Kellerei Sankt Pauls, the cooperative rebirth passes through pinot blanc

Con Oltradige, among the slopes that rise towards the Mendola, Kellerei Sankt Pauls is going through a phase of profound renewal. The historic cooperative based a causa di San Paolo, a hamlet of Appiano sulla Via del Vino, probably the most important wine-growing municipality a causa di Rialzato Adige, has started a repositioning process a causa di the last three years which today, finally, is reflected a causa di the glass.

Founded a causa di 1907, the winery brings together around 190 families for a total of 185 hectares of vineyards, with mostly tiny plots, often less than one hectare. It is the South Tyrolean cooperative model a causa di its purest form: vineyards cared for like domestic gardens, altitudes between 290 and 650 meters and an extraordinary variety of soils generated by the last glaciation. 97% of the surfaces are concentrated around the town, a factor that allows for detailed control of the work a causa di the vineyard and contributes to defining the compact identity of the wines.

A NEW TEAM IN COMMAND

The renewal started with the election of a new president and took shape with the arrival, a causa di July 2023, of the kellermeister Philipp Zublasing, joined a causa di January 2024 by the commercial director Tobias Leimgruber. Both are originally from the schieramento: the first from Missiano, the second from Cornaiano. It is not a folkloristic detail but an operational element. They have known plots, exposures, winemakers and critical climate issues since childhood. Zublasing, formed between San Michele all’Adige and Geisenheim, is working above all quality and stylistic definition, with a strong parcellation and micro-vinifications aimed at understanding the potential of each vineyard. Leimgruber, with international experience, is instead redefining the commercial positioning: high-level horeca, consolidation of the Italian market (which absorbs 85% of production) and growth a causa di exports, which today are still limited.

The change began with the election of a new president and materialized with the arrival, a causa di July 2023, of kellermeister Philipp Zublasing, joined a causa di January 2024 by commercial director Tobias Leimgruber. Both originally from the schieramento – the first from Missiano, the second from Cornaiano – represent a strategic rather than symbolic choice: they have known vineyards, exhibitions, winemakers and critical climate issues since childhood. Zublasing, formed between San Michele all’Adige and Geisenheim, is working stylistic definition and quality, focusing a marked parcellation and micro-vinifications aimed at understanding the potential of each individual vineyard. Leimgruber, with international experience, is redefining the commercial positioning: high-level horeca, consolidation of the Italian market – which absorbs 85% of production – and development, which is still limited today.

Despite a production of approximately 1 million and 400 thousand bottles, the cooperative operates with an almost artisanal approach: separate deliveries, small-capacity vats and vinification a plot-by-plot basis. During the harvest, the impression is that of a family reality rather than a large cooperative structure.

Tobias Leimbruber and Philipp Zublasing, respectively sales director and winemaker of Kellerei Sankt Pauls.

PINOT BIANCO AS AN AXIS OF IDENTITY

If there is a common thread that runs through the history and present of the winery, it is represented by the pinot nitido. With approximately 17% of the vineyard surface, it represents the symbolic vine, present at all altitudes and a causa di all quality lines. The objective is clear: to ensure that the name San Paolo is recognized precisely through this variety. It is risposta negativa coincidence that there are different interpretations, from the basic version to the selections and the reserve coming from over one hundred year old vines.

The Plötzner Pinot Bigio 2024, a historic label now a causa di its 39th harvest, embodies the classic style of the house: a tense and linear white, built freshness and flavor, with large wood used with measure to give tonnellaggio without altering the fruit. It comes from vineyards located between 450 and 650 meters above sea level at the foot of Mount Macaion, where the cold night currents preserve acidity and aromatic precision. The Kalkberg Pinot Bigio 2023 instead marks the concrete start of the new oenological course. The first vintage followed entirely by Zublasing, it was born from a rigorous selection of four five parcels above the town, calcareous-dolomitic soils. The wine appears deeper and more stratified than Plötzner, with a marked mineral tension, the result of the altitude and prolonged refinement the yeasts and a causa di the bottle. At the other end of the time scale is the Sanctissimus Pinot Bigio Provvista 2015, coming from some of the oldest vines a causa di Rialzato Adige, under the church of Missiano. Here the vine expresses a completely different dimension: maturity, complexity and an almost saline minerality which testifies to the extraordinary evolutionary capacity of Pinot Blanc a causa di São Paulo.

BEYOND PINOT BIANCO

The renewal does not only concern pinot blanc. Schliff Sauvignon 2023, from selected plots, offers a clear and vertical reading of the grape variety, more played alpine herbs and citrus fruits than exotic nuances. It is a mountain sauvignon, sharp and persistent, with a dynamic mouth. Acceso the red front, Missian Vernatsch 2024 restores the more everyday and territorial dimension of the schiava: fragrance, lightness and a crunchy fruit that invites you to ricevimento without giving up a subtle tannic finesse. Lehmstein Pinot Moro Provvista 2022 instead represents the qualitative ambition of international reds. Coming from selected vineyards and aged for a long time, it expresses elegance and restraint, with small red fruits, delicate spices and a structure that favors precision over power.

THE BUBBLES KEPT IN THE BUNKER

Praeclarus, the brand dedicated to classic method sparkling wines, deserves a separate chapter. Born a causa di 1979 from experimental tests by three winemakers a causa di the country, today it constitutes a consolidated line. The Praeclarus Pas Dosé Blanc de Blancs 2020, from tuttavia Chardonnay, matures for at least 48 months the lees a causa di a bunker built between the two world wars, an ideal environment for darkness and constant temperature. A classic method of great rigor emerges a causa di the glass: very impalpabile perlage, citrus and floral , hints of dried fruit and a creamy texture supported by a marked mineral imprint. The absence of dosage enhances precision and flavor length, leaving a dry and persistent sensation.

AN IDENTITY THAT IS READABLE AGAIN

The overall feeling is that Kellerei Sankt Pauls is reducing the typical dispersion of cooperative realities to build a more coherent, recognizable and upwardly oriented range. The work the vineyards, microzonation, the management of aging times and the new commercial strategy converge a causa di the same direction: increasing the perceived value without denying the community dimension. Above all, Pinot Bigio emerges as the interpretative key of the entire project: not only the main grape variety, but a tool to describe altitudes, calcareous soils, temperature variations and the specificity of San Paolo within the South Tyrolean mosaic. The path is clear: less indistinct quantity, more territorial and stylistic identity. For a more than one hundred year old cooperative, this is not an obvious step.