The Andrian winery

In the early 1990’es the oldest cooperative winery in Alto Adige decided to process the grapes received from the two members who were already practising organic viticulture at the time  - Baron Paul Kripp and Paul Spornberger - separately, and to offer them for sale as an organic range. This range currently consists of two white wines - Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio, as well as of two reds – Schiava and Lagrein. Annual production is currently around 25.000 bottles. The wines are certified organic according to the Bioland guidelines, they are sold primarily in organic and specialist wine retail outlets, most of this in Alto Adige, with the remainder being exported to Germany. „The Italian market for organic wines is practically non-existent“ says general manager Paul Tauferer. The four wines produced by this winery a pleasant, very typical wines from Alto Adige, and deserve more attention than they are currently receiving.

The Andrian winery

The Solos project of the Kaltern winery

The Solos project initiated by the Caldaro/Kaltern cooperative winery goes a step further than that of the Andrian cooperative. This project grew out of a plan to create a top quality range of wines. For this purpose the vineyards of the Castell Giovanelli, 1,7 hectares in extent, and located above the town of Kaltern, were leased in 2002. Over time, this quality wine project has developed to become a biodynamic project. Cellar master Helmuth Zozin was convinced from the outset that really good grape quality can only come from healthy and robust vines, and he has always encouraged the implementation of all methods that will promote this. By now the Solos project encompasses a total of 12 hectares in some of the best vineyard sites around Lake Caldaro. Six members of the cooperative implement biodynamic guidelines in working these vineyards. I was able to accompany one of these members, Andreas Dichristin, on a visit to the converted vineyard parcels, and to discuss biodynamic methods with him extensively.

Where the Solos project started off: Castel Giovanelli

Naturally, unless you have a particularly dry climate, which Alto Adige clearly does not, one of the main problems is fungal infection. Both conventional and organic viticultural practises rely on copper-based products to combat this problem. As copper is a heavy metal that tends to accumulate in the soil, organic guidelines restrict its use to a maximum of three kilogrammes per hectare per annum. This restriction can be quite a problem for organic producers in difficult years. The biodynamic alternative is aimed at reducing the dependence on copper products, using alternative products, in combination with efforts to make the vines stronger and more resistant. Andreas Dichristin sprays clay onto the plants, which has the effect of drawing out excess water, and has thus managed to reduce the use of copper to 1 to 1,2 kilogrammes in recent years. When I mentioned these figures to some other organic producers they shook their heads in disbelief. Most of them were convinced that this level was simply too low for the conditions in Alto Adige. However, as Dichristin points out: „that is one of the greatest differences in the bio-organic versus the bio-dynamic approach. The former often unfortunately only seeks to replace chemical synthetic plant chemicals with natural chemicals. No doubt that is good for the environment. However, these substances do not promote the health of the vines, nor do they contribute to the balance in soil composition. The plant remains dependent on measures used to combat diseases, and if organic guidelines only permit the use of copper-based treatments then it can certainly be difficult to stick to the permitted levels in a difficult vintage. On the other hand, a healthy, robust plant is much more resistant to attack by fungi, and therefore requires less protection.“

Initiated the Solos project: Helmuth Zozin

Another factor Andreas Dichristin considers to be vital is to ensure the vines develop deep roots in the soil. This has two effects: the plant sources its nutrients, which become the flavour in the grapes, from deeper layers, „those layers one can truly describe as being terroir“ and „the plant becomes more resistant to long periods of drought as well as to excessively heavy rainfall. We still have the installations for irrigation in the vineyards, but“ so says Dichristin, „we have not used them anymore for a number of years.“ The deep roots thus provide a more consistent growth, which is less dependent on weather conditions, which again has a positive effect on the vitality of the vine. The aim is “to produce balance within the plant, which ensures consistent yields over the years, which means we do not have to thin out part of the crop. Any cutting out of grapes, just as the pruning of leaves, is an intrusion on the development of the plant, which it has to compensate, this takes energy and is thus a negative influence on the vitality of the vine and on the health and quality of the grapes produced.“

As far as the terroir character of the wines is concerned, the Solos project, superficially considered, produces an apparently contradictory picture: the classical red wine of the region the Kalterersee/Lago Caldaro is considered by most critics to be an atypical representative of the variety. Its colour is rather deep, it is a little more crisp and also austere in its taste than one generally expects from a Kalterersee wine. „But that is simply what the Schiava grape produces in these sites above the lake, if you allow the vine to develop deep roots, and you do nothing else to interfere with nature, and then ferment the must using natural wild yeasts. In reality, you cannot be more typical than that.“ And I have to agree with Andreas Dichristin on this point. The ‚Solos‘ is no mild, soft Kalterersee wine, it is elegant with mineral tones, and slightly austere. When tasting the wine I was immediately reminded of the Schiava/Vernatsch ‚Gschleier‘ produced by the Girlan winery. While the ‚Solos‘ does not have the depth or maturation potential of this wine (and admittedly also not the same price level!), there are certainly some similarities. The ‚Gschleier‘, too, is produced from very old Schiava vines with very deep root systems, and is also frequently described as „atypical“ by critics. But even this “non-typicalness” will not cause any critic to deny the undoubted quality of the ‚Gschleier‘. Perhaps we will in future simply have to reconsider our definition of what makes up a typical Schiava wine.

The six members involved in the Solos project

Back to biodynamic soil treatment. By now practically no fertilisation is necessary in the vineyards used fort he Solos project. „I do still produce compost, and this is mixed with biodynamic products, but this is used primarily as material that provides information fort he production of organic topsoil, and not for any inherent effect it has.“ Only two kilogrammes of compost are used on a surface area of around 7000 square metres. „That is so little it is actually difficult to spread this amount evenly.“ The compost, together with the other products, “provides something like an ideal picture for the soil. The soil is expected to acquaint itself with this model, and to produce similar topsoil itself. Topsoil (humus) has the ability to bind nutrients and water, and to make these available to the plant when it needs them, which is a contrast to the water-soluble saline-based fertilisers that the vine has to take up automatically with the water, whether it needs them or not, which in turn leads to unbalanced growth and to inferior quality.“

Naturally, some of the growers involved in the Solos project have also had to get used to these concepts, and many of them were initially highly skeptical. The grower responsible for working the vineyards at Castell Giovanelli, Paul Dissertori, was initially a person who worked totally with conventional methods, but his attitude was open: „I will do what you tell me to do, and if in two years time we find the grapes are rotting away we will simply start spraying again.“ In the meantime he has converted his own vineyards to biodynamic principles. Thus the practical results and successes have made the holding of turbulent and sometimes very emotional discussions superfluous.

Apart from the Kalterersee/Caldaro wine, the Solos project currently also produces a white blend consisting of Pinot Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, a fruit-driven wine with mineral notes and a pleasant and evident acid structure. Currently maturing in the cellars at the Caldaro cooperative are Lagrein, Cabernet and Merlot wines that will soon be added to the Solos range.

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