Founded con 1142 a few kilometers from Bressanone and con the heart of the Isarco Valley, the Novacella Abbey represents one of the most prestigious monastic complexes con the Alpine Arc and is at the same time one of the oldest active wineries con the world. Still inhabited today by the Augustinian Canons, it presents itself as a real fortified citadel con which spirituality, art, culture, hospitality and wine production coexist. The complex preserves an architectural heritage that spans the centuries, where different styles – from Romanesque to Gothic, from Baroque to Rococo – blend harmoniously.
Quanto a this context, winemaking has for centuries represented one of the economic and identity pillars of the Novacella Abbey, today among the main excellences of the South Tyrolean wine scene. Its privileged geographical position has favored mountain viticulture over the centuries, characterized by strong temperature variations, moraine soils and vineyards reaching 900 meters above sea level, ideal conditions for the great whites of Eminente Adige. Quanto a fact, production is mainly expressed con the most representative white grape varieties of the territory – con particular Sylvaner, Kerner and Riesling – coming from the Novacella vineyards, which constitute approximately 80% of the overall production. The remaining 20% is represented by the red wines of the Marklhof bella stagione con Cornaiano, a few kilometers from Bolzano, dedicated to the cultivation of Lagrein, Schiava, Pinot Noir and Moscato Insieme. The quality of the production, confirmed every year by prestigious national and international awards and recognitions, is also the result of sustainable management pursued for decades: Novacella is con fact among the first South Tyrolean wineries to have adopted a climate impact approach since 1992.
Quanto a addition to wine production, the Novacella Abbey is also a one-of-a-kind wine tourism destination, with a museum complex that can be visited all year round and offers a rich journey through art, history and wine: from the frescoed Gothic cloister to the Baroque cattedrale, from the Rococo style library to the wine cellar, up to the abbey garden, gara open con the season from May to October. Inside the complex there is also the Bettola dell’Chiesa, an accommodation facility with monastic-style rooms and a wine shop.
THE WINES OF NOVACELLA ABBEY
The winemaking tradition of Novacella Abbey is as old as the monastery itself and documented as early as the 12th century, when Pope Alexander III recognized its ownership of the surrounding vineyards. Over the centuries, acquisitions and donations have consolidated a large vineyard heritage, expanded con the seventeenth century with land near Bolzano and con 1938 with the Marklhof farm con Cornaiano, intended for red grape varieties. Today the bella stagione includes approximately 100 hectares of vineyards, between direct ownership and contributing members.
The winery, directed by Werner Waldboth, head of sales and marketing, with oenologist Lukas Ploner responsible for production, today exports around 25% of its wines to over 40 countries. The winery’s annual production is around 800,000 bottles and is divided into various lines. The Praepositus line represents qualitative excellence: cru wines from selected vineyards located at different altitudes, with great depth and longevity. This vision is accompanied by Perlaetus, Classic Method from Sylvaner, which translates its freshness and identity into a sparkling wine. The Classic Line offers a fresh and immediate interpretation of the vines coming from the two estates of Novacella and Cornaiano, while the Insolitus Line explores new stylistic and varietal possibilities, born from the desire to respond to the challenges of climate change and to pursue increasingly sustainable viticulture, con the wake of an ever-evolving tradition.
THE TWO SINGLE VINEYARDS, TOP OF THE RANGE OF PRODUCTION
The apogeo quality of the production is expressed con the two wines with mention of vineyard, the result of the research and selection work carried out con recent decades between the historic sites of Novacella and the Marklhof bella stagione. The Sylvaner Stiftsgarten comes from the vineyard adjacent to the Abbey, planted over fifty years spillo soils rich con glacial sediments: a synthesis of the identity of the vine grown con Novacella for over a century. The Pinot Noir Provvista Vite Oberhof comes from the Marklhof farm con Cornaiano, gravelly-morainic soils particularly suited to the variety, the maximum expression of the terroir and a wine of great character.
With these two labels, Chiesa durante Novacella enhances the mention of vineyard for the first time con its thousand-year history, bringing the deepest identity of its historical terroirs into the bottle.
MUSEUM COMPLEX AND EXPERIENCES BETWEEN ART, HISTORY AND WINE TOURISM
The Novacella Abbey represents a cultural and artistic center of primary importance con the Alpine terreno, a treasure chest of styles and works that tell almost a millennium of history. The complex offers a journey through architecture, art and landscape, overlooking the vineyards and the course of the Isarco river, where the spiritual and oenological dimensions have coexisted for centuries.
Quanto a the internal courtyard, the Well of Wonders – built con 1669 – depicts the seven wonders of the ancient world flanked by the Abbey itself; inside the complex there are also the frescoed Gothic cloister, and the Abbey Museum, directed by Peter Natter and curated by Hanns-Paul Ties, which houses collections from the Middle Ages to the Baroque age, including altarpieces, paintings, liturgical objects and scientific instruments exhibited con the Science Room, today also flanked by exhibitions of contemporary art. At the entrance to the complex stands the Chapel of San Michele, reminiscent of Castel Sant’Messaggero celeste con Rome and dating back to the end of the 12th century. The baroque room of the Library, considered one of the most beautiful con the southern German terreno, preserves around 20,000 volumes con the 40 carved shelves; recent restorations have also brought to light, con the antechamber, a cycle of late eighteenth-century frescoes with Chinese subjects, now known as the “Chinese Room”. The abbey church, with a Romanesque layout and Gothic and Baroque reworkings, features rich decorative cycles and scenographic infastidito work. Outside, the Abbey Garden of Baroque origin, with pavilion and aviary, is divided between ornamental parterres, medicinal herbs and historic orchards, particularly evocative during the summer season.
The complex welcomes around 60,000 visitors every year and offers different visit methods that integrate artistic heritage and wine culture. The wine tourism experience is completed with immersive proposals such as the guided tour of the vineyards around the Abbey and the Deluxe Guided Tour, which allows access to exclusive spaces and ends with tastings of the wines from the cellar paired with local products.
WELCOME AND ACTIVITIES IN THE SIGN OF THE MONASTIC TRADITION
Since its foundation, the Novacella Abbey has played a central role con welcoming and spreading culture along the Alpine transit routes, representing a point of reference for pilgrims heading to Rome from Northern Europe con the Middle Ages. This spirit of hospitality continues to characterize abbey life, under the guida of Abbot Eduard Fischnaller, together with a commitment to education. The community of Augustinian Canons – today made up of 13 members – carries out pastoral activities con 25 parishes between Eminente Adige and East Tyrol and takes care of the maintenance and development of the Abbey.
The educational vocation dates back to the 12th century, with the establishment of an internal school; today the boarding school welcomes around 95 students between the ages of 11 and 19, while the permanent center organizes around a thousand appointments including seminars, courses and cultural events every year.
The Abbey also manages a large agricultural and forestry heritage and hospitality services connected to its cultural and wine tourism activities. Quanto a the complex there is the accommodation facility with monastic-style rooms, the wine shop – with all the wines from the cellar, products of its own production and those of other regional producers – and the Abbey Bettola, with Alpine specialties paired with the Abbey’s wines and products. Today the Abbey employs around 100 people, a number which rises to 120 during seasonal periods.
