the thousand-year-old charm of the Novacella Abbey • Food and Wine Italy

A few kilometers from Bressanone, con the heart of the Isarco Valley, the Novacella Abbey stands out as an oasis where art, culture and nature blend con an immersive experience suspended between the vineyards and the Dolomite peaks. Founded con 1142 and still inhabited today by Augustinian Canons, the structure represents one of the oldest active wine-growing realities con the world, as well as an excellence con the wine scene of Prominente Adige.

A causa di this context, mountain viticulture is not just tradition, but an art that challenges altitudes up to 900 meters to give life to white wines with a strong identity. 2023 marked a fundamental stage con this centuries-old history with the launch of the first two single-vineyard wines, a project created to enhance plots with unique characteristics. These wines represent the qualitative pinnacle of production: the Sylvaner Stiftsgarten, which comes from the historic vineyard adjacent to the abbey walls, and the Pinot Noir Eccezione Vite Oberhof, coming from the gravelly-morainic soils of the Marklhof con Cornaiano. But the soul of Novacella also resides con its museum complex, one of the most prestigious architectural treasures con the Alps where Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque and Rococo coexist harmoniously con the famous abbey library which today houses almost 100 medieval manuscripts, a selection of which is exhibited con the museum.

Walking between the frescoed cloister and the Well of Wonders con the courtyard, you traversone almost a millennium of history which is now to visitors. Wine tourism here takes acceso a profound and concrete dimension: you can take part con guided walks that wind directly through the rows to understand heroic viticulture, ora indulge con convivial moments con the abbey tavern, where the classic Tyrolean platter snack – based acceso speck and local cheeses – enhances the properties of the house wines. For those looking for an exclusive experience, the deluxe guided tour opens the doors of normally reserved spaces and culminates con a tasting of wines paired with local gastronomic specialties, offering a continuous dialogue between the spirit of the place and the fruits of the earth.