Story: Kellerei Bozen | South Tyrol
Page: 3/3

Progress rhymes with sustainability
'Small winemakers for great quality'. This is how the 224 winegrowers who have made the Bolzano winery a benchmark for South Tyrol define themselves.

The headquarters of the Bolzano winery was completed in 2018, making it the first South Tyrolean winery to receive the prestigious sustainability certificate from the Ökoinstitut Südtirol. Both the external appearance and the processing of the grapes reflect the latest principles of sustainability. The above-ground part of the structure has the shape of a prism, which looks like a vine leaf thanks to the play of light and is perfectly embedded in the hilly landscape.

Production in the cellar, which is embedded in the slope, follows the principle of gravity. Grapes, must and wine glide gently down five levels without any technical aids. This saves energy and avoids the use of pumps or other machinery.

The building combines functionality and wine culture with ecological sustainability and landscape protection. The Bolzano winery is the first winery to be certified by CasaClimaWine®. No air cooling systems are required in the underground cellar vaults; the low temperatures are generated naturally. If heat is needed, however, it is generated with the help of solar collectors and pellet heat pumps.

A large workroom was built with the new facility. This makes it possible to process the grapes from different sites separately and thus bring out their respective characteristics better.

A quality project was launched in 1988 with the aim of producing excellent wines while respecting nature. It is a project for the enhancement of the vineyards and not only. All phases of production are subject to certain guidelines, especially the work in the vineyard. The 83 participating winegrowers meet strict quality requirements in terms of location, soil, planting density and age of the vines on 118 hectares of vineyards. In addition, the yield is reduced to 70 and 40 hectoliters/hectare (required for the production of the 'Riserva line').

'Protecting nature is one of the most important challenges we all have to face. The efficient use of existing resources and the commitment to sustainable production are just the beginning,' the members of the Bolzano winery assure us. Green manuring is practiced in the vineyards. This nourishes and detoxifies the plants and provides them with sufficient oxygen. As a result, beneficial insects also settle again. Naturally, only organic fertilizers are used. The use of plastic is to be gradually reduced and a switch made to increasingly biodegradable materials. - Gerardo [TS02/23]