Winegrower Hannes Spornberger Header © Photo: IDM Südtirol-Alto Adige/Thomas Roetting
16.07.2024

Our Tools are Our Hands

Winegrower Hannes Spornberger Recounts Lovely, Challenging Moments in the Vineyard

It is with assertion that Hannes Spornberger strides through the vineyard, which spreads out in sweeping waves around the little church of St. Magdalena /Santa Maddalena. This village gives its name to an entire winegrowing zone just north of Bolzano/Bozen. His family has run the Kandlerhof estate since as far back as 1793. And the thirty-four year-old Hannes has now taken over the reins from his father.

“When I returned home in 2014 from having studied Viticulture, Oenology, and the Wine Trade in Vienna, my father told me, ‘This year you’re handling the cellar!’ I’m a big lover of Vernatsch/Schiava, and I wanted to show everything that this wine could do, especially since it was originally dismissed as nothing more than a Speckbrettlwein [a wine only good for quaffing along with traditional Tyrolean farmer’s bacon diced on the cutting board]. I took a close look at the locations of our vines. First of all, there is the hill with weathered sand consisting of granite, limestone, and porphyry.

The grapes that we grow there form the foundation for a fruity, fresh wine that I mature in stainless steel tanks. In the second vineyard, the soil has a higher proportion of clay, which means that the grapes tend to have more pronounced tannins. I age this wine separately in wooden barrels so that the tannins soften to a certain degree. I like the fresh, juicy wines that are rich in finesse which reflect the soil and terroir.”
The question about the most important tool in the vineyard causes an impudent smile to break out on the face of the young winemaker. “Not much has changed over the course of the centuries. Above all else, we still work with our hands.” But of course, he also makes use of the assistance of machines, especially when working on the soil and with the tasks in the cellar. The wine year begins with pruning in the winter, and then trellising is carried out. Cultivation using the pergola trellis was already used in South Tyrol as far back as when the Romans roamed the land. Within that context, the new shoots are stretched over wood and wire scaffolding and form a sort of roof. The wooden frame that supports the scaffolding has to be replaced regularly, and the wires also need to be tightened periodically.

It is with great nimbleness that Spornberger’s hands fly through the fresh green of the grapevines. In the springtime, excess shoots need to be trimmed off and the foliage thinned out. In July, some of the young grapes are cut away in order to keep the yield within the limits that are prescribed for the DOC seal. The winds that waft frequently up above Santa Maddalena “blow dry” the plants again quickly after each rainfall, thus reducing the risk of fungal infections. It is for that reason that Spornberger did not have to worry about the application of pesticides when he converted the vineyards to organic viticulture.
Manual work in the vineyard © Photo: IDM Südtirol-Alto Adige/Thomas Roetting

"Our Tools are Our Hands."

Hannes Spornberger
Can you perceive the climate change in the vineyard? “I notice the extremes. It feels like there is no longer such a thing as normal rainfall. At times, heat and cold alternate very quickly. But the grapevines are getting used to the changes. We can counteract these by making use of foliage with the cultivation using the pergola trellis, which provides shade. And we irrigate when necessary, which has worked well so far. We are grateful for the golden autumn with its cool nights. That which goes wrong over the summer can often be saved by autumn in just a few weeks.”

The winegrower does a great deal to protect nature and keep the soil healthy. The water supply has been switched to careful and precise drip irrigation. Plastic tape is only used in selected places for fastening the grapevines, and it is collected again when the vines are pruned. After the harvest, the winegrower sows the soil with a winter cover crop of vetches, clover, and mustard plants, which flower beautifully in the spring and later form a humus that keeps the soil vital and animated. In the springtime, the vineyard hums and buzzes with loud insects. “For me, it is important to create this habitat that follows the cycle of nature and to make it grand and colorful for people, plants, and animals.”
Winemaker Hannes Spornberger in the vineyard © Photo: IDM Südtirol-Alto Adige/Thomas Roetting
Winemaker Hannes Spornberger in our interview © Photo: IDM Südtirol-Alto Adige/Thomas Roetting
 
The young winegrowers of Santa Maddalena – the “next gen” – meet regularly to exchange ideas. And it goes without saying that they help each other out. They taste wines together, not only those of their own creation, but also the end product that Italian, French, and German winemakers are conjuring up in their cellars. They work together to improve quality. And they have succeeded in ensuring that Schiava is now widely discussed and that Santa Maddalena is consistently regarded as a top wine-growing zone.

The nicest moment for you as a winemaker? “That is definitely the harvest. For the entire year, we’ve worked hard for it. When friends and family get together to “cut”, there’s a lot of laughter in the vineyard. In the evening, we sit together over a snack with speck [Tyrolean farmer’s bacon], cheese, and wine, exhausted yet happy.”
Winemaker Hannes Spornberger in the wine cellar © Photo: IDM Südtirol-Alto Adige/Thomas Roetting
St. Magdalener wine from the Kandlerhof winery © Photo: IDM Südtirol-Alto Adige/Thomas Roetting
Winery with history © Photo: IDM Südtirol-Alto Adige/Thomas Roetting
 
© Credits: IDM Südtirol-Alto Adige/Thomas Roetting
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