Wine Blog

A Dinner with Wines from Brunnenhof Mazzon in Alto Adige

Last Thursday Fisar Firenze had organized a dinner at the restaurant La Ménagére in the center of Florence. The wines for the evening were from the producer Brunnenhof in the locality Mazzon in Alto Adige. Mazzon is well-known for being a wine production area in the town district Neumarkt (Egna in Italian) in South Tyrol. The owner himself, Kurt Rottensteiner, was present and described his wines for us. Read on to find out more about his wines…

Tuscany meets Alto Adige

Actually, I had not planned to attend the dinner as I had a tough weekend ahead of me and thought it would be too much. However, when I the day before saw that there was still some places available, I decided at once to go. Since I love the wines from Alto Adige, I just could not miss this evening. Of course, I was very curious to taste the wines of Brunnenhof Mazzon.

(Video from the Fisar Firenze Twitter account)

We were at a restaurant in Florence, Tuscany, as mentioned above enjoying a dinner paired with wines from Alto Adige. Arriving there, the Fisar Firenze sommeliers and soon-to-be sommeliers were opening and preparing the wines that were going to be served during the evening. Here it is Samuele Palandri in action, helping one of the aspiring sommeliers.

A Dinner with Wines from Brunnenhof Mazzon in Alto Adige

The evening started with the Eva Incrocio Manzoni Bianco IGT 2014. Manzoni Bianco is a crossbreed between Riesling and Pinot Blanc which was carried out in the 1930s. This wine from Brunnenhof has been dedicated to their daughter Eva. It is a fruity wine with a clear aroma of green apples stemming from the Pinot Blanc, as well as peaches and other white fruit. It has a fresh and crisp taste which turns into a finish of citrus fruits. This wine paired well with the starter Uovo Poché, crema di zucca, porto e briciole di pane.

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A Gewurztraminer worth its name

With the first course Assaggio di gnocchi arrostiti, cacio, pepe, limone, mela verde e cous cous fritto we had the Gewurztraminer Alto Adige DOC 2014 and Gewurztraminer Alto Adige DOC 2010. This is a fabulous wine with a distinct and a unique character. It is a wine with a golden hue and notes of roses, lavender, and vanilla. It also has hints of citrus fruits as well as more spicy notes, and a good acidity. It is a well structured and complex wine. In the 2010 vintage, you can feel more distinctively that a third of the wine has been fermented in oak barrels as it has a lightly smoked flavor. In the article, Gewürztraminer 2012 e 2011. Una comparazione alla ricerca dell’equilibrio vitale in Intravino, the author Andrea Gori has characterized the 2011 version of this wine as fresh and mineral with an elegant finish.

A Dinner with Wines from Brunnenhof Mazzon in Alto Adige

From Pinot Noir to Lagrein

There were two different second courses on the menu: Assaggio di maialino, patata croccante, cardo e salsa dolce/forte and Assaggio guancia di manzo all’olio extravergine, sedanorapa arrostito, pere e marsala. These delicious second courses on the basis of pork and beef were paired with a Pinot Nero Alto Adige DOC Riserva 2012 and a Lagrein Alto Adige DOC 2013. Then in between Brunnenhof had added a Pinot Nero Alto Adige DOC Riserva 2007. Brunnenhof states that the Pinot Noir is their most important wine, even though they produce a very impressive Gewurztraminer. This Pinot Nero Riserva has notes of strawberries and raspberries which is sort of the trademark of the wine. It also has hints of under vegetation, a more spicy note, such as musk and ginger, and toasted aromas due to the aging in oak barrels. The tannins are elegant. It is aged for 1 year in 500 l barrels and after that for 8-10 months in large oak barrels.

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Lagrein is a native grape variety in Alto Adige. The Lagrein wine from Brunnenhof has an intense ruby red color. The predominant notes are of black currant and blackberry, as well as a slight hint of flowers and soil. It is a fresh and full-bodied wine. The Lagrein from Brunnenhof is aged for about a year in oak barrels.

Some concluding notes

Brunnenhof is a historic winery, the Rottensteiner family has been producing Pinot Noir wine for more than 100 years, first in Bolzano and later on since 1999 in Mazzon. They are attentive to details and the local traditions for wine production. One can clearly sense this in their wines which transmit the unique traits of the area and the soil. Last autumn, we went with Fisar Firenze on a weekend wine tour to Alto Adige but we did not visit Brunnenhof. Therefore, it was very interesting to finally be able to taste their wines. And if you still have not tried any of their wines, I can highly recommend that you order their Gewurztraminer or Pinot Noir. Or why not pay a visit to Brunnenhof Mazzon…

Written by Katarina Andersson.

Katarina Andersson

Seen often at wine events streaming live, Katarina is a wine writer, wine educator, social media strategist, and translator. She is the founder of WinesOfItaly LiveStream. She has been a guest at The Cellar, hosted by Richard Glover, at Wine Two Five, a podcast hosted by Stephanie Davis and Valerie Caruso, and at the Twitter chat #WiningHourChat founded by Li Valentine.

31 thoughts on “A Dinner with Wines from Brunnenhof Mazzon in Alto Adige”

  1. Another great inside look at what sounds like a wonderful and committed winery family. Although I do not drink at all, this sounds like the kind of adventure anyone visiting Tuscany would thoroughly enjoy!

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  2. Each time I read your blog I find a new wine I want to drink. I am also very jealous of all the adventures you have. One day I might show up on your doorstep.

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  3. Since interesting stuff and wow.. you are featured in a magazine too… great job.. still loving the new header. Oh, need to shorten your click to tweets, at least the first one I had to shorten when tweeting.

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  4. This is the first time I’ve seen your blog, and I enjoyed your post a lot! I don’t drink a lot of wine, but wow! do you make these sound great! Also, I want to stay tuned-in, because every now and again, I enjoy buying a nice bottle of wine as gifts!

    Reply
  5. This looks great. I can’t wait to make it to Italy and try some good food and good wine. In the meantime, I went to the Ft Worth Food & Wine Festival this past weekend. I had some great wines there. It will do for now.

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  6. Good thing it’s dinner because you just made me hungry…again! I absolutely LOVE that you included video in this post. Maybe you can video one of your visits to a vineyard/winery and include it in a blog? I’d love to see the landscape and location–it would feel as if I were there in person. As always, I enjoy your descriptive writing and live vicariously through you!

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