSION. It consists of six single-varietal wines made from the best grapes of the respective varieties: Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon and Gewürztraminer for the white wines and for the reds Pinot Noir, Lagrein and - certainly surprising for many -, a Vernatsch. Along with the Girlaner Genossen and the Erste & Neue Kellerei in Kaltern, the Kellerei St. Pauls is the only cooperative that reserves a place in the highest product line for this original South Tyrolean home-grown wine, thus proving that innovation and tradition are not mutually exclusive.

This is also evident in the tasting room of the winery. It is both a sophisticated ambience for tasting the noble drops of the top line and a popular meeting place for the whole village. Since 2005, the St. Pauls Winery has been unrivalled in the village, as the only local competitor, the Kössler Wine and Sparkling Wine Winery, was taken over by the St. Pauls Winery. The Kössler winery was best known for its top-quality Praeclaurus sparkling wines produced by the bottle fermentation method. These are now marketed under the St Pauls label. The other Kössler wines are continued as a separate line, so that the range now includes over 40 wines in the price range from five to 20 euros. The wines from the PASSION line cost between nine and 20 euros ex farm.

Direct sales: Mon-Fri. 9.00-12.30, 15.00-19.30
Sat. 9.00-12.30, 15.00-18.00 (summer)
Castle-Warth-Weg 21, I-39050 Sankt Pauls/Eppan
Tel. +39 0471 662183
e-mail: info@kellereistpauls.comWeb: www.kellereistpauls.com

The wines of the Sankt Pauls Winery in the Wein-Plus Guide:
http://www.wein-plus.de/italien/Cantina%2BProduttori%2BSan%2BPaolo%2BKellerei%2BSt.%2BPauls_52633.html

The wines of the Kössler Winery in the Wein-Plus Guide:
http://www.wein-plus.de/italien/Kellerei%2BK%C3%B6ssler%2B_52630.html

Josef Brigl: 700 years of South Tyrolean winemaking tradition

The Brigl family (Source: Josef Brigl Winery)

The Josef Brigl winery celebrated its 700th birthday in 2009, making it one of the oldest wineries in South Tyrol. Josef Brigl is an always relaxed, jovial person and a flaming advocate of Vernatsch. He held on to Vernatsch even in times when all other producers were talking badly about this wine and replacing it with more lucrative varieties. Josef Brigl loves Vernatsch "because it is a wine of which one can drink not only one but also two or three glasses without any problems and with great pleasure, even if it will (possibly) never get 3 glasses from the Gambero Rosso." And Josef Brigl is extremely successful with his Vernatsch-oriented strategy. He has never had any sales problems.

All of Josef Brigl's Vernatsch wines are characterised above all by their fine and delicate nature. However, the winery does not only offer Vernatsch, but like almost all commercial wineries, a very broad spectrum of South Tyrolean wines. No less than 38 different positions are currently on offer. In the basic line, they are always pleasant, uncomplicated South Tyrolean classics for everyday enjoyment; things get really interesting with the so-called Höfe line, for which only grapes from the winery's own farms are used. These are located in Kaltern (Windegg and Kaltenburg), Bolzano (Rielerhof and Ihlderhof), Girlan (Haselhof) and Terlan (Heilig Dreikönig-Hof). Specialities such as the Kreuzbichler wines (Riesling and Pinot Noir) as well as matured Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Lagrein from the Meister line complete the range. The ex-farm prices range from € 4.30 to € 14.90.

Direct sales: daily except Sundays from 08:00-12:00 and 14:00-18:00
Maria-Rast-Weg 3, I-39057 Appiano/Eppan
Tel.: +39 0471 662419
E-mail: info@brigl.com
Web: www.brigl.com

The wines of the Brigl Winery in the Wein-Plus Guide:
http://www.wein-plus.de/italien/Weinkellerei%2B%26%2BWeing%C3%BCter%2BJosef%2BBrigl_52629.html

Fritz Dellago - Schloss Hotel Korb: The joy of making your own wine

Fritz Dellago (Source: Dellago)

The name Dellago is likely to be familiar to Wein-Plus voice table participants and probably well remembered. The eponymous Pinot Blanc from the Bolzano winery was the Italian participant at the Pinot Blanc regulars' table in September 2008. The grapes for this wine come almost exclusively from the vineyards of Fritz Dellago. The Dellago family has always delivered their Vernatsch and Pinot Blanc grapes to the Bolzano cooperative. At the beginning of this millennium, Fritz Dellago, a wine enthusiast (his cellar contains about 4,000 bottles from all the wine-growing regions of the world), decided to produce some of his own wine. This was connected with an expansion of the range of varieties. Pinot Blanc and Vernatsch were joined by Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Lagrein and Zweigelt, which had been foreign here until then. Fritz Dellago planted the latter to demonstrate the close ties between South Tyrol - which belonged to Austria until 1918 - and its neighbour on the other side of the Brenner Pass. He also wanted to show that "what the Austrians can do is no problem for us South Tyroleans. He has certainly succeeded in this. His Zweigelt is a pleasantly 'northern' wine with a fresh, animating character. The same goes for the house's Pinot Blanc, the Sauvignon and also for the cuvée of Merlot, Lagrein and Cabernet aged in barriques. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are somewhat more characterised by wood. Prices range from 8 to 13 euros.

The ambience of the Schlosshotel is unique. In addition to the culinary amenities in the historic buildings, you can enjoy a magnificent view of the Bolzano valley floor and the surrounding Dolomites. But Fritz Dellago has also created something unusual underground. A former World War II bunker next to the castle has been converted into a prestigious wine cellar where, in addition to tastings, vernissages, readings and concerts take place.

Direct sales: daily when the hotel is in operation (April to November), in winter by prior arrangement
Hocheppanerweg 5, I-39050 Missian/Eppan
Tel. +39 0471 636000
Mobile: +39 333 1503760
E-mail: info@schloss-hotel-korb.com
Web: www.schloss-hotel-korb.com

Bergmannhof: No Sales Stress

The fading 70s were a lousy time for many cooperative members in South Tyrol. Wine prices and thus the cooperatives' payouts were low. However, most winegrowers knew nothing else, firstly, than to deliver the grapes to the cooperative or to a commercial winery, and secondly, the income from room rentals and fruit growing at least partially compensated for the meagre income from grape sales. Josef Pichler, however, did not want to be satisfied with this, and he decided to produce and market his wine himself. Since there was no full levy for cooperative members at the time and part of the harvest was also accepted at any time, albeit for little money, the risk was not quite so great.

Three generations of the Pichler family (Source: Bergmannhof Winery)

It should be clear which part ended up with the cooperative and which Josef Pichler kept himself, and so he was able to offer his customers a quality that encouraged them to come back. And that has remained the case to this day. The wine is sold exclusively from the farm, and the satisfied customers provide enough word of mouth that the Pichlers regularly run out of wine by the end of the year. The extremely moderate prices contribute to this. The wines, all of which can be drunk young - Chardonnay, Vernatsch, Lagrein and Merlot - cost between 4.50 and 8 euros.

Direct sales: by appointment
Tel.: +39 0471 637 082
Unterrain 46, I-39050 St. Pauls/Eppan
E-mail: info@bergmannhof.it
Web: www.bergmannhof.it

Stroblhof: Down to earth

Andreas Nicolussi-Leck is one of those people who seem to be successful precisely because they don't care about the supposed necessities of the market, but go through with what seems important to them. And for Andreas Nicolussi-Leck, that is wines made from varieties that are the most suitable for the soil in question. "I took many soil samples of topsoil and subsoil before deciding what to replant where." And when he rages against those who think they have to adapt to market demands, he can get really angry. "You can also ruin the reputation of a wine-growing region if you plant what's fashionable at the moment, come hell or high water, without bothering whether the varieties are also suitable for our soils." For example, at a time when Gewürztraminer was still in great demand on the Italian market, he decided against continuing to grow this variety. On his farm, the most suitable varieties are Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir. Chardonnay and Sauvignon are grown in vineyards outside. Andreas Nicolussi-Leck is not a sentimental advocate of tradition, however. His brother still owns a vineyard on Lake Kaltern. Here the Vernatsch vines, from which one of the most beautiful Kalterer was produced on the Stroblhof, were recently cleared quite unsentimentally and replaced by Pinot Blanc, "which also delivers excellent qualities here and brings my brother an additional revenue of 80 euros per quintal."

Andreas Nicolussi-Leck (Source: Stroblhof Winery)

Stroblhof first became known for its white wine Strahler, a blend of mostly Pinot Blanc and five per cent each of Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio. "Pinot blanc was already grown on the Stroblhof 200 years ago. The name Strahler first appeared in 1845 and referred to the Spallier vines, which were still planted in South Tyrol at the time, before they were almost universally replaced by Pergel." Today, the pendulum is swinging back to the other side and the classic Pergel is increasingly being replaced by the Spallier vine for quality reasons.

Since the 1970s (Josef Hanni's father-in-law already achieved the highest quality at that time), the Stroblhof has also been increasingly distinguishing itself with Pinot Noir, which is offered here in two versions, a basic version and a Riserva. For the latter, only grapes from vines that are at least 14 years old are used. The ageing process is identical for both wines.

The Stroblhof is not only a winery, but also a 4-star hotel with excellent cuisine and an impressively stocked wine cellar. If you ever get a hankering for great wines from other growing regions in South Tyrol, this is the place to be.

Direct sales: daily when the hotel is in operation (April to November), in winter by prior arrangement
Pigenoer way 25, I-39057 Appiano
Tel. +39 0471 662 250
E-mail: weingut@stroblhof.it
Web: www.stroblhof.it

Hof Gandberg - Rudolf Niedermayr: Resistant

Rudolf Niedermayr (Source: Niedermayr)

"Rudolf really pulled off the organic thing, even if it was hard. That deserves respect," says Oskar Andergassen, winemaker in Kaltern, about his colleague from Eppan. And he continues to do it - with all the consistency he can muster. Rudolf Niedermayr is one of the most radical advocates of organic viticulture, and he is therefore not afraid to point out or avoid one of the weak points of organic cultivation, namely the use of copper. Copper sulphate is permitted in organic viticulture as an agent against fungal infestation. It has the advantage that it does not penetrate the plant and thus does not leave any residues. On the other hand, it accumulates in the soil where, as a heavy metal, it is virtually impossible to break it down again. Rudolf Niedermayr therefore relies on fungus-resistant varieties and achieves quite remarkable results with them. Fungus-resistant varieties do not exactly have the reputation of producing particularly high-quality wines. It's nice to be proven wrong when you enjoy them. With Rudolf Niedermayr's PIWIs, quality is not neglected. The whites are recommended for their fruitiness and elegant acidity: the Bronner is a fine, animating drop with moderate alcohol; the Sonnrain, a spicy, powerful and full-bodied cuvée with aromatic nutmeg notes; the Nova is a harmonious white wine with an elegant, lingering aroma and fullness; the red wine Beerl is a cuvée with a strong, ruby-red colour and fruity taste.

The range currently includes three whites and one red wine. Prices range from 6.50 to 8 euros.

Direct sales: by appointment
Tel. +39 0471 664 152
Via Schulthauser 1, I-39057 Appiano
e-mail: gandberg@yahoo.de

Kreithof: worth a detour

Kreithof is one of those wineries that you hardly notice, even if you attend all the presentation events inside and outside South Tyrol. And there are quite a few, because the South Tyroleans like to show off what they have to offer. None of the important trade fairs without a large, well-organised joint stand, at least one presentation a year in a German city, the Bozner Weinkost, the Vinnea Tirolensis of the independent winegrowers and the many local wine festivals. Johann Raifer, owner of Kreithof, stays out of all that. He is not drawn to any of these events. He prefers to sell his wine exclusively from the farm, which is beautifully situated on a hill just outside Eppan at the foot of the Montiggler Forest.

The Kreithof (Source: Brunner)

And he doesn't make a bad living with his way of selling. "The customers who stop by once usually come back again." The moderate prices that Johann Raifer charges for his wines certainly contribute to this. It is the classic South Tyrolean varieties that you find here: Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon and Gewürztraminer for the whites and Vernatsch, Lagrein and Pinot Noir for the reds. All very correct wines for uncomplicated enjoyment. You should definitely follow the sign at the side of the road, not only because of the beautiful view.

Direct sales: by appointment
Tel. +39 0471 664119
Via Crucis 15, I-39057 Appiano
E-Mail: info@kreithof.com
Web: www.kreithof.com

Link to Überetsch Part 1 - Girlan