Alois Lageder – Driven to create wines in harmony with nature (#ItalianFWT)

Working with nature in the vineyard to keep soils healthy and continue to produce high-quality grapes. Experimenting with different techniques in the cellar to mitigate climate change. This is the dual path to sustainability chosen by Alois Lageder, a leading wine producer in Alto Adige.

The Italian Food, Wine and Travel blogging group is focusing on sustainability and climate change for the next #ItalianFWT Twitter chat on Saturday, Sept. 5. Please join us starting at 8 am PT/11 am ET by following the hashtag.

Roots in the past, eyes on the future

The roots of the Lageder family business go back to 1823 and a young craftsman named Johann who set himself up as a wine merchant in Bolzano, capital city of Alto Adige (otherwise known as Südtirol or South Tyrol to its German-speaking residents).

In Alto Adige, a province that hugs Switzerland and Austria in the northernmost reaches of Italy, conditions are ideal for winegrowing. The region is protected by the ragged peaks of the Dolomite Mountains to the north and warmed by Lake Garda and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. A mix of limestone and volcanic soils give wines their fruitiness and minerality. Recognizing the region’s strengths, the descendants of Johann Lageder acquired vineyards and started to produce their own wines.

Alois Lageder started running the family business in 1974, when he was 25 years old. His father, who died in 1963 at the age of 60, willed the winery to his 12-year-old son, but the boy had to wait until adulthood to take over the reins. When Lageder finally converted the entire family vineyards to organic and biodynamic farming in 2004, it was the realization of a dream that began in the late 1970s.

“I always knew I wanted to farm biodynamically but, in the 1970s, I did not yet have the courage to do it. I was not ready,” he told Katherine Cole in a June 2014 interview for wine-searcher.com. “Only in the 1990s did I have time to concentrate on biodynamics.”

Biodynamics (from the Greek “bios” meaning life and “dinamikòs” meaning movement) was founded in 1924 by German scientist and philosopher Dr. Rudolf Steiner, one of the first public figures to question the long-term negative impacts of industrial agriculture. A holistic approach to agriculture, biodynamics is based on a view of the farm as a closed-loop microcosm in which humans, animals, and plants co-exist.

“At the practical level this means working without chemicals and synthetic products for plant protection, i.e. herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and mineral fertilizers, and making use of the biodynamic preparations and homeopathic infusions instead. We promote biodiversity by sowing ground cover plants and planting shrubs, introducing animals into the vineyards and fertilizing the soil with compost. All these measures leads to improved soil quality and vine fertility. Our objective is always to develop and maintain a natural cycle.”

Alois Lageder

The Lageders have converted 100% of their 135-acre Alto Adige estate to organic and biodynamic farming. As of 2018, more than 50% of their approximately 80 partner growers also had converted to organic or biodynamic farming on a total of 247 acres of land. The goal is 100% organic and biodynamic wines by 2023.

“We believe that organic and biodynamic cultivation greatly enriches the landscape. It nurtures the soil and creates a healthier and more diverse environment for flora, fauna, and for us humans. That is why we want to encourage our partners to make the full conversion to organic farming.”

Alois Lageder

The challenge of climate change

As the Lageders explain, one of the greatest threats from climate change is the loss of acidity and perception of freshness in a wine. Growers can adjust by picking fruit earlier in the season, or they can opt for several other strategies:

1. In mountainous Alto Adige, they can move vineyards to higher altitudes.
2. Another possibility is to plant grape varieties from southern winegrowing regions of Europe, “which we believe – when cultivated in Alto Adige – result in higher levels of acidity and moderate sugar contents.”
3. A third option is to experiment with various techniques, such as the amount of skin contact, to find the right level of freshness. With skin contact, tannins increase slightly, “which helps the tension, liveliness and freshness of the wine to be perceived differently.”

To prove their point, the Lageders invite consumers to experiment on their own. They offer a “Blend your own PORER” Kit consisting of three Pinot Grigio samples: The first was pressed immediately; the second was kept in contact with the skins for 15 hours; and the third was left on the stems and skins for approximately eight months.

Among winemakers, the Lageders clearly fall within the interventionist camp. But here too, natural processes take priority. Their newly designed and constructed cellar employs two basic principles of nature – gravity and the circle (a 55-foot-deep circular vinification tower) – to keep winemaking as natural as possible.

The wine – 2019 Terra Alpina Pinot Bianco Dolomiti IGT by Alois Lageder

A few years ago, Alois Lageder began a collaborative project with some local winegrowers in a wider area of the Dolomite Mountains. The two wines from this expanded area – a Pinot Grigio and a Pinot Bianco – are called Terra Alpina and classified as Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica). IGT is a generic label for Alto Adige wines. Grapes are sourced from growers in the process of converting to organic farming – with the help of the Lageder team – and produced in the Lageder cellar.

My tasting notes: Straw in color. Nose is a blend of white flowers, apple, citrus, and kiwi. On the slightly oily palate, I get minerality upfront followed by ripe grapefruit and lemon. Medium+ acidity. Medium finish. Alcohol: 12.5%. Price: $18.

Recommended pairings: Not-too-spicy fish tacos paired amicably with this light-to-medium body Pinot Bianco. The wine also worked with tofu and vegetable stir fry. But the best pairing was the herb mushroom risotto and poached salmon.

One final note

Will your organic or biodynamic wine taste better than a conventionally produced one? Not necessarily. The saying goes that wine is made in the vineyard. In other words, you have to start with good-quality grapes. After that, the finished product depends a lot on the skill of the winemaker. Lageder’s non-organic, non-biodynamic Terra Alpina Pinot Bianco is quite fruity, fresh, and delightful.

This begs the question, “then why should I care?” Answer: To love wine is to appreciate the land, the soil, and the people who work together to create this complex agricultural product for our enjoyment. To love wine is to care about the future of our planet.

Hear more about this topic on the blogs below and on the chat Sept. 5. Hope you can join us!

• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla takes inspiration from Sicily in Pasta alla Norma + Tasca d’Almerita Lamuri Nero d’Avola Sicilia 2016.
• Terri from Our Good Life shares the article Che Fico: A Wine that Supports Sustainability in Italy.
• Linda from My Full Wine Glass heads to Alto Adige with Alois Lageder – Driven to Create Wines in Harmony with Nature.
• Gwendolyn from Wine Predator posts her Interview: Antonella Manuli’s and Lorenzo Corino’s Patented Method + Wines, Lasagna, and Dogs.
• Lynn from Savor the Harvest answers How the Ricci Curbastro Estate In Franciacorta Tackles theSustainability Question.
• Robin from Crushed Grape Chronicles explores the question Climate Change, Finding Sustainable Italian Wines and Why You should Care.
• Susannah from Avvinare tells us more about Sicily with Tasca d’Amerita, A Longstanding Focus on Sustainability.
• Nicole from Somm’s Table looks closer atA Sustainable Sampler Pack with Umani Ronchi.
• Jennifer from Vino Travels shares VIVA Sustainability at the Forefront with Michele Chiarlo.
• Deanna from Asian Test Kitchen shares Italy’s First Vegan Certified Winery.
• Our host Katarina at Grapevine Adventures will talk about Torre Bisenzio where Authenticity And Quality Is All About Sustainability.