Tenuta Falkenstein

Winery with view. One looks far down into the valley at Naturns in Vinschgau. Tiny the houses, the Adige meanders like a narrow blue-green band under the towering, mostly snow-covered mountains. As beautiful as it is at the Vinschgauer Sonnenberg, the work in the steep, terraced vineyards is as laborious. Handcrafted in countless hours.

This vineyard used to be a fruit farm. After visits to the Wachau, which impressed Franz Pratzner very much, he and his wife Bernadette switched completely to viticulture in 1989. The Wachauer influence is still noticeable today in the assortment, because his favourite is the Riesling. Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon blanc, Gewürztraminer and Pinot Noir complete the range.

If one sees the massive rocks of the Ötztal Alps in the background, one cannot believe that there are on average 315 sunny days here. The dry primary rock soil and the sunny southern location therefore offer the best conditions for the closely planted vines in steep terraces between 550 and 900 m above sea level. 10-12,000 vines per hectare in Guyot education, with 4-5 different clones of each grape variety planted to suit the soil.

Approximately 90,000 bottles of wine per year come from about 12 hectares of vineyards. In addition to the production of white wines with a focus on Riesling, a small quantity of Pinot Noir is also cultivated. Another speciality of the house are pure grappas and noble brandies.

Franz and Bernadette Pratzner are fully committed to manual work, since 2003 all wines are vinified in the new cellar. The architecture of the cellar fulfils the wish of the old family to unite with the new, and so a rock cellar was created next to the modern part, where today the white wines mature in large 10-15 hl wooden barrels. Also here a little influence from the Wachau, the barrels of acacia wood. Meanwhile the two daughters Magdalena and Michaela support their parents. And just as Franz brought ideas from "good old Austria", Magdalena followed with ideas from his internship in Australia. There she was fascinated by the whole grape fermentation of the Pinot Noir and successfully realized it with her Vinschgauer Blauburgunder.

The wines of the Pratzner family are now among the finest in South Tyrol, numerous awards at home and abroad decorate the walls, from the coveted tre bicchieri of Gambero Rosso to the 5 grapes of Bibenda to high scores in Wein-Plus and Falstaff. SUPERIORE.DE