St. Michael-Eppan

Grand and dignified, St. Michael-Eppan Winery has been enthroned in the center of South Tyrol’s most important wine-growing community for over a century. For more than two thousand years, wines have been grown in the area around Eppan, known for its ideal growing conditions, and it is these grapes that are being processed at St. Michael-Eppan Winery.

The 340 winemaking families that form the backbone of the winery joined forces in 1907 to create St. Michael-Eppan Winery. Their great passion is the wine with which they have been associated for generations. Offering knowledge, tradition and passion, each individual contributes to the fact that the winery is blessed with outstanding grapes, which are processed in the cellars with meticulous attention to detail and a great deal of skill.

The art-nouveau building has a striking appearance, resembling a castle surrounded by a green landscape of vines. Even back in those days, the farmers were eager to present themselves to unique visual effect. St. Michael-Eppan Winery has represented an exemplary symbiosis of tradition, craftsmanship and innovative winemaking technology for more than a century. It was in June 1907, a time of economic difficulty, that 41 brave Eppan farmers founded the cooperative winery.

The original building, which dates from 1909, has been continually expanded, redesigned, modernized and adapted to contemporary needs over the course of the decades. Thanks to the forward-looking functional architecture of the time and to strict technical guidelines in the cellar, the building as a whole and its characteristic traits still function today. The major reconstruction of 2000–2001 was a great event in the architectural history of the winery, as was the 2011 the establishment of the shop, Wine Time 2013

Appiano - at the doorstep of the Dolomites - with over 1,000 hectares of vineyards, is the largest South Tyrolean wine-growing municipality in the heart of Bolzano Province.
The 385 ha of vineyards of the winery’s 330 members are scattered across sunny slopes, where nature offers first-class conditions for outstanding wines.

The majority of Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon and Pinot Noir vineyards are located at an altitude between 400 and 700 metres, on the slopes at the foot of the Mendola massif, an area known as Monte Appiano.

Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and Gewurztraminer, instead, are cultivated on the hills that line the famous South Tyrolean Wine Road, surrounding the winery, at an altitude of 400 metres.

Our Riesling Montiggl comes to life from the grapes of a particular area that surrounds Lake Monticolo, at 550 metres.

The so-called “heroic viticulture” is practiced in places with a higher altitude, up to 900 m. It is from here that wines like Müller Thurgau and Riesling are born.

Our highly structured red wines come from vineyards in warmer areas. Our Lagrein starts its life in the Bolzano basin, whereas our Merlot and Cabernet vineyards are located along the South Tyrollean Wine Road between Lake Caldaro and Cortaccia.

The remaining vineyards are dedicated to our Schiava and are located in the historical Oltradige area.

“Quality knows no compromise." Over the years, the cellar master of St. Michael-Eppan Winery has always remained true to this principle. With passion, experience, courage and meticulous attention to detail, Cellar Master Hans Terzer has brought St. Michael-Eppan Winery to the vanguard of the Italian wine world in just a few years.

Among his greatest contributions is his varietal policy, which he has emphasized strongly in the last 30 years, “Each variety needs its own special site, and quality must be fine-tuned through yield.” This passion of his holds true for white wines and red wines alike.

What was incomprehensible at first to many parties concerned has ultimately proved to be correct: an uncompromising quality policy. Terzer took over responsibility for wine production in 1977, and the wines have become better and better since then – the success now clearly visible. The first highlight of his career was when the Italian wine magazine Il Gambero Rosso named him as one of the ten best winemakers in the world in 1997. Three years later, the winery itself was named Cantina dell'anno (Winery of the Year). For years now, Il Gambero Rosso has ranked St. Michael-Eppan Winery among the top ten wine producers in Italy.

Thanks to Hans Terzer’s creativity, St. Michael-Eppan Winery has also taken a pioneering approach towards its work: in fact, it was one of the first wineries in South Tyrol to begin maturing its wines in barriques. But that's not enough for Terzer, because he has no shortage of ideas about ways to improve. The ambitious winemaker is not resting on its laurels, but wants to keep moving forward: “There is still much to do. We need to further increase quality in order to achieve our goal: to become a global leader.

GRAVITATIONAL CELLAR
AND AREA OF CONFERMENT

The new 30,000 m³ gravitational cellar, completed in 2020, allows us to guarantee a modern and efficient processing of our grapes. We are thus able to optimise diversification and to process the different qualities individually in a very short time.

Stainless steel is indispensable for modern winemaking. It is the ideal material for both fermentation and preservation tanks, guaranteeing hygiene and cleanliness. Stainless steel facilitates a pure must and improved wine transformation, emphasising the freshness and aromas of the different varieties.