Summary
Kellerei Nals Margreid is one of the most respected co-operative wineries in Südtirol (Italian: Alto Adige). Around 140 small grower families together farm about 160 hectares of vineyards that run through the Adige valley from Nals in the north to Margreid in the south – at altitudes of roughly 200 to 900 metres. From this mosaic of small high-altitude parcels come, above all, precise and site-driven white wines. Its best-known flagship is the Sirmian Pinot Bianco from the steep sites above Nals, counted among the finest white wines in Italy.
History
The winery's roots reach back to 1932, when growers in Nals (Italian: Nalles) in the Adige valley joined together to form a co-operative. The aim was to pool the grapes of many small family holdings and vinify them together – a model that still shapes winemaking in Südtirol today.
The decisive expansion came in 1985 with the merger with the Kellerei Margreid in the south of the growing area. Since then the house has traded as "Kellerei Nals Margreid", uniting under one roof vineyards spread across a wide stretch of the Südtirol section of the Adige valley. Out of that merger has grown a co-operative of around 140 member growers, one that consistently puts quality before volume.
Location & Terroir
The co-operative is based in Nals, around 13 kilometres north-west of Bolzano in the Meran and surroundings area. The vineyards stretch through the Adige valley from Nals in the north down to Margreid in the south – some 160 hectares in all. What matters most is the enormous span of altitudes: the vineyards sit between about 200 and 900 metres.
This vertical range is the co-operative's real asset. Cooler, high-lying parcels yield fresh, aromatic white wines with lively acidity, while warmer sites on the valley floor ripen fuller wines and the red varieties. Add to that a variety of soils and the large day-to-night temperature swings typical of Südtirol, which give the wines their freshness and aromatic precision.
Style & Philosophy
The focus at Nals Margreid is clearly on high-quality, site-driven white wines. The goal is to capture the origin of each altitude and parcel as precisely as possible in the bottle – with freshness, clear fruit and mineral structure as the common thread. The co-operative works closely with its member growers to get the best out of the grapes from every plot.
Alongside the whites – Weißburgunder, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Gewürztraminer, Riesling and Müller-Thurgau – the range also includes reds such as Vernatsch (Schiava), Lagrein, Blauburgunder (Pinot Nero) as well as Merlot and Cabernet. All the wines carry the Südtirol DOC / Alto Adige DOC origin.
Notable Sites & Wines
The range is clearly tiered – from varietal estate wines to the single-vineyard and premium bottlings. Among the best-known lines are:
- Sirmian Pinot Bianco – the flagship, from steep sites above Nals at around 500 to 700 metres altitude
- Baron Salvadori – the house's premium line
- Mantele – a Sauvignon from the single-vineyard programme
- Punggl – Pinot Grigio
- Stein – Sauvignon
- Galea – a red made from Vernatsch (Schiava)
These wines show the full breadth of the co-operative, from fresh, precise whites to characterful reds from the Südtirol stretch of the Adige valley.
Awards
The biggest flagship is the Sirmian Pinot Bianco, awarded the coveted Tre Bicchieri by Gambero Rosso and regularly counted among the best white wines in Italy. That recognition underlines what the co-operative model achieves here: from the grapes of many small high-altitude growers come wines of great precision and consistency – proof that in Südtirol, co-operative and top quality can go hand in hand.