Blog: St. Magdalener | Classic

St. Magdalener (Italian: Santa Maddalena) is a light, fruity and characteristically stylish red wine produced in the St. Magdalena growing region of South Tyrol from varieties of the Vernatsch grape. The history of this wine is documented for more than a century and is believed to date back to the Middle Ages. Traditionally, this South Tyrolean classic is a cuvee containing about five percent Lagrein grapes. These add color and structure to the wine, also known as the 'Queen of Vernatsch'. It is the classic Vernatsch wine from the area north of Bolzano. Lagrein may support Vernatsch, which is represented by at least 85 percent, in St. Magdalener. The addition 'classico' may be listed for St. Magdalener from the Lagrein sites St. Magdalener, St. Justina, Rentsch, Leitach and St. Peter.

St. Magdalener is made predominantly from the local Vernatsch grape. An addition of a maximum of 10% Lagrein is permitted and has tradition. The St. Magdalener wine is characterized by its ruby to garnet red color, which tends to brick red with age. Its aging is consistently dry, but it always remains supple and balanced in its content of tannin and acidity. Its typical taste and bouquet is delicately reminiscent of bitter almonds and impresses with finesse and delicacy. With age it gains in floweriness and balance. St. Magdalener has an alcohol content of at least 11.5%, an acidity of at least 4‰ and a dry extract content of at least 22‰.

Traditionally, St. Magdalener is cultivated as a mixed blend, which means that the Vernatsch grapes in the vineyard already contain about five percent Lagrein grapes, which are then vinified together. Nowadays, however, it is usually a cuvee in which Vernatsch and Lagrein are grown and vinified separately, and the two base wines are then blended together. - Gerardo [TS06/22]

"For me, Vernatsch is a great grape variety that receives too little attention. It is an excellent food companion - but it just does not fit the fashion of dark, heavy red wines." - Graf Franz Pfeil

"In fact, however, only 30% of South Tyrolean wine comes from a single grape variety: the Vernatsch (ital: Schiava). It is spread over almost the entire cultivation area and yields a velvety, light red wine that enjoys great popularity in South Tyrol as a classic 'Törggelwein' and abroad as an inexpensive 'Zechwein'. Depending on the origin or Cuvee, it also comes on the market as the so-called St. Magdalener." - Dr. Jens Priewe