The budding phase started early. In April the temperature dropped and this slowed down the vegetative cycle. For this reason the harvest started later.

NATURNS (Province of Bolzano)

Azienda Agricola Falkenstein (Alto Adige Val Venosta DOC, Riesling, Pinot Bianco, Sauvignon, Pinot Nero): “…The harvest started on the 19t h of September and ended on the 4t h of November. The sequence of the varieties picked was: Pinot Nero, Pinot Bianco, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon for the production of passito, Gewürztraminer, Riesling. The ripening of the grapes was good, but this year it was a little slow. Therefore, we waited to harvest the Riesling grapes till the end of October, in order to have an optimal ripening. The grape yield was: Pinot Nero 5.5 tons/hectare; Pinot Bianco 8 tons/hectare; Sauvignon 7.5 tons/hectare; Gewürztraminer 6 tons/hectare; Riesling 7 tons/hectare. We use organic products in the vineyards, but we are not certified organic. The wines have nearly finished the fermentation (28/11). They are fresh with a good acidity and with a well structured aroma. We did not carry out a late harvest this year, but we produced a passito made with Sauvignon Blanc for the first time. 2016 is a very good vintage with many surprises of the climate. 2016 could be compared to 2013…”

SAN GIACOMO/LAIVES (Province of Bolzano)

Roman Mottironi of Azienda Agricola Putzenhof (Alto Adige Bozner Leiten DOC, Alto Adige DOC, Chardonnay, Lagrein, Pinot Nero, Sauvignon, Kerner): “..the harvest went well. It was quite rainy this year, but we did not have problems as the soils of our vineyards are quite sandy. We started picking on the 20t h of September, two weeks later than usual, and we finished at the end of October. The grapes were beautiful and healthy. The wines are very complex, fruity, supple, with a good acidity and pH. 2016 is a good vintage…..”

SANTA MARGHERITA DI ALA (Province of Trento): The winter was mild. There were snowfalls in March. From the 20th of May throughout June it was rainy. The weather was then well balanced and good in July, August and September. In August it was cooler with a good day/night temperature range.

Tiziano Tommasi – Azienda La Cadalora (Vallagarina IGT – Rosso, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Nero, Sauvignon Blanc): ”…2016 is a very important vintage for red and white wines. The sugar content and the acidity of the grapes were good. It is an excellent vintage: the wines are very rich, fragrant and very sapid. The white wines have a good alcohol strength and very good acidity and aroma. The red wines have an intense colour, very fine polyphenols, supple tannins. 2016 can be counted among the great vintages of the last ten years. The grape yield was lower in comparison to the previous vintages, but this favoured the structure and the flavour of the wines. The harvest was later this year, as the flowering phase started later (due to the cool weather in August). We picked the white varieties and Pinot Noir from the 10th till the 20th of September and we picked the red varieties from the 24th-25th of September till the first week of October. The harvest was very good as there was very little rain from August throughout the month of September, so that the vines continued to “work” well. The grapes were all healthy. I am very happy with the wines…”

VARNA (Province of Bolzano): There was little snow in the winter. In the springtime there was a lot of rain. The weather was perfect in August, September and October till the harvest. It was not too warm and during the harvest it was cool.

Tenuta Köfererhof (Alto Adige Valle Isarco DOC, Gewürztraminer, Kerner, Müller Thurgau, Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Silvaner, Veltliner): “…..at the end of September we picked Müller Thurgau. Kerner and Pinot Grigio were picked starting at the beginning of October till the end of the month. Veltliner, Sylvaner and Gewürztraminer were picked at the end of October. Riesling was picked at the beginning of November. The grapes were healthy, ripe, with ripe polyphenols. The grape yield was 8-10 tons/hectare. The wines are fruity with a good freshness and acidity. The alcohol strength is very well integrated. We produced the whole range of wines. 2016 is a very good vintage and can be compared to 2012…..”