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About Winery and Wines

Spreading palm trees and hardy conifers share the same piece of land here. Mediterranean southerlies, known as the Ora, compete with dry downslope winds from the north. A good place for growing grapes and making wine, as the ancient Rhaetians realized more than 2,000 years ago. The warming porphyry rock and steeply rising vineyards catch the sun by day and enjoy cool temperatures at night. With more than seven hundred years of viniculture behind it, the Kornell Estate has a long history, but the roots of wine growing in the area go back much further. In Settequerce we encounter traces of the Rhaetians and Romans at every turn. Finds of charred seeds, ladles and bronze vessels, hoes and pruning knives from the 5th to the 3rd centuries BC bear witness to a winemaking tradition and wine culture that go back thousands of years.

he Kornell assortment of white wines includes Pinot Bianco, Sauvignon Blanc and Gewürztraminer, with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Lagrein making up the reds. Following controlled fermentation in steel vats, they spend between 14 and 18 months aging in barriques and oak barrels and another ten months maturing in bottles. The family vineyards on the estate in Settequerce, at Appiano Monte and Gries near Bolzano provide the foundation for healthy grapes. The vines grow at between 270 and 550 meters above sea-level where – with more than 2,100 annual hours of sunshine and cool nights – they find optimum conditions for producing fully mature grapes. They grow on eroded quartz-bearing porphyry soils in Settequerce and calcareous clay soils at Appiano Monte. Add to that the south- to southwest-facing slopes, and you have ideal conditions for fine wines.