Summary
Kellerei Kurtatsch (in Italian, Cantina Cortaccia) is one of the oldest and most renowned wine cooperatives in South Tyrol. Founded in 1900, it today unites around 190 member families who together farm roughly 190 hectares of vines around the village of Kurtatsch in the Unterland. Its great distinguishing feature is the enormous altitude range of its vineyards: they reach from about 220 up to some 900 metres – a difference of nearly 700 metres in a single wine village, which the winery describes as unique in Europe. This makes it possible to grow each grape variety on its optimal site: powerful reds such as Cabernet, Merlot and Lagrein in the warm lower sites, and fresh whites and aromatic varieties in the cooler high sites.
History
The estate's roots reach back to 1900, when growers in Kurtatsch joined forces to form a cooperative – at a time when the cooperative idea was just taking hold in South Tyrolean viticulture. The estate was founded in the Renaissance manor of Freienfeld, whose name still crowns the house's top wines today.
Over 125 years the cooperative has grown from a local alliance of small family farms into one of the most respected addresses in South Tyrol. In 2025 the winery celebrated its 125th anniversary – an occasion that underlines the continuity and family character of the house: to this day around 190 small member farms stand behind the shared cellar project. A change in the cellar – the long-serving cellar master Othmar Donà handed over to Erwin Carli after three decades – also marked a gentle generational shift meant to connect tradition and future.
Location & Terroir
Kurtatsch lies in the South Tyrolean Unterland, right on the South Tyrolean Wine Road south of Bolzano. What defines it is the extreme diversity in the tightest of spaces: the vineyards climb from about 220 metres on the valley floor up to some 900 metres on the slopes. This difference in altitude of nearly 700 metres within a single wine village is, according to the winery, unique in Europe.
The result is an exceptional mosaic of microclimates and soils. The warm, sun-blessed lower sites – such as the Brenntal site north of the village, among the warmest spots in South Tyrol – are ideal for heat-loving red varieties and for aromatic Gewürztraminer. Higher up, where the nights are cool and the temperature swings large, fresh, finely structured whites with lively acidity thrive. So on these steep slopes almost every grape variety finds its ideal terroir.
Style & Philosophy
Kellerei Kurtatsch sees itself as a terroir producer: the aim is to make each site as clearly recognisable in the glass as possible. Rather than uniform bulk wine, the cooperative focuses on characterful wines that carry the signature of their site – from accessible estate and village wines through to the single-site Riserva wines of the top line.
The basis for this is the consistent matching of each grape variety to its optimal position along the altitude axis. The small-scale structure of around 190 family farms, with much hand work in often steep vineyards, shapes the character of the house as much as its commitment to sustainable practices. The result is whites with freshness and precision and reds with ripeness, structure and ageing potential.
Notable Sites & Wines
The range is clearly tiered – from accessible varietal wines to the single-site Riserva wines. Among the best-known wines and sites are:
- Freienfeld – the house's top line, named after the founding manor; Cabernet and Chardonnay Riserva, bottled only in the best vintages
- Kirchhügel – a powerful Cabernet Riserva with aromas of black berries, pepper and herbs
- Brenntal – Gewürztraminer Riserva and Merlot Riserva from one of the warmest sites in South Tyrol
- Sonntaler – Vernatsch (Schiava) from old vines, a classic of the native variety
- Plus a broad range of Weißburgunder, Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Pinot Grigio, Müller-Thurgau as well as Lagrein and Blauburgunder (Pinot Noir)
Awards
As one of the most tradition-rich cooperatives in South Tyrol, Kellerei Kurtatsch regularly earns good to very good scores in the leading wine guides and international tastings, among them Falstaff and James Suckling. Its single-site Riserva wines from the Freienfeld, Kirchhügel and Brenntal lines are among the prized flagships of the South Tyrolean Unterland, and show the potential held in the exceptional altitude range of the Kurtatsch vineyards.