There are many wonderful things in South Tyrol: countless Castles, testimonies of a past of land border contention, fascinating lakes such as that of Carezza, the slopes of the most extensive ski area in Europe (1200 km divided into 12 areas), protected parks, the millenary larches of Val d’Ultimo, the famous Botanical Gardens in Merano, the Museum of "Ötzi" (the man of 5,300 years was founded in the ice of the Dolomites), the green meadows, the deep valleys, the high mountains that change color depending on the light of the sun, all things that create a spectacle of a hard to beat beauty.
In this enchanting environment, in Mara Locality – Bressanone (Brixen) in the province of Bolzano, there is an old farm (from the Latin word "mansio" house, an old farm, self–sufficient, of buildings and land), of the twelfth century, "Kuenhof", that initially belonged to the Bishop of Brixen, and for 200 years has been owned by the Pliger Family: here, wine has been produced for a long time.
In more recent years and with accuracy, up to 1989 all wine produced was given to the Abbey of Neustift (the historic Abbey of the Regular Canons of St. Augustine, where wine has been produced for more than 800 years), the turning point was 1990, with the first bottling of 1500 bottles on their own. Hence the decision, in 1991, to restore and rehabilitate the old farm, and at the same time to adapt the old wine cellar of modern needs, for a more adequate production. The Company has 8 hectares, 6 of which with vines, the soils are composed of sandy clay with a large amount of shale (a term applied to different types of metamorphic rocks, ie, resulting from the transformation of pre–existing rocks subjected to strong variations in temperature and/or pressure, in which the predominant mineral crystals are aligned in parallel layers, and break with ease). Vineyards, all or almost all, are in small terraces contained by high and thick dry stone walls, at quite high altitude, located to the south–east, from 550 to 700 meters above sea level. 8,000 plants per hectare are machined all by hand, in a natural way without using synthetic products, with a yield that does not exceed 80 quintals per hectare. Wine is made with wisdom and meticulousness, scrupulously aided by steel and great acacia barrels. The result is amazing: 25,000 bottles for four extraordinary white wines, the most important is Sylvaner, followed by Rhenish Riesling, Veltliner (Gruner Veltliner) and Gewürztraminer, Riesling is bottled under the name of "Kaiton", an old Celtic name of the area where the farm is located. The wines have bright colors andare beautiful, fragrant, rich in many flavors, enveloping and persistent, despite having from 13.5% to 15% of alcohol content, you drink with great taste and satisfaction, all have a great capacity for aging. Bottles, with elegant labels, have an efficient and sophisticated locking system with screw cap (this type of closure was chosen both for its beauty and for aesthetic modernity, but especially for an optimal aging of the wine).
