Cantina Nals Margreid

The ruins of Pfeffersburg Castle tower above the village of Nals – a medieval structure that gave the wine its name. And the name is more apt than it sounds: ‘Pfeffer’ (pepper) describes the aromatic heart of the Edelvernatsch – —that delicate, peppery-fruity interplay which sets this native South Tyrolean variety apart from any other red wine grape in the region. The Pfeffersburger comes from St. Magdalena near Bolzano, one of South Tyrol’s most traditional Edelvernatsch vineyards. Steep slopes on porphyry-rich soil, at altitudes of 250 to 350 metres, hand-harvested. After fermentation in stainless steel, the wine matures for seven months in 80-hectolitre oak barrels – — large and neutral, used solely for texture.

NM – two letters, two villages, one cuvée. Nals in the north, with its mineral-rich porphyry and limestone gravel soils at higher altitudes. Margreid in the south, with its broodinglimestone soils in the sub-Mediterranean climate of the lower Adige valley. What has set this winery apart since 1932 is precisely this dialogue between two different terroirs – and the NM is its most direct, inviting expression. 70% Chardonnay brings body and texture, whilst 30% Sauvignon Blanc contributes aromatic freshness and vibrancy. The Ora, the warm afternoon breeze from Lake Garda, ensures even ripening in both vineyards. Hand-harvested, clarified must, three weeks in stainless steel, five months on the fine lees. Screw cap – a deliberate commitment to freshness.

Moscato Giallo is one of the most fragrant grape varieties in South Tyrol – and one of the most vulnerable. In the wrong hands it becomes sugary sweet and arbitrary, in the right hands it shows something rare: aromatic depth with complete dryness. Nals Margreid cultivates it in the southernmost part of its vineyard area, in Margreid – the warmest, most Mediterranean tip between Nals and Lake Garda. The vineyards lie at an altitude of 220 to 350 metres, exposed to the south-southeast, on white, broodinglimestone gravel soil with a high humus content. The climate bears the fingerprint of the Ora, the warm afternoon wind that blows daily from Lake Garda over the slopes, extending the growing season and shaping the flavour of the grapes. Hand-picked, three weeks of fermentation in steel, five months of ageing on the fine lees.

The hill. A solitary, 50-metre-high ridge south of Margreid, which gives the Pinot Grigio its name and character. The soil is unusual: grey, loamy sand with a high clay content – —no porphyry, no limestone gravel—but a soft, nutrient-rich deposit that gives the Pinot Grigio a richness and freshness that poorer soils simply cannot provide. Margreid’s Mediterranean climate – — warm summers, mild winters, and the afternoon ‘Ora’ breeze from Lake Garda – ensures the grapes ripen evenly and develop their aromas. Hand-harvested, clarified must, three weeks’ fermentation in stainless steel, five months on the fine lees.

Berg. The name gives away its origins. The higher elevations in the Adige Valley, on the right bank of the Adige, on soils of porphyry and limestone, which give the Pinot Bianco its mineral freshness and structure. The alpine climate, with mild summer months and cool autumns, slows down the ripening process – and the harvest takes place in mid-October, considerably later than for comparable white wines. This patience pays off. In 1932, the winegrowers of Nals and Margreid founded their cooperative on a simple principle: better together than alone. This principle still applies today – for 140 member estates, which supply their grapes with the same care as they did back then.

Margreid is situated in the southern Unterland, where the Adige widens and the climate becomes more Mediterranean. The Ora, the warm afternoon breeze from Lake Garda, sweeps through the vineyards every day, bringing with it the warmth that makes the Chardonnay from these vineyards so full-bodied and aromatic. The soil is anything but barren: white, broodinglimestone gravel with a high humus content – —nutrient-rich, water-retaining, with a minerality that gives the wine its name. Limestone. No further description is needed. Nals Margreid cultivates the Kalk Chardonnay on gently sloping hillsides in Margreid at altitudes of 220 to 350 metres.

Three grape varieties, three soils, one rosé. Nals Margreid summarises in this cuvée what makes up the South Tyrolean wine landscape between Nals and Magreid in miniature: Merlot from broodinglimestone gravel soil with a high humus content, Pinot Noir and Lagrein from porphyry, sandy river alluvial soils. 280 to 400 metres above sea level, a Mediterranean climate with warm summers, mild winters – and the Ora, the warm afternoon wind from Lake Garda, which sweeps over the slopes every day and shapes the flavour of the grapes. Hand-picked, short maceration, fermentation in steel for around three weeks, then five months of ageing on the fine lees before bottling.

Stone. The word needs no explanation – and certainly not in South Tyrol. The name describes the soil on which these vines grow: a 150 metre deep alluvial fan that the Sirmian and Nalles streams have carried down from the mountains into the valley over thousands of years. Alluvial rock, clay, marl – a soil that stores water well, releases heat slowly and gives the Sauvignon Blanc that salty minerality that is immediately recognisable in the glass. The vineyards are located in Nalles, between Bolzano and Merano, at 330 to 400 metres above sea level, exposed to the east-southeast. The climate is the typical South Tyrolean paradox: warm to hot during the day, noticeably cool at night – the temperature fluctuations create aromatic precision and preserve freshness. 100% Sauvignon Blanc, hand-picked, fermented in steel for around three weeks, then matured on the lees for five months before bottling.

Gewürztraminer is at home all over the world – in France, Germany, Austria and overseas. Yet it owes its name to a single place: Termeno, which the Romans called Tramin, in the heart of South Tyrol’s Unterland region. Here, in the warmest, most Mediterranean part of South Tyrol, the grape variety develops the aromatic intensity that makes it so distinctive. The Leiten vineyards of Nals Margreid lie precisely in this Unterland region: on broodingclay-gravel over limestone soils, a subsoil that stores heat and enhances the natural aromatics of Gewürztraminer. The climate is Mediterranean – — warm summers, mild winters, and the daily Ora breeze from Lake Garda as an invigorating element. Hand-harvested, clarified must, three weeks’ fermentation in stainless steel, five months on the fine lees.

Sand. The name is geology – and programme. The Lagrein vineyards are located in Gries, a district of Bolzano, at 250 metres above sea level in a closed basin that is one of the warmest locations in South Tyrol. Sandy alluvial soils of the Talfer river, interspersed with porphyry – a subsoil that stores heat, releases it slowly and gives the Lagrein the depth it needs to develop to its full potential. Mediterranean, hot, with an intensity not found at the cooler altitudes of the mountains. Lagrein is South Tyrol's most distinctive autochthonous red wine variety – dark fruity, rich in tannins, with a typical bitter almond flavour in the final that makes it unmistakable. Hand-picked, carefully destemmed, fermented in steel with gentle pumping over, malolactic fermentation, then aged for seven months in 40-hectolitre wooden barrels.

The grapes for the Galea Vernatsch come from old vines that grow on gravel and porphyry soils. Bright ruby colour, vinous aromas and an appetisingly fresh scent of red cherries. Juicy and fruity on the palate, with velvety tannins, harmonious with fine minerality and good length. SUPERIORE.DE

Above Margreid, where the Mediterranean climate of the lowlands gives way to the coolness of the higher altitudes, lies the Penon. A single vineyard at an altitude of 500 to 600 metres, facing east-southeast – to the morning sun, which sweeps gently and evenly across the vineyard before the afternoon heat sets in. The soil is pure: exclusively limestone gravel with a high humus content. No porphyry, no volcanic deposits, no mixed rock. Just limestone – and, within this limestone, the most concentrated minerality that Nals Margreid has to offer for Pinot Bianco. The Penon is not a ‘Tradition’ wine, but one of the estate’s ‘Selection’ wines: a single vineyard vinified according to the estate’s own style. Hand-harvested, carefully processed, and further aged sur lies in stainless steel.

While the Magred thrives in the Mediterranean south of South Tyrol, the Gennen lies at the opposite end of the winery – in Nals, north of Bolzano, at 330 to 400 metres above sea level. A different world, a different character. No Ora wind, no Mediterranean flair. Instead: a continental climate, warm days, cool nights and a soil that has been washed. Literally. The subsoil is a 150 metre deep cone of debris from the Sirmian and Nals streams – 80% limestone gravel, 20% porphyry gravel, orientated east-southeast. This soil gives the Sauvignon Blanc its tension: striking minerality, salty flavour, aromatic precision. Cellar master Harald Schraffl ferments the clarified must for around three weeks in cool steel tanks and then matures the young wine for seven months on the fine lees – pure, without the influence of wood, focussing on freshness and structure.

Margreid lies in the extreme south of South Tyrol – and thus climatically in a different world to the Alpine altitudes near Nals. Warm summers, mild winters and the Ora every afternoon: the warm south wind from Lake Garda that blows through the vineyards, ventilates the vines and keeps the harvesthealthy. This is exactly what Chardonnay loves. The vineyards on the gentle slope between 220 and 350 metres, facing south-southeast, stand on white, broodinglimestone gravel soil with a high humus content – a terroir that allows for fullness and aromatic intensity at the same time. Cellar master Harald Schraffl focuses on ageing with a sense of proportion: fermentation in 30-hectolitre wooden barrels for three weeks, followed by eight months of maturation on the fine lees. The creaminess comes from the yeast, not the wood.

Punggl – is the name given to a small hill in the local dialect. 50 metres high, south of Margreid, at an altitude of between 220 and 250 metres: a geological feature in the flatlands of the Unterland. Composed of grey, loamy sand with a high clay content. A soil that stores heat, retains moisture and lends the Pinot Grigio a richness and structure that barren soils can never achieve. Margreid’s Mediterranean climate, the daily Ora breeze from Lake Garda – —this interplay provides ideal ripening conditions for the vines here, some of which are up to 80 years old. The vinification of Punggl differs significantly from simple grape processing: pressed immediately, the juice is clear and aromatic – followed by three weeks’ fermentation in 30-hectolitre wooden barrels. No steel, no concrete. The neutral wood gives the must a texture that steel cannot provide. Eight months’ ageing on fine lees in the same wooden barrels further deepens this structure.

Gewürztraminer is not a modest grape variety. He enters the room – and everyone turns round. The question is not whether it stands out, but whether there is substance behind the flavour. In the case of Lyra from Nals Margreid, the answer is yes. The vineyards are located in the South Tyrolean lowlands, facing south-east, between 350 and 550 metres at the foot of the Roen mountain range. The soil of broodingloamy gravel on limestone gives the wine its texture, while the afternoon Ora from Lake Garda ensures freshness and healthy harvest. Cellar master Harald Schraffl vinifies single-varietal wines in steel tanks, fermenting for three weeks at a cool temperature and maturing for seven months on the fine lees.

Riesling needs altitude. Not always, but in South Tyrol it does – and the Pitzon gets it: 500 to 750 metres above Nals, on the right bank of the Adige, where the temperatures drop noticeably at night and the vine is allowed to retain its acidity. This is also where the decisive tension of this wine lies: Mediterranean warmth during the day, Alpine freshness at night. The Riesling captures both. The soils of porphyry and limestone – volcanic primary rock meets marine limestone – give the wine its mineral undertone. East-south-east orientation, hand-picked, three weeks of fermentation at cool temperatures in steel tanks, seven months of maturation on the fine lees. Cellar master Schraffl keeps a low profile – the wine itself says what it has to say.