Vigna

Vigna is the finest expression of "terroir" wines and an important element of Italian wine culture. It is an additional geographical indication and describes a strictly defined and geographically limited vineyard.

TERROIR OBLIGE

With its 20 hectares, the Vigna "Castel Ringberg" is the largest contiguous Vigna in Alto Adige and has been owned by the Walch family for about a century. The alternately moderately and steeply sloping vineyard is located at a unique geological interface of complex soils. Here lies the origin of many of Elena Walch’s award-winning wines of the greatest finesse and minerality.

Characteristics

Village

Caldaro

Altitude

330 - 400 m.a.s.l. / 1082-1312 ft

Orientation

South-East

Microclimate

Pronounced day-night temperature variations and strong winds.

Soil

Geological interface (dolomite, bald gravel, moraine deposits)

GRAPE VARIETIES

Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon, Riesling, Lagrein, Cabernet Sauvignon

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Microclimate

The Renaissance castle built by the Habsburg Dynasty in 1620 rides the green waves of the surrounding vineyards above Lake Caldaro. The microclimate at the ideal altitude of 330 to 400 m.a.s.l. provides optimal conditions for wines of incomparable character. The mild influence of Lake Caldaro pairs with the cool evening air and the strong afternoon wind from the south, the “Ora”, which helps keep the grapes dry. The resulting gentle, close-to-nature processing and the deliberately small-scale production of the Vigna “Castel Ringberg” vineyard wines are further important aspects contributing to the realization of extraordinary wines.

COMPLEX SOILS

Vigna “Castel Ringberg” offers an impressive diversity of rock varieties that are mirrored in the complexity of the wines. To the west, the dolomite rock of the Mendola ridge accompanies the vineyards; the steeper slopes are of 30,000 year old glacial gravel from the Adige River which flowed through the Ice Age landscape. Loose soils offer grapevine roots, especially those of the Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Lagrein varieties, optimal aeration. In the overlying layers, mostly thousand-year-old classical lime soils from the Mendola ridge alternate with spots of moraine deposits – rocks carried from as far away as the upper reaches of the Venosta valley by glaciers, further enhancing the composition of the soil.