Vierstellige Höhenangaben sind für Weinberge selten. Der Weinhof Calvenschlössl in Latsch in der Gemeinde Mals hat mit einem Weingarten auf 1000 Metern Höhe angefangen und ist 2013 sogar noch einen Schritt weiter gegangen. Oder besser: höher. Auf 1350 Metern wurde im Klosteranger der Benediktinerabtei Marienberg Europas höchster Weinberg angelegt. Das „Berg“ im Weinberg ist hier also durchaus wörtlich zu nehmen.
2004 hat Hilde Van den Dries das Calvenschlössl erworben. „Unmittelbar danach kam bei uns auch schon der Wunsch auf, biologisch hochwertigen Wein anzubauen“, so Van den Dries. Das ist leichter gesagt als getan, sind die Hänge ums Haus doch nicht nur steil, sondern liegen auch noch auf Höhen zwischen 970 und 1005 Metern über dem Meer.
Allerdings erweisen sich die extremen Lagen auch als Glücksfall. Die Südausrichtung beschert den Trauben Sonne satt, die Höhe kühle Nächte, woraus sich Trauben mit hohem Zuckerwert und markanter Säure ergeben. Zudem setzt man in den beiden Weinbergen nicht nur auf widerstandsfähige Rebsorten, auf Solaris, Souvignier Gris, Zweigelt und Cabernet Cortis etwa, sondern auch auf einen achtsamen Umgang mit der Natur und daher auf eine ganzheitliche Wirtschaftsweise.
Diese gilt auch im Keller: „Die Kraft der Spontangärung durch die natürlichen Hefestämme der Trauben verleiht unseren Weinen ihre unverkennbare Finesse und ihren einzigartigen Charakter“, ist Hilde Van den dries überzeugt. Die Höhe ist also nicht die einzige besondere Zutat im Wein vom Weinhof Calvenschlössl in Latsch.
Four-star ratings are rare for vineyards. But the Calvenschlössl Winegrowing Estate in Laudes in the community of Malles began with a vineyard at 1,000 meters and even went a step further in 2013. Or, to put it better, higher. In the monastery meadow of the Benedictine Abbey of Marienberg, Europe’s highest vineyard was planted. The German word for vineyard is Weinberg, meaning wine mountain, and that can completely be taken literally here.
In 2004, Hilde Van den dries acquired the Calvenschlössl castle. “Immediately afterward, the desire came upon us to make top-quality organic wine,” Van den dries says. But that is easier said than done, since the slopes around the house are not only steep, they also are situated at elevations between 970 and 1,005 meters above sea level.
In any case, the extreme locations have also turned out to be a stroke of luck. The southern exposure bestows upon the grapes ample sunshine, the elevation provides coolness, from which grapes with high sugar levels and prominent acidities result. In addition, in both vineyards the focus is not only on resistant grape varieties such as Solaris, Souvignier Gris, Zweigelt, and Cabernet Cortis, but also on careful dealings with nature and thus on a holistic method of agriculture.
And that also holds true in the winery. “The energy from the spontaneous fermentation from the natural yeast strains of the grapes lend our wines their unmistakable finesse and their unique character,” Van den dries is convinced. The elevation is therefore not the only special ingredient in the wine from the Calvenschlössl Wine Estate in Laudes.
È raro che per dei vigneti si registrino quote altitudinali a 4 cifre. L'azienda Calvenschlößl di Laces, nel Comune di Malles, ha cominciato la propria attività a 1.000 m s.l.m., ma nel 2013 ha fatto un ulteriore passo. O meglio: un passo più in alto. La vigna più "alta" d'Europa è stata messa a dimora a 1.350 m s.l.m., nella proprietà dell'Abbazia benedettina Marienberg, che è davvero molto erta.
Nel 2004, Hilde Van den Dries ha acquistato la tenuta Calvenschlössl. "Subito dopo abbiamo pensato di produrre vino biologico di qualità" - così Van den Dries. Più facile da dire che da fare: i vigneti non solo sono erti, ma sono anche distribuiti ad altitudini comprese tra i 970 e 1.005 m s.l.m.
Queste condizioni estreme si sono rivelate però anche un vero colpo di fortuna. L'esposizione a sud garantisce un "pieno" di sole alle viti e data l'altitudine le notti sono fresche: questi forti contrasti favoriscono un notevole accumulo di zuccheri e la formazione di un'accentuata acidità negli acini. In entrambe le vigne, inoltre, si punta non solo a vitigni PIWI (resistenti alle malattie fungine) - Solaris, Souvignier Gris, Zweigelt e cabernet Cortis, ma anche ad un cauto approccio alla natura. La coltivazione può quindi essere definita "olistica".
La stessa filosofia si segue anche in cantina: "La forza della fermentazione spontanea innescata dai ceppi naturali di lievito conferisce ai nostri vini l'inconfondibile raffinatezza e il carattere unico" - sottolinea Hilde Van den Dries. L'altitudine non è quindi l'unico ingrediente particolare del vino dell'azienda biologica Calvenschlössl di Laces.
Four-star ratings are rare for vineyards. But the Calvenschlössl Winegrowing Estate in Laudes in the community of Mallesbegan with a vineyard at 1,000 meters and even went a step further in 2013. Or, to put it better, higher. In the monastery meadow of the Benedictine Abbey of Marienberg, Europe’s highest vineyard was planted. The German word for vineyard is Weinberg, meaning wine mountain, and that can completely be taken literally here.
In 2004, Hilde Van den driesacquired the Calvenschlössl castle. “Immediately afterward, the desire came upon us to make top-quality organic wine,” Van den dries says. But that is easier said than done, since the slopes around the house are not only steep, they also are situated at elevations between 970 and 1,005 meters above sea level.
In any case, the extreme locations have also turned out to be a stroke of luck. The southern exposure bestows upon the grapes ample sunshine, the elevation provides coolness, from which grapes with high sugar levels and prominent acidities result. In addition, in both vineyards the focus is not only on resistant grape varieties such as Solaris, Souvignier Gris, Zweigelt, and Cabernet Cortis, but also on careful dealings with nature and thus on a holistic method of agriculture.
And that also holds true in the winery. “The energy from the spontaneous fermentation from the natural yeast strains of the grapes lend our wines their unmistakable finesse and their unique character,” Van den dries is convinced. The elevation is therefore not the only special ingredient in the wine from the Calvenschlössl Wine Estate in Laudes.