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Five vintners, one shared goal: to produce authentic wines.
Wines with Character From the mountain peaks to the vineyards
W With 35 hectares of vineyards, the mountain community of Fiè has grown to be a small, but outstandingly sweet, winegrowing area over the last few years. Five ambitious winegrowers - Markus Prackwieser from the Gump Farm, Otmar Mair from the Besserer Farm, Christoph and Andreas Mock from the Wasserer Farm, Stephan Pramstrahler from the Grottner Farm and Patrick Planer from the Prackfoler Farm – are making a name for themselves far beyond the confines of their land. For a few years now, some of them have been bottling their own wine, which has been well-received on the market. And to add to the merry band of
five, a sixth winegrower from the other bank of the Isarco Valley has just joined the group: Florian Unterthiner from the Ebner Farm in Campodazzo. The lowest-lying point of Fiè is at 315m, way down in the Isarco Valley. From here, the land stretches ever-upwards to the peaks of the Sciliar at 2,653m. Winegrowing looks back on a long tradition here on the slopes of the Isarco Valley, in Novale di Presule, Novale di Fiè and Passo, at an altitude of 300650m, and it is here, nestled in the steeply sloping vineyards, that the Fiè wineries are located. Sauvignon heads the list at 8 hectares, followed by Pinot »
Text: Herbert Taschler Photo: Helmuth Rier
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Blanc at 6.5, Müller Thurgau (4 hectares), Kerner (3.7 hectares), Gewürztraminer (2.6 hectares) and Chardonnay and Silvaner, with 1 hectare apiece. Pinot Noir heads the reds at just over 4 hectares followed by Trollinger, at 2.
MARKUS PRACKWIESER’S GUMP FARM The best-known of the Fiè winemakers is Markus Prackwieser from the Gump Farm. The vineyard is located in Novale di Presule on the steep slopes
at the entrance to the Isarco Valley, at an altitude of 350-550m. Markus produces Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, Trollinger and Pinot Noir on the five hectares of vineyard, with an incline of 50-70%. The young vintner took the vineyard over from his father in 2000, and has been pressing his own wine ever since. The wines from the Gump Farm are acclaimed both nationally and internationally, and the Praesulis line – the name comes from the nearby Prösels Castle – is particularly popular. From the very outset, Markus Prackwieser aimed to produce “Wine with character, wines that I myself can identify with one hundred percent”. The successful vintner strives to balance tradition and innovation and to offer his clients “exciting wines, which say something about their origins and about the winemaker”.
A WIDE RANGE AT THE BESSERER FARM At the Besserer Farm, in the immediate vicinity of the Gump Farm, Otmar and Rosmarie Mair have been producing their own wines since 1998 together with their sons Philipp and Hannes. From
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modest beginnings, the vineyard has increased production to 40,000 bottles per year. On the four hectares of steep slopes, the Mair family work with untiring commitment to produce high quality, natural wines. The unusual microclimate and the properties of the soil here provide the perfect conditions for a wine with character. All day long, the vineyards are exposed to the Mediterranean climate from the Bolzano valley basin, while at night they are aired by the cool winds of the Isarco Valley. A wide variety of grapes are grown here: Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner, Kerner, Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, Golden Muscat and Chardonnay as well as Trollinger and Zweigelt.
NEW LIFE AT THE WASSERER FARM The Wasserer Farm in Novale di Fiè has a long and eventful history behind it. It dates back to 1366, and was no longer farmed when the Mock family from the Mumelter-Farm in Coste, Bolzano took it over in 1996. Twin brothers Andreas and Christoph
took on the laborious task of renovating the old walls and transforming them into a winery and tavern. Andreas is the cook, Christoph is the farmer and cellar master. His goal – to produce “decisive, beautiful wines” is mirrored in the design and furnishings of the winery. “W” is central to the theme: “W” for Wasserer, for Wine, for Wonderful cuisine and, last but not least, Wholesomeness. Since 2013, a Sauvignon and a St. Magdalener from the Coste parcels have been pressed at the Wasserer Farm.
Proud of their wines: (From left to right) Markus Prackwieser (Gump Farm), Otmar and Rosmarie Mair (Besserer Farm), Christoph Mock (Wasserer Farm), Katharina Pramstrahler (Grottner Farm), Patrick Planer (Prackfol Farm) and Florian Unterthiner (Ebner Farm).
THE GROTTNER – VINEYARD WITH AWARD-WINNING CUISINE The somewhat higher-lying Grottner vineyard also dates back to the 13th century. Stefan Pramstrahler, restaurateur from Fiè and award-winning chef at the Romantik Hotel Turm, purchased the farm a few years ago, and transformed it into a historical gem. The old barrels are still housed in the ancient vaulted cellar, as testimony to long-gone days. Stefan Pramstrahler has been one of the Fiè winemakers ever since, and on the new plots of »
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Superb wine grapes thrive on the fertile slopes leading all the way up to the Isarco Valley.
Fiè allo Sciliar Winegrowers at a glance Besserer Farm Vineyard Otmar Mair Novale di Presule, 10 phone +39 0471 601011 www.bessererhof.it Ebner Vineyard Florian Unterthiner Campodazzo, 18 phone +39 0471 353 386 www.weingutebner.it Grottner Farm Vineyard Stefan Pramstrahler Piazza della Chiesa, 9 phone +39 0471 725 014 www.hotelturm.it Gump Farm Vineyard Markus Prackwieser Novale di Presule, 8 phone +39 0471 601 190 www.gumphof.it Prackfol Farm Vineyard Patrick Planer Aica di Sotto, 10 phone +39 0471 601 532 www.prackfolerhof.it Wasserer Farm Vineyard Christoph Mock Novale di Fiè, 21 phone +39 0471 724 114 www.wassererhof.com
the Grottner vineyard, he has been planting Sauvignon, Pinot Blanc, Gewürztraminer and Pinot Noir with great success, naming them with exotic Latin names of birds: Sauvignon Bubo, Gewürztraminer Tetrix, Pinot Blanc Pica and the Pinot Noir Corax. The Pramstrahler family have created a perfect merger of the 800 years of tradition at the Grottner Farm with modern design and innovative cellar techniques.
HOME-GROWN WINES AT THE PRACKFOL FARM Patrick Planer‘s Prackfoler Farm is located near Aica di Fiè on the sunny side of the Tires Valley, at an altitude of 600m, in a mild spot where fruit and wine grapes thrive. Marked temperature differences between day and night, and the moraine soil atop the Bolzano volcanic quartz porphyry, provide optimal conditions for the top-quality wines which have been produced at the Prackfoler Farm for generations. The Leita and Rachtl parcels stretch over the steep slopes facing the southwest and enjoy the warm winds from the Bolzano valley basin. Three hectares of Sauvignon, Trollinger and Pinot Noir are planted here and, since 2013, Patrick Planer has been bottling his own wine under the vineyard’s own label of “Weinhof Prackfol”. They are available for purchase in the farm
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shop alongside home-made jams, elderflower and raspberry cordials, herb cushions and lavender pouches.
EBNER FARM VINEYARD AND TAVERN The Ebner Farm vineyard lies at the foot of the Renon Mountain Plateau on a sunny ledge at 500m, overlooking the Sciliar and Fiè. Florian and Brigitte Unterthiner run the vineyard and the traditional Buschenschank tavern with great commitment, treating guests to a home-made wine that is laden with character and farmhouse cuisine with a sophisticated twist. The red varietals of Pinot Noir, Trollinger and Zweigelt grow on the warm, south-facing volcanic slopes, while the whites - Grüner Veltliner, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc and Sauvignon - thrive on the on the breezy south-east facing parcels, totalling 4.5 hectares, some growing on vines of over 40 years old. Since the 2013 harvest, the Ebner Farm has been bottling 20,000 bottles per year, wines which are appreciated across the board for their full-bodied character and length, juicy, minerality, elegance and inviting freshness. “Sustainability, quality and authenticity are not just qualities that we perceive. We live them first hand, and are delighted to pass them on to our guests,” says Florian Unterthiner with pleasure. «