The region of South Tyrol is characterized by a tradition of over 2000 years of vineyard cultivation. Even in pre-Roman times, the resident Raeti practised viticulture. With apparently good contact to the Illyrians and the
The region of South Tyrol is characterized by a tradition of over 2000 years of vineyard cultivation. Even in pre-Roman times, the resident Raeti practised viticulture. With apparently good contact to the Illyrians and the Etruscans, they developed a remarkable local culture of wine growing. Recent discoveries as well as current designations prove that much of their knowledge was adopted by subsequent generations.
The Romans adopted from the Raeti the technique of storing and transporting wine in wooden barrels. With the development of road networks over the Alps and the resultant increase in trade, wine-growing became an important branch of the local economy. In the stormy era of the post-Roman Migration of Peoples, the Langobards and later the Baiovarii migrated to South Tyrol. Centuries later, in the High Middle Ages, the local vineyards belonged to Bavarian monasteries and aristocracy. The wine of this region was exported far to the north and was also, as is documented, enjoyed at the court of the Holy Roman Emperor.
At the end of the Middle Ages, Tyrol came under the sovereignty of the House of Habsburg. Wine-growing was encouraged from Vienna and enjoyed a time of prosperity at the end of the Imperial and Royal monarchy.
1919 the German-speaking South Tyrol was ceded to Italy, along with neighbouring Trentino. Between the dislocations of the two world wars and the era of fascist oppression, wine growing experienced a time of crisis. The basis for the current situation was only formed in the 1970s with the revival of regional commercial relationships. After a slump in the sales of open wines to Switzerland in the middle of the 1980s, the local wine industry underwent a profound change in quality. In addition to the self-marketing family establishments in the St. Magdalena area near Bozen/Bolzano and in Überetsch/Oltradige (Kaltern/Caldaro, Eppan/Appiano), many winegrowers, especially during the 1990s, decided to press, bottle and market their quality grapes themselves.