2022 Tiefenbrunner Alto Adige Pinot Grigio Merus

The house Tiefenbrunner, with its historic half-timbering, breathes the typical friendly South Tyrolean atmosphere. Visitors can enjoy a nice glass of wine outside on the terrace. Many tourists on their way to the sunny south or on the way back stop here for a glass of wine. That is definitely worth it at Tiefenbrunner. There is a wide range of interesting wines here, from fresh white to strong red. All wines are dedicated to quality and to making a wine that is typical of the grape and vineyard. It is especially Christophe Tiefenbrunner, who started in 1991, who has modernized the vineyards and perfected winemaking. He has already removed some of the pergolas from the vineyards. These beautiful grape arbors are very typical of the region, but they have the drawback that the grapes do not hang optimally in the sun. At the same time, he has increased the number of sticks in the vineyard, also to increase the quality. In addition, the yields have decreased considerably. Due to all measures, total production has decreased from one million bottles to around 600,000 annually. The wines come from 20 hectares of own vineyards and from grapes of several tens of hectares from other producers. The production here consists for 70% of white wines, the rest is red. Rather unusual for Alto Adige. Most vintners emphasize the production of fruity, light red wines, usually made for the German market. However, white turns out to be an excellent choice with an eye to the future. The mountain slopes are very suitable for making white wines, where maturation is rarely used. And if the wine is already on wood, it usually concerns very old large barrels, which give off almost no wood flavor. The harvest here often lasts until November. Many wine lovers love the freshness and elegance of Tiefenbrunner's wines. The domain manages to give each wine its own character, bottled together with a touch of fresh mountain air.

Just a few decades ago, Alto Adige was the scene of serious political tensions, complete with underground terror organizations. The protests turned against the transfer of this area from Austria to Italy at the end of World War II. The beautiful mountain landscape was suddenly renamed Südtitol in Alto Adige. For many of the German-speaking inhabitants, an event that one could not get used to quickly. Some of the people in this region still speak German, although this mainly concerns representatives of the older generations. As a compromise, Alto Adige has acquired an autonomous status, with German being equated with Italian. Traffic and place name signs in this region are therefore consistently bilingual. It gives this region an almost Alsace-like appearance. The wines are also similar to Alsace. Just like in this French wine region, people tend to make many different wines from all separate grape varieties. In addition, some of these grape varieties are exactly the same. Pinot Bianco (Pinot Blanc) and Pinot Grigio (Pinot Gris) among others, as well as the (Gewürz) traminer. Alto Adige has added popular varieties such as Sauvignon and Chardonnay. The local Lagrein is very popular for the red wines, in addition to grapes of foreign origin such as Merlot and Cabernet-Sauvignon. The blue grapes are mainly planted in warmer, lower-lying vineyards, oriented to the south and southwest. The accent during planting is still on blue, although the cool mountain climate is very suitable for white grapes. That climate also explains the difference in style with the wines from Alsace. Those from Alto Adige are usually a bit fresher and finer. The high location of the vineyards, between 250 and 1000 meters, guarantees this style. The vineyards are mainly located on the southern slopes of the valleys of the Etsch (Adige) and the Eisack (Isarco). They are in the shop with the DOC Südtiroler / Alto Adige, in combination with the name of the grape variety.