For Cantina Girlan this is a special year. In a few days, in fact, the historic South Tyrolean reality, based in Cornaiano (Bz), will celebrate the first centenary of its birth with some initiatives in the cellar with its members. An important milestone for a company that has grown steadily in terms of production, quality and image since the first post-war period.
It was 1923 when 24 winemakers founded it around a 16th century farm, with the aim of producing and marketing wine together, realizing the need and the power of sharing to add value to their work. Today, that forward-looking project is being renewed by 200 members who, with an eye to the future and roots anchored in the past, work 220 hectares of land located in the best production areas of Oltradige and Bassa Atesina. A large family of producers united by the same passion and a sense of belonging to their place of origin. An essential bond that is expressed in every bottle of Cantina Girlan where the history and culture of this land, the climate, the soil, the traditions are told. But also the tenacity of the farmers and the initiative of the producers. The result is deeply territorial wines with a strong personality, declined in the four lines (Classici, Vigneti, Flora and Solisti) which interpret the typical character of the historic vines of Alto Adige, such as Pinot Bianco, Pinot Noir and Vernatsch, and of some international wines, such as Sauvignon and Chardonnay, on which research in recent years has particularly focused.
Contributing to the success of Cantina Girlan is a virtuous growth model, which has gradually consolidated over the years, based on the shared values of sustainability in all production areas: respect and protection of the soil and the vineyard, safeguarding the excellence of the material first, saving energy resources, attention to people and the work environment also understood as a space for socializing, communication between members and technical staff, participatory planning. Added to these are the stability of successive managements over time and the appropriate strategic choices that have strengthened the brand's identity and recognition.
“We are proud of this important milestone - says Oscar Lorandi , president of Cantina Girlan - made possible thanks to the perseverance of the work of generations of winemakers who continue with tenacity to build their future by investing in the enological identity of these hills. Our goal is to carry on the dream of our founding fathers by renewing, with the evolution of markets and consumer choices, that concept of authenticity that leads us to be recognized with wines in which the origin and interaction between grape variety and terroir. Our mission is to continue along this path by giving ever greater centrality to the work of our members to consolidate this great common dream over time".
The emblem of this production philosophy is the continuous research study in the vineyard, to be translated into precision viticulture practices to make the territorial identity of the wines of Cantina Girlan more and more perceived. The undisputed protagonist of the cooperative's overall production is Pinot Noir, whose presence in the vineyards has gone from the initial 20 hectares of the 80s to the current 40. A long and painstaking journey that has led the members, assisted by the company's technical staff, to invest time and energy in analyzing all the parcels and vineyards they had available, in order to select the best areas in which to cultivate this noble vine. Its behavior within single crus was studied in detail, parcel by parcel, through different microvinifications, verifying the different climatic and geological conditions, as well as the orientation of the vineyards and the age of the vines, before moving towards the valorisation of three specific microzones - Girlan, Pinzon and Mazon. The outcome of this intense work has resulted in five labels: Patricia and Flora blend together, with different percentages, the vineyards of the three areas to obtain wines of great balance and pleasantness. Trattmann combines in equal parts the elegance of Mazon and the personality of Girlan. Finally, Curlan and Vigna Ganger represent the purest expression that can be obtained from single parcels: the first translates the strength and freshness of Girlan, while the second enhances the refined elegance that comes from a single vineyard of Mazon.
If Pinot Noir is the grape of choice for the reds, Chardonnay is the variety par excellence of Cantina Girlan's whites. Also in this case, the desire to produce wines capable of restoring the territory of origin in the glass has given rise to years of study and research in the vineyard and in the cellar which have led to the creation of three labels for as many nuances of this variety: Curlan Chardonnay Reserve, Marl and Flora.
A large production project, in order to always be competitive, needs constant updates which must concern all areas of the company. After the adjustments made to production technologies, Cantina Girlan is investing more and more in people to consolidate the relationship with passionate winelovers with some precise choices in terms of hospitality and wine tourism. In fact, the Girlan Wine Club was inaugurated a few months ago where wine culture is made through visits and tastings, moments of meeting and comparison, thus giving life to a welcome that transmits the values and secrets of a cooperative oriented towards excellence with a 360° experience that starts from the vineyards to arrive in the glass.
That farm, where it all began, after a renovation and expansion, is still the common home and the productive heart of Cantina Girlan. Crossing its threshold and crossing its suggestive rooms with barrel vaults, one takes an ideal journey through the first 100 years of the company, an emblematic metaphor of that link between ancient and modern, past and future, tradition and innovation
