Open-minded, well aware of their capabilities and qualified: these are the young grape-growers of St. Magdalener. The group is made up by 15 grape-growers of the new generation from the production zone of St. Magdalener. Together they want to extol and promote even more the quality of the historical red wine of the city of Bozen: “We aim at setting a new positioning for the St. Magdalener wine and to attract young wine enthusiasts”, says Hannes Spornberger, spokesman of the St. Magdalener’s young grape-growers.

The wineries located in the St. Magdalener’s production area all around Bozen are family-run businesses. The generational handover always brings a wind of change and this is what is happening right here and right now in front of numerous South Tyrolean grape-growers: from now on the young grape-growers will write the future of St. Magdalener, at first with a little help of their parents and then all by themselves. This is the exact moment in which tradition, parents’ know-how and the youthful spirit of innovation intertwine. The young grape-growers of the St. Magdaler’s Consortium of Protection represent the new generation but the group has already gained experience in the field thanks to their daily work in the winery with their families. “Our grandparents had been producing wine in large quantities in the past, while our parents, starting from the mid ‘80s, turned South Tyrol into a high-quality wine region. Nowadays we want to make another step forward”, says Spornberger, “We want to expand our wine range with the best labels of the Classic St. Magdalener and to produce more complex wines with a fine tannin and remarkable acidity, so that we can attract new interesting target groups”. It goes without saying that the real essence of the St Magdalener won’t be affected and it will distinguish itself as a fresh, fine and eclectic wine.

The key is to have broad horizons

Most of the 15 grape-growers are aged between 20 and 35 years old, have been studying viticulture and traveled a lot around the world: “Being open to the outer world means that we observe the developments that occur in the global wine market and, at the same time, we check what’s going on within our regional boundaries. Contrarily of what happened in the past, we St. Magdalener’s young grape-growers, meet us very often and confront ourselves, we taste wines and we share important advice about work in the winery and in the vineyards with each other”, affirms Spornberger. Only by creating a solid synergy is possible to increase the qualitative level of St. Magdalener’s wines. In the near future there will be also joint activities and the collaboration between the wine economy and tourism will be reinforced. “We have a lot of ideas in mind: in the next months we will develop a new strategy for St. Magdalener which includes each and every facet, from cultivation to marketing and selling activities”.