Q&A …with Thilo Neumann, owner of the narrowest house in South Tyrol

Q&A

… with Thilo Neumann, owner of the narrowest house in South Tyrol

The narrowest house in South Tyrol can be found in Chiusa/Klausen. It was first entered in the land registry in 1418.

First floor

1: Balcony

2: Kitchen – 8.97 m 2

3: Hallway – 9.04 m 2

4: Living room – 12.58 m 2

Length: 14.22 m 1

2

3

4

Mr Neumann, what kind of house is this? It’s a house in the historic city centre in the upper town of Chiusa/Klausen. It dates back to the 13th century. Today it is a holiday home, and it has fully preserved the charm of days gone by, when Chiusa was an artists’ colony. It is only three metres wide; the 100 m of living space are spread across five storeys.

And what is living in it like? Excellent! Much better than in all those boring perpendicular, modern flats. What’s the story behind the building? The house was built in a time when a lot of ore was mined in nearby Tinnetal Valley. The miners’ homes were built in the first broader spot: in Chiusa. The first entry in the land registry is from 1418. My father bought the house in 1972.

Thilo Neumann inherited the building from his father. He and his partner, Petra Tischendorf, love the house; they find new houses boring.

PR INFO

Excellent Wines from Eisacktal Valley

Eisacktal Valley is Italy’s northernmost wine-growing area. Its geographic location makes these wines truly special. A cool climate, major differences in temperature between day and night, high altitude, the late grape harvest, and light soil turn the grapes into fresh and fruity varieties with hints of minerality and a distinctive taste.

The wine-growing region of Eisacktal Valley stretches from the Varna/Vahrn municipality north of Bressanone/Brixen to the Renon/Ritten plateau in the south. The amount of precipitation is very low for an Alpine region, and there are many hours of sunshine, which makes it possible to grow grapes at altitudes as high as 400 to 850 metres above sea level. The conditions are perfect for white varietals in particular, and a total of 86 percent of the grapes harvested in the valley are white. Historically, however, the region has a long tradition of red wines, with red grapes being the most commonly grown variety until way into the 20th century. Only during the last couple of decades did local farmers and winemakers find that the climate of the valley was far more suitable for white varieties.

Today, seven white varietals are marked with the designation of origin “Südtiroler Eisacktaler” (German for: Eisacktal Valley, South Tyrol): Sylvaner, Müller-Thurgau, Gewürztraminer, Veltliner, Ruländer, Kerner, and Riesling. Klausner Leitacher, a cuvée, is the only red varietal to bear the Eisacktal Valley designation of origin.

LONG TRADITION MEETS INNOVATIVE WINEMAKERS Early evidence suggests that Eisacktal Valley has been a wine-growing region since the 5th century B.C. During the early Middle Ages, local monasteries played an important role in wine-making. The winery of the Neustift Monastery situated north of Bressanone is a prime example of this. The monastery has been producing wine since 1142, and still keeps up the tradition. In the 1960s, demand for local wines increased significantly. The winegrowers started forming cooperatives and expanded their growing areas, building highly complex terraced vineyards along the valley slopes, which have become a characteristic part of the landscape.

Two large wineries and 18 small-scale winemakers process local grapes and wines in the modern day and age, among them Cantina Valle Isarco/Eisacktaler Kellerei, a cooperative with 130 members, the long-standing, 876-year-old Cantina dell’Abbazia/Stiftskellerei Neustift, and the young and innovative “Freie Weinbauern” (German for “Free Winemakers”).

AWARDS AND REPUTATION Local winemakers, restaurateurs, and tourist associations founded the eisacktalWein organisation in 2015 to boost internal and external activities of this wine region. A highly successful mission: The wines produced in the valley have gained an excellent reputation, and the ever-growing number of self-reliant and self-marketing winemakers contributes significantly to the diversity and popularity of wine-making in Eisacktal Valley.

It is not for nothing that Eisacktal Valley is now considered one of the best growing regions for white varietals in Italy: its wines have received many awards from renowned wine publications like Italian wine bibles including Bibenda, Gambero Rosso, and L’Espresso and international wine guides such as Robert Parker, Wine Enthusiast, or Wine Spectator.