I was lucky to marry into one of our region's most prestigious wine estates at a time when Alto Adige was becoming recognized as one of the world's finest producers of superlative wines.

I jumped at the chance to take over the family's two top estates, both located within the boundaries of our region's best known wine villages - Castel Ringberg, which overlooks the Lake of Caldaro, and Kastelaz, a steep, south-facing hillside, Tramin's major landmark which is covered from top to bottom in densely planted vineyards. The challenge in changing profession from architect to winemaker was at first daunting. In the meantime my wines have scooped some of Italy's highest awards, including the much coveted "Three Glasses" from Italy's most influential wine guide, Gambero Rosso, three years in a row.

The more straight-forward white varietal wines of the 'selezione range' which are at their best when expressing the pure character of the grape are partially fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks and partially in traditional oak casks, while the reds are matured in a mixture of traditional oak casks and to some extent in barriques. These comprise our basic range of varietal wines which are grown in single vineyards including Reitwies, Klughammer, Wadleith, Plon and Rechtenthal.

Concentrated, less aromatic but full-bodied whites which are intended to last and develop complexity with age are fermented or partly matured in new oak. They include our 'Cru wines' bearing the name Kastelaz or Castel Ringberg and owe their concentration to our drastically reducing vineyard yields. These efforts have not gone unrewarded, as revealed by the international awards and accolades they have been showered with.

The Riserva's is a wines which we regard as having superior keeping qualities are matured for at least two years in new small oak barrels and are found in this catalogue under the designation 'Riserva'.

On top of these single grape wines we have positioned some 'Grand Cuvée's': a white cuvée called "Beyond the Clouds" and a "Passito" wine made from raisined grapes that we grow in a very particular vinyard: "Cashmere". A red cuvèe is due to appear in the not too distant future.