Pinot Grigio Alto Adige DOC 2023 – Franz Haas

The grapes to produce the Pinot Grigio Alto Adige DOC Franz Haas were hand picked and selected in the vineyards. Fermentation took place at controlled temperature almost exclusively in stainless steel tanks, with a small quantity in barrique.The wine aged for about four months on its lees, separately, as during the fermentation process, to add complexity and give the wine a fuller body. Finally the Pinot Grigio remained three to four months in bottle before release.

The grapes for this wine were grown in hillside vineyards in Alto Adige and Trentino. The soils in Alto Adige are very rich and deep with a good content of clay and dolomitic limestone originated from the erosion of the mountains above. In 2020, Franz Haas took a long lease on some Pinot Grigio vineyards in Trentino. As many of his vineyards in the Alto Adige have moved to a higher altitude (750-900 meters above sea level) to extend the growing season and give his wines greater aromatic complexity, Franz felt he needed a more weight and structure in the wine, something he has provided by including the Trentino grapes in the blend. The Trentino soils are characterised by a higher rock content and limestone and the vineyards are lower lying (300 meters above sea level). The vines from both Alto Adige and Trentino are 15 years old and Guyot trained. Yields are 60 hectolitres per hectare. Vineyards exposure ranges from south to southwest.

The Haas family has been growing grapes in Montagna in the province of Bolzano for generations. However, it was only with Franz, the current proprietor, that they began to produce and bottle quality wines. Franz studied at Geisenheim in Germany before working as a broker of Italian wines in the German market. After several years, he took over the running of the family business. Franz Haas goes to tremendous lengths to grow quality grapes and strives to preserve the flavours of the fruit during winemaking. As a result, the wines that he produces are infused with great character, with purity and balance on the palate. To maintain the aromatic quality of his wines, Franz Haas has bottled his entire production under screwcap from the 2018 vintage onwards. A revolutionary choice, he is one of the first Italian wine producers to have done so.