Let it wine
At the foot of our local mountain, the Renon, you’ll find the dreamy little village of Sankt Magdalena, which even has its own wine named after it. You can sample this special wine in our gourmet restaurant Pippo's and see for yourself how it’s traditionally produced from the regional grapes, namely the Lagrein and the Vernatsch grape varieties.
At any time of the year during your holiday, you can watch the industrious South Tyroleans cultivate this wine.
In winter, just before snow covers the South Tyrolean landscape, the farmer sets to work to prepare for a successful grape harvest for the following year. Then, after the long hard months of winter, wine production gets into full swing. During the short cold alpine winter days, the winemaker has to leave his warm home and prune his vines to ensure they’ll grow again.
When you visit our idyllic landscape in spring and see the first buds, you’ll notice that the pergola system is already underway. This is painstaking manual work and you can watch the hard-working farmers as they tie their flourishing vines to wire ropes so they can grow upwards in our wonderful Alpine Mediterranean climate.
Then, in the summer when the sun's warmth heats the land, the leaves are cut out to give the grapes the light they need to ripen. Soon afterwards, in late summer, the grapes that aren’t needed are cut off to promote the quality of the individual bunches. This cutting process improves the quality of the harvested grapes and quantity is not quite so important. After this process, the grapes then finally start to mature. Following a summer that hasn’t been too dry but still warm and with no hail or sleet, the grapes are tested again for quality just before the harvest begins, which is when the pickers come to gather them. This is a time known as the grape harvest.
The exhausting part of a successful process now begins with the long-awaited harvest season. Even though the farmers’ work is arduous, they look forward to a productive high-quality 2018 harvest. In our beautiful South Tyrolean mountain region, with steep sunny slopes that are difficult to navigate, using mechanical tools to harvest grapes isn’t usually an option. It’s easier to use a pair of scissors to retrieve the bunches of grapes while crouching down or bending over. Every single grape passes through the winegrower’s hands and is checked for defects by his or her experienced eye.
Individually, the filled boxes are then brought from the valley to the cellars and anyone who’s had an annoying tractor in front of them on South Tyrol's roads now knows the history of its load, which is the final part of the journey as grapes become wine.
Once the grapes are in the winery, they’re checked again using a quality control process before being released for maceration. This is the moment of truth for the farmers:
"Did I cut the grapes properly? Is the sugar content high enough? Will everything pay off for me this year? "
The final moments of uncertainty for the farmer come when he’s in front of the scales and the cellar master. Then, finally, the relief comes when the grapes are released for maceration.
A great vintage!
You can look forward to sampling the St. Madalener and many other fine wines from our traditional wine cellar. Alexandra, your hostess, will be happy to help you choose the right wine for your delicious food in our gourmet restaurant.
If you’d like to visit one of our wineries, please let us know in advance so we can organise a pleasant trip into the world of wine for you and your dear travel companions. From the well-known South Tyrolean wine route right up to our chalet with pool in South Tyrol, you can taste the many different wines and enjoy the flavours of the fine grapes. So, you can now look forward to a special tasting journey through the land of wine, South Tyrol.
