Hofstätter

Martin Foradori-Hofstätter is a forward and lateral thinker. He took over the fourth-generation family business at a young age and has consistently expanded and converted it. The winery consists of several former farms and five "Ansitzen", as the large historic estates are called in South Tyrol. The wines are also named after them: Kolbenhof, Rechtenthaler Schlossleiten, Barthenau with Yngram, Steinraffler, Oberkerschbaum and the recently acquired Maso Michei in southern Trentino, a remarkable high altitude site, the roots of the Foradoris' paternal ancestors. Today, Martin Foradori tells us with justifiable pride that the family vineyard is the only one in South Tyrol with vineyards to the west and east of the Adige river. His approximately 50 hectares of vineyards lie on a wide variety of soils and in different micro-climates from 250 m to 850 m above sea level. Some thrive in the morning sun, others still get light and warmth early in the evening. Some of them are located on dizzyingly steep slopes, vineyards where, looking up from the valley to the cliffs, one can hear: "Which crazy person is still growing wine up there?

The winery's headquarters are in the middle of Tramin, where Martin Foradori-Hofstätter, due to a lack of space, built the new wine cellar as a wine tower in 1997, right next to the church tower, thus creating an architectural contrast in the historic centre of the village. The historic 16th-century estate was once the imperial-royal post office and became the "Schwarzer Adler" inn around 1900, run by Martin Foradori's great-aunt. Her husband, Joseph Hofstätter, pressed the first wines in the cellar of the inn and thus founded the winery.

Contrast also at work. The vineyards are cultivated close to nature and with elaborate manual labour. As one of the first wineries in South Tyrol, they relied on "gentle pruning" and thus achieved healthy and long-lived vines. Some are now over 70 years old and form the basis for the single vineyard wines. Here, too, the Hofstätter winery was a pioneer in the region; it was the first to be allowed to name its wines after the site, in this case "Vigna", comparable to "Cru" in France.

In the cellar, however, nothing is left to chance. Here we have the most modern technology, stainless steel and wooden barrels, in order to be able to process each grape variety and location perfectly. In 2013, innovative concrete barrels were introduced, a first for South Tyrol in wine production. Due to their special aesthetics, they have become an attraction of the winery.

The focus is on the regional grape varieties, first and foremost of course Gewürztraminerafter all, Tramin is known as the home of this original variety and has been mentioned in chronicles here since at least 1145. In addition, Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) and various other white wine varieties, as well as the typical autochthonous grape varieties Lagrein and Vernatsch. Alongside Traminer, however, Pinot Noir (Pinot Pinot Noir) is one of the estate's most successful wines. The Vigna Sant'Urbano from the extreme vineyards of the Hof von Barthenau is certainly the most highly decorated Pinot Noir in Italy and superior to many a French Pinot Noir, although of course different due to its origin. The Gewürztaminer from the Kolbenhof are the counterpart from the other bank of the Etsch, equally highly awarded. The absolute top wines honour their ancestors with their labels: Ludwig Barth von Barthenau, who once cultivated the Pinot Noir Roccolo in Mazon, the Gewürztraminer Pirchschrait at the Kolbenhof is a tribute to Konrad Oberhofer, who was the first to vinify the grapes of individual vineyards separately in the 1930s. And the Gewürztraminer Vigna Rechtenthaler Schlossleiten Spätlese, which commemorates Joseph Hofstätter, the founder of the winery. SUPERIORE.DE

"Martin Foradori's winery is one of the most modern and dynamic in the country ... Special attention is paid to traditional grapes, but the winery is also always ready to meet new market demands and is expanding its reach with aggressive marketing strategies." Gambero Rosso