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Termeno, (Tramin in German), is a village located south of Bolzano.
In that very territory, the Raeti alpine population had already been making wine for centuries before the arrival of the Romans.

In 1898, at the time of the Hapsburg Empire, Christian Schrott, the parish priest and a member of the Austrian Parliament founded one of the first “Kellereigenossenshaft”, or “Social Cellars” of Südtirol. After 110 years, “Cantina Produttori di Termeno” has become one of the most important companies in South Tyrolean wine economy. It is supported by 300 winemaking members, who cultivate about 620 acres of vineyards near Termeno, Ora, Egna, and Montagna.

That area is famous all over the world as the very homeland of Gewürztraminer, improperly translated into “Italian aromatic Traminer”, as “spicy Traminer” would the correct definition (given its strong clove aroma). It is one of the oldest vines in the world (it has given rise, in fact, to a noble genealogy) and has found a most suitable habitat in the Sella micro-area.

The very place where the vineyards are grown can be found at altitudes between 820 and 2.788 ft; it’s entirely protected by Mount Roen (6.942 ft), the most important relief in the Mendola Mountain Range. Up there, green hills and mountains offer a remarkable temperature range: during the day, in addition to the hot sun, a moderate wind occasionally blows from Lake Garda, while at night the typical cold mountain air provides solace to the vines, boosting the mineral content of the grapes.
The soil is also very important: its well-balanced mix of clay, gravel, limestone and porphyry gives the grapes a particular complexity.

The company’s production philosophy is aimed at safeguarding and enhancing the local wine heritage, without altering the perfect balance with the surrounding environment; most of the vineyards, in fact, are cultivated with natural and organic techniques to thoroughly preserve this green and blue corner of South Tyrol.

Tramin was one of the first social wineries embrace eco-sustainable agriculture: to date, about 37 acres of its vineyards are cultivated according to organic and biodynamic regulations.

Since 2007, such pioneering choice has also been adopted to create the best wines obtained without any herbicide compound. All being well, the latter will soon completely disappear all over the 568-acre cultivation, thanks to each individual owner/farmer’s endeavour, sharing this green production philosophy and a larger and large scale.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)