Cantina Colterenzio

Colterenzio is one of the youngest wineries in Alto Adige and there is not just one family, but 300 who work in the vineyards all year round, delivering, autumn after autumn, precious grapes harvested strictly by hand. It should be highlighted that for many of these families viticulture is not the main occupation, but rather the main passion.

In 1960, 26 winemakers from Colterenzio founded their own cooperative near Appiano, thus becoming independent from the wine merchants who defined the prices at the time. This handful of "rebels" gave the newly founded cooperative the name of their land: the small village of Schreckbichl (in Italian Colterenzio), also playing a pioneering role in pursuing a quality path with great perseverance. Luis Raifer, set "fire in the dust" and in 1979 joined the cooperative as director. He brought with him a baggage full of ambitions, also following his study trip to California. It was the 1980s and Alto Adige was mostly a land of mediocre quality reds; Raifer, also a winemaker, recognized the potential of this land and its excellent wines and taking advantage of the favorable terroir, the adequate extension of the vineyard surface and the expertise of the local winemakers, he took the step forward. First of all, on his “Lafòa” farm, a hill kissed by the sun, he replaced the Schiava vines with those of Cabernet Sauvignon and subsequently with Sauvignon Blanc. He introduced an unprecedented quality standard, i.e. a smaller quantity of harvest, but with fine grapes, precisely for excellent wines. Thus a new dimension of quality began to take shape, right from its "pilot" vineyards with Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc.

Today this mentality is transmitted to everyone, experimenting with the creation of quality groups with new varieties. Even today, the winery's members and collaborators consistently pursue this model, both in the vineyard and in the production of all the wines. At the base of this whole project there are now 300 winemakers, that is, the members of the Colterenzio winery who, with their families, work all year round in the vineyards to obtain fine grapes, autumn after autumn.