Cantina Tramin
In Italy's northernmost wine region, Alto Adige, the best features of both Italian and Austrian history, culture and lifestyle seamlessly blend together. The wines of the region are also apt to communicate the ability of both countries to produce gastronomically world-famous noble drinks. The vineyards located on the slopes of the Dolomites rise from 250 to 850 meters above sea level. The grapes growing on them express their northern origin with their aromaticity caused by temperature fluctuations between nights and days. Fresh acidity and precision are also brought to the wines by the limestone vineyards that serve as their growing medium and the cooling Ora wind blowing from Lake Garda.
The story of Cantina Tramin, one of the best cooperatives in the region, began in 1889 with the dream of Christian Schrott, a priest who belongs to the Austrian parliament, to bring the results of the work done by the winegrowers of the unique church village to the general public. At the end of the century, the low price level of wines threatened the livelihood of many local farmers, which is why Schrott decided to unite the farmers by creating a cooperative that would guarantee the farmers an annual income. The crisis threatening the region gave birth to a solution that still holds true, because the same promise and dream is at the heart of Cantina Tramin's operations even today, when its community of 165 winegrowing families produces internationally recognized and valued wines on the 270 hectares they cultivate. The health and quality of the nurseries is carefully taken care of by hand, and no herbicides are used at all. The selections include numerous local and international varieties, and especially the wines made from the Gewürztraminer variety have made the farm famous.
In the Alto Adige region, there are about 5,000 hectares of vines, and the same number of farmers working on them. So it's a very fragmented production. Often, cooperatives focus on the production of inexpensive bulk wine, but at Cantina Tramini, the decision was made with the knowledge of 1980 to do otherwise. Most of the farmers' red orchards were changed to white varieties and the cellar was refurnished for the production of quality wines. In 2010, a new winery was opened, where today especially high-quality, aromatic and complex white wines are produced.
Willi Stürz, who in 2004 was chosen as the best winemaker in Italy, has been the winemaker of the estate for more than 25 years. Thanks to him, one of Cantina Tramin's wines, Epokale 2009, made from late-picked Gewürztraminer grapes, was the first Italian white wine to earn a full 100 points from The Wine Advocate.
https://cantinatramin.it/en/home-english/
