The "Landesweingut Laimburg" is located in the municipality of Pfatten at the foot of the Mitterberg mountain 17 km south of Bolzano in the Unterland region not far from Lake Kaltern in the Italian wine-growing region of
South Tyrol (
Trentino-South Tyrol region). The landmark and patron saint of the vineyard is the 13th-century castle ruins of Laimburg. The director and oenologist is Klaus Platter, with Urban Piccolruaz as cellar master. As part of the "Land- und Forstwirtschaftlichen Versuchszentrum Laimburg" (Laimburg Agricultural and Forestry Research Centre), the Landesweingut has been committed to South Tyrolean viticulture since 1975 and focuses on combining research and practice according to entrepreneurial criteria. Thus, part of the research in the area of "cellar management" is used for viticultural pilot projects and innovative developments. Since the construction of the "Felsenkeller" in 1989/90, the special enterprise of the Province of South Tyrol has also fulfilled a representative function. The vineyards of the Provincial Wine Estate cover 40 hectares of vineyards in all wine-growing areas of South Tyrol on estates with a wide variety of soils and locations between 200 and 750 metres above sea level. The white wine varieties Müller-Thurgau, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Goldmuskateller and Gewürztraminer are cultivated, as well as the red wine varieties Pinot Noir, Lagrein, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malvasia and Rose Muscat.
The wines are made from grapes grown in the estate's own vineyards in the DOC areas of South Tyrol and
Kalterersee. Fermentation is controlled by temperature and the wines are moved as little as possible. The quality wines are marketed stylistically in two lines; the proceeds from this are reinvested in research. The classic "estate wines" are wines traditionally aged in stainless steel, sometimes also in large oak barrels, and are typical of the grape variety. The "Burgselektion" (castle selection) stands for the particularly individual site wines, mainly aged in small or large wooden barrels, with Ladin names with strong characters from the mythical world of the Dolomites. When vinifying the wines, special emphasis is placed on the character of the South Tyrolean grape varieties and their sites.
With the recent discovery of 2,400-year-old grape seeds of the species Vitis vinifera in a Rhaetian settlement between the Laimburg castle ruins and the Landesweingut, the area is one of the oldest wine-growing regions in the German-speaking world. The ancient Roman road "Via-Claudia-Augusta" once passed by here, leading from the plains of the Po and the Adriatic to the Danube. Since the 1970s, the "Laimburg", together with its botanical gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle, has tried to do justice to this heritage. This is reflected in the cultivation of the vine of the autochthonous variety
Versoaln, which grows at Katzenzungen Castle in the municipality of Tisens/Prissian. With a canopy of 350 m², it is the largest and, with an age of 350 years, one of the
oldest vines in the world. In 2006, the Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle took over the sponsorship of this vineyard and, as a tribute to 3000 years of South Tyrolean wine culture, in addition to presenting the cultural landscape of the "South Tyrolean vineyard" with South Tyrol's autochthonous grape varieties, also created a walk-in treasure chamber with ancient grape seeds. The Provincial Winery is also an ideator and member of the Association of South Tyrolean Quality Wine Estates "Tirolensis Ars Vini" (Viticultori Sudtirolesi).
The foundation of the "Laimburg College for Fruit, Viticulture and Horticulture" in 1961, the "Experimental Cellar of the Province of South Tyrol" (later the Provincial Wine Estate) in 1968 and the "Laimburg Agricultural and Forestry Experimental Centre" in 1975 laid the foundation for a forward-looking structure in the development of quality in South Tyrolean agriculture: Today, the "Laimburg" stands for an interplay between an experimental and research centre, a production facility, a training centre and an advisory centre, and is at the same time a guarantor for modern mountain agriculture that produces
ecologically and economically with
sustainability.
