All you need is a bit of courage, character, and joie de vivre. Our winery in Soprabolzano.
Our sunny mountainside vineyard
Winegrowing with a delicate touch
The Renon has been an ideal place to grow vineyards and produce wine since time immemorial. The idea to take a leap of faith and create a new winery in Soprabolzano wasn’t as farfetched as it may sound. Thomas Messner, born and brought up in Renon, didn’t have to think twice about it. In 2016, he started planting Pinot vines in an exposed, cool location, and then used their grapes to make Pinot noir, Pinot blanc, and Pinot grigio. The area, once home to a lordly estate, is now home to the Spornberg winery. We put extra care and love in tending the vineyards, opting for manual work whenever possible, and always favouring natural cycles. In other words, we only intervene when absolutely necessary. Nature does a marvellous job all on its own when given peace, quiet, and time. It teaches us novice winegrowers a thing or two every single day.
Plenty of sun, wine, and sandy clay soil is what a Pinot needs to thrive.
Our winery in Soprabolzano is located at 860 m above sea level, perched on an inclined, sun-kissed slope facing south. The Bolzano valley basin’s morphology ensures we get plenty of wind from down below, which is quickly warmed by the majestic and steep rocky walls of the Spornberg, which then funnels the wind down into our winery. The temperatures on the estate rise quickly, which favours the growth and health of the vines. The wind blowing on the Renon provides for a good ventilation of the exposed hills – the air and wind quickly dry the nightly dew on the vines, and the sun takes care of the rest of the humidity. Pest and fungi have no chance of taking over. This contributes to our extremely light footprint when taking care of the winery by, for example, avoiding chemical pesticides.
The Renon Earth Pyramids, just a stone’s throw from the winery, are indicative of the soil our Pinot grow on: clay, a remnant of the Ice Age moraines. The clay soil is ideal for storing humidity and is rich in minerals. Our wines benefit from these traits, boasting powerful fruity and mineral notes.
Ideal terroir for Pinot wines
From farmer to winegrower – never was a change so easy.
Has winegrowing always been in the Messner DNA? Far from it. Yet Thomas has always had a special connection with nature. After all, his family has a tradition of farming spanning many generations on the Renon. Before the Spornberg, Thomas reared animals. When he decided the Spornberg was going to be his next project, he preserved the former lordly estate and created something new out. Nowadays, it’s difficult to find Thomas anywhere but on the wine estate, and his passion and motivation – a trait people with a newly found passion often share – are infectious.
