schiller-wine: A Six-Wine Dolomite Flight with Alexandra Erlacher from Kellerei Andrian in Alto Adige at Chain Bridge Cellars in McLean, Virginia, USA (May 2026)

Great tasting of Alto Adige wines from Kellerei Andrian - Cantina Andriano, the oldest co-op of Alto Adige, with Alexandra Erlacher from Bolzano at Chain Bridge Cellars in McLean Virginia.

Alexandra is on a 2-week tour in the USA. In September, we will visit her at Cantina Andrian during a 8-day Alto Adige Tour by Ombiasy Public Relations and Wine Tours led by Annette Schiller. There are only 2 rooms left, a double room and a single-room (at the marvelous Art Deco Grand Hotel Parkhotel Laurin in the center of Bolzano).

Contact Annette for further information. See: Announcement: Small Group (12 people) Wine Tours to Europe (Italy and Germany) this Year (2026) by ombiasy WineTours with Annette Schiller https://schiller-wine.blogspot.com/2026/01/announcement-small-group-12-people-wine.html

A Six-Wine Dolomite Flight with Kellerei Andrian

Tuesday, May 12, 5:00, 5:45, and 6:30 pm

Then, on Tuesday, May 12, come soar to the heights of Italy's Dolomite Mountains with us and special guest Alexandra Erlacher of Kellerei Andrian. Your flight will featured wines you might expect from Alto Adige - Pinot Grigio, Pinot Bianco, Lagrein - and stunning surprises like beautiful Chardonnay, serious Lagrein Riserva and sweet Gewürztraminer Passito. All with captivating in-flight commentary from Alexandra!

Kelleri Andrian is one of Alto Adige's oldest cooperative wineries, founded in the late 1800s by the men and women who grew grapes along the floor and up the sides of the valley running from Bolzano towards Merano. Unlike Terlano, just across the same valley, the vines here are on warmer, sunnier, sites that give more ripeness to whites and make for deliciously rich reds. Alexandra will share the winery history and story along with the six wines.

The tasting is free – just RSVP for one of the three 45 minute sessions and sit back, relax, and enjoy your flight.

See the details and reserve your spots here.

As usual, when you come to CBC, you get to discover a big range of wines that are perfect for the most important palate of all: yours!

See you today, 3-7pm, Saturday, noon-4pm, and on Tuesday with Kelleri Andrian!

Doug House CBC Wine 'A Win in Every Bottle'

Cantina Andrian (Google AI)

The wines of Cantina Andrian (Kellerei Andrian) are made at Cantina Terlan (Kellerei Terlan).

The two historic South Tyrolean cooperative wineries entered into a strategic alliance and merged operations.

Key Details of the Partnership

The Merger: In 2008, Cantina Andrian merged with Cantina Terlan. Grape reception and vinification for both estates were moved under one roof at the Terlan facility.

Shared Winemaker: Both brands are oversaw by Terlan's highly respected head winemaker, Rudi Kofler.

Strict Separation: Though processed at the same physical facility, the production lines are kept strictly separate. This ensures that each winery retains its unique, historical identity and style.

Different Terroirs: The grapes are still harvested from their respective sides of the Adige river valley. Terlan’s vineyards are characterized by volcanic red porphyry soils, while Andrian's vineyards sit on limestone and dolomite soils. This distinct soil difference allows Andrian wines to maintain a softer, fleshier style compared to Terlan's high-acid, mineral-driven profiles.

Announcement: Small Group (12 people) Wine Tours to Europe (Italy and Germany) this Year (2026) by ombiasy WineTours with Annette Schiller

Dear wine lovers,

In many parts of the US it snows right now. I would like to brighten your snow days by telling you where and when you could explore gorgeous wine regions later in the year. I have planned 3 fantastic wine tours for 2026. These provide for great dreams of sunny, warm days, a swimming pool, and great wines to sip (ok, the wine you can also sip right now hunkering down in front of a fire place).

Tuscany: 11 days, 10 nights - Monday, June 08 - Thursday, June 18, 2026

Few regions evoke such a feeling of longing as Tuscany. And indeed, this region is unique with its blend of history, incredible scenic beauty, magnificent wines, outstanding food and its "Dolce Vita".Tuscany is located in Central Italy very roughly between Bologna and Rome and borders the Tyrrhenian Sea to the West with Florence as its most prestigious city and Siena, the historic Etruscan city. Tuscany is an absolutely beautiful landscape of rolling hills and incredible views. Most vineyards -except for the vineyards of Bolgheri and Maremma - are on relatively steep and abrupt hillsides. The hilly Tuscan vineyards are usually interspersed with olive groves, and forests. Most wine estates are fairly distant from the main roads and only accessible by winding dirt roads littered with potholes.

We will do winery visits and thorough tastings at top wine estates in the Chianti, Chianti Classico, Montalcino, Montepulciano, Bolgheri, and Maremma appellations.

The tour starts and ends in Florence. I booked accommodation in beautiful places: the first 4 nights we stay at a winery / hotel / restaurant in Panzano-Greve in the Chianti Classico appellation, the following 4 nights we also stay at a wine estate with accommodation and an on-site restaurant just south of the town of Montalcino, and the last 2 nights we can relax in a beautiful 5-star spa-beach-resort at the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea in the Bolgheri region.

Germany Classic: 12 days, 11 nights - Sunday, June 28 - Thursday, July 09, 2026

We will fully experience authentic Germany. We travel along the main Riesling wine arteries of Germany: the Rhine river, the Mosel river, and the Nahe river. We travel east of Frankfurt along the Main river to Bürgstadt to explore where phenomenal Silvaner and Pinot Noir wines are produced and will visit the Ahr wine region where Pinot Noir always was the main grape variety. On this tour we discover 7 of the 13 German wine regions: Franken, Rheinhessen, Rheingau, Mittelrhein, Ahr, Mosel, Nahe.

Roman, medieval, and modern history accompany us all the way and will help us to understand what German wine is all about. The beauty of the landscape, the steep vineyards, the romantic Rhein valley, the quaint villages, the stories behind the wineries and their families, and the gorgeous wines we will taste at world-renowned wine estates will give us a renewed understanding of German wines. Of course we also do a cruise on the Rhine river to experience the “German Rhine Romantic”.

The tour starts and ends in Frankfurt am Main. Accommodation will be in excellent 4+5 star hotels - all with air condition, which might come in handy during our summer travel time. However Germany never gets really, really hot and humid; it is a northern region with a moderate continental climate.

Trentino - Alto Adige: 8 days, 7 nights - Sunday, September 06 - Sunday, September 13, 2026

Being the northernmost wine region of Italy, Trentino -Alto Adige is a very special place where Italian and German traditions merge. It is a fascinating and unique region in the Alpes. It boasts of an extraordinary variety of landscapes: snow-capped mountains in the Dolomites, fertile valleys, streams, century-old breathtakingly beautiful towns true to their hybrid Germanic-Italian culture

During this wine tour we travel through 3 main valleys carved out by the rivers Adige (Etsch) and Isarco (Eisack). These valleys form a Y since in Bozen, the capital of the Alto Adige region, the Isarco joins the Adige. From Bozen we follow the Adige river further south and spend a day in Verona the city much beloved by Shakespeare who set more than just one play in this northern Italian town. We will use this opportunity to also visit some wineries where we taste the unique, delicious Amarone.

As the climate gets warmer cool-climate winemaking has captured the interest of both sides of the wine business: the industry and the consumer. The focus shifts more and more to higher altitude, cooler climate regions such as Trentino-Alto Adige in search of elegant, moderate alcohol wines.

This tour starts and ends in Bozen. During this tour we do not change hotels. I booked 7 nights at the famous, beautiful 5-star Art-Nouveau style Parkhotel Laurin in Bozen.

Please browse the website: https://ombiasypr.com/index.php Here you find all information how to sign up for securing your spot for the tours. The registration pages are online!

COSY UP WITH A GOOD WINE AND WATCH THE WORLD TURN WHITE.

CHEERS ANNETTE

WINE EDUCATION /// WINE TOURS

Annette Schiller, Diplom-Volkswirt

Professional Member and Wine Educator
American Wine Society AWS

German Wine Society, Capital Chapter
ombiasy PR, LLC
Washington DC - Frankfurt am Main
T: +1 (703) 459.7513
T: + 49 (0) 177.337.0281
aschiller@ombiasypr.com
web: ombiasypr.com
blog: schiller-wine.blogspot.com

Alto Adige in the Summer of 2025

From June 16 to July 3, 2025, Annette and I spent time in wine country Italy, including Alto Adige, by car. For an overview, go to: Wine Country Italy - Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige - in the Summer of 2025. Here are a few pictures from Alto Adige.