Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours, led by Annette Schiller, took place from Sunday, September 06 - Sunday, September 13, 2026.
Being
the northernmost wine region of Italy, 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 tour we did not change
hotels. We stayed 7 nights at the famous, beautiful 5-star Art-Nouveau
style Parkhotel Laurin in Bozen.
See:
The program for the second day was:
(1) Visit of the Neustift Monastery. Founded in 1142, it is a huge complex and also home to one of the oldest active wineries in the world. Tour of the monastery, tour of the vineyards and tasting.
(2) Lunch way up in the mountains with a breathtaking view of the Alps.
(3) Tour and tasting at Kellerei Cantina Terlan & Kellerei Andrian, which is one of the leading cooperatives in Alto Adige. Winery tour and tasting.
At Cantina Terlan harvest was in full swing and we could witness the winegrowers delivering their fruit, Pinot Blanc.
(4) Lovely dinner in old town Bolzano
Cantina /Kellerei Terlan – Cantina /Kellerei Andrian
In 2008 two major coops merged: Cantina Terlan and Cantina Andrian. They are located on
opposite sides of the Adige river and there are striking differences in the glass between the
vineyards of Cantina Terlan and Cantina Andrian - mainly due to fundamentally different soils.
1. Cantina Terlan, Etschtal / Adige Valley
Cantina Terlan, founded in 1893 when twenty-four local growers banded together to escape the
domination of large landowners, is one of South Tyrol's pioneering wine cooperatives and today
counts more than 140 members farming roughly 475 acres along the Etsch (Adige) Valley near
Bozen.
The village of Terlan sits beneath the Tschöggelberg plateau, where volcanic quartz-porphyry
bedrock and sandy, mineral-rich soils create ideal conditions for white grapes. Viticulture here
traces back to pre-Roman settlements. While South Tyrol as a whole leaned heavily toward red wine
in the nineteenth century, Terlan distinguished itself early as white wine country, a focus the
cooperative has sharpened ever since; roughly seventy percent of its production is white today.
Its
flagship wines, the Sauvignon Blanc "Quarz" and Pinot Blanc "Vorberg," are prized for a rare
combination of concentration and remarkable longevity, with vintages known to age gracefully for
decades, a trait more commonly associated with fine red Bordeaux than everyday white wine. The
winery also produces a structured, complex Lagrein under its Porphyr label, showcasing its lesser-
known red side.
Winemaker Rudi Kofler, who took over cellar direction in 2002, revived the
traditional practice of extended lees contact and large-format oak fermentation, restoring a house
style built on patience rather than speed. A tasting at Cantina Terlan offers a benchmark
introduction to Alpine Italy's finest white winemaking.
2. Cantina Andrian, Etschtal / Adige Valley
Cantina Andrian, founded in 1893, holds the distinction of being the oldest wine cooperative in
South Tyrol, established in the same wave of grower solidarity that produced its neighbor and
eventual partner, Cantina Terlan. Located in the village of Andrian in the Adige Valley between
Bolzano and Merano, the cooperative farms around 200 acres of hillside vineyards on the valley's
western flank, at elevations between 800 and 2400 ft, where limestone-rich soils and a mild,
Mediterranean-influenced climate meet cooling alpine breezes.
In 2008 Andrian entered into an
alliance with Cantina Terlan, moving its grape reception and vinification to Terlan's modern cellar
facilities while retaining full independence in vineyard management, branding, and winemaking
philosophy, a structure the winery describes as "tradition in motion." White wines make up roughly
two-thirds of production, with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc thriving on the estate's chalky
sites, while red plantings concentrate on Pinot Noir, Merlot, and above all Lagrein, the deeply
colored native red grape for which Andrian became known through its pioneering Tor di Lupo
bottling, among the first Lagreins in Alto Adige aged in small oak casks.
Members of the Co-op Delivering Pinot Blanc
CellarTastingAlto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours: Already Released and Forthcoming Postings
Monastery Tour, Vineyard Tour and Wine Tasting at the Neustift Monastery in Brixen - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
Lunch at Granpanorama Hotel Sambergerhof, Famous for its Uninterrupted 54-kilometer Panoramic View of the Dolomites Chain - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
Tour and Tasting at Cantina Terlan and Cantina Andian, an Alto Adige Flagship Winery, while Farmers were Delivering their Fruit (Pinot Blanc) - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
Lovely Dinner in Old Town Bolzano at Franziskaner Stuben - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
Monastery Tour. Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Muri-Gries, the Historic Benedictine Monastery and Winery known for its Lagrein Wines, with Technical Director Manfred Bernhard - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
Tour and Tasting at Cantina Nals Margreid - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
Lunch at Gasthof Apollonia, a Michelin-rated Historic Inn up in the Mountains with Stunning Panoramic Views of the Dolomites and Traditional South Tyrolean Cuisine - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
Visit of Weingut Untermoserhof in St. Magdalena, with Current Owner and Winemaker Florian Ramoser and his Father Georg Ramoser - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
Winery Tour and Tasting at Azienda Agricola Foradori, the World-renowned Biodynamic Winery in Trentino, with Myrtha Zierock Foradori - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
Lunch at Enotheca della Valpolicella in Fumane with Valpolicella Wines, with Owner Ada Riolfi - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
Visit of Allegrini, a Benchmark Producer in the Valpolicella Classica Region, Tasting through Valpolicella Wine Pyramid: Valpolicella, Valpolicella Superiore, Amarone and Recioto - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
Tour of Verona with the Ancient Roman Arena that still hosts Summer Opera Shows and the Story of Romeo and Juliet - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
Tasting at Weingut Tiefenbrunner with Owner hristof Tiefenbrunner in Kurtatsch - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
Lunch and Tasting at Elena Walch at Castel Ringberg, Overlooking Lake Caldero - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
Dinner at Thaler Arome, an Upscale Rooftop Restaurant in the Heart of Bolzano - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
Cellar Tour and Tasting at Manincor, a Biodynamic Pioneer and Flagship Winery of the Region, with Owner Count Michael Goess Enzenberg - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
Lunch at Alpin Hut Oberholz up in the Dolomites 6300 Feet Above Sea Level - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
Tasting at Cantina Kurtatsch, a Premier Cooperative, with a Spectacular View of Adige Valley - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
Extensive Vineyard Tour, Tasting and Lunch at Alois Lageder, a Historic, Family-run Flagship Winery in Alto Adige, with Sarah Daval, Weinakademiker - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
Tour and Tasting at Tenuta Hofstätter in Tramin, a Flagship Winery of the Alto Adige Region, a Pioneer of Vigna (Single Vineyard) Classification in Alto Adige, with Fourth-generation Owner Martin Hofstaetter - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
Farewell Dinner at Restaurant 1500 (1 Star Michelin) up in the Vigiljoch above Lana (Reachable only by Cable Car), with Chef Daniel Sanin and Sous-Chef Jonas Graber - Alto Adige 2026 by ombiasy WineTours
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