The "Bioweingut Lieselehof" is located in the municipality of Kaltern (province of Bolzano) in the Italian wine-growing region of
South Tyrol (
Trentino-Alto Adige region). The name Lieselehof comes from the great-grandparents Franz Morandell (*1835) and Elisabeth ("the Liesele") of the current owner Werner Morandell. His father Gottlieb-Amadeus was also involved in the grafting of young vines and the production of rootstocks for
vine nurseries. The farm is a contractual partner of the State Viticultural Institute in
Freiburg im Breisgau, for which various newly bred
PIWI grape varieties are being tested. However, there are also traditional varieties such as Vernatsch
(Schiava), Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Carmenère, Pinot Blanc and Gewürztraminer in organic cultivation
Werner Morandell is also the author of the book "Meine Reben" (My Vines), which presents the Lieselehof and its noteworthy vine museum "Museo delle Viti" with around 340 different grape varieties from all over the world. In addition to many varieties from the usual wine-growing countries, there are also some from
Afghanistan,
Egypt,
Albania,
Azerbaijan,
China,
Iran,
Kyrgyzstan,
Lebanon,
Russia,
South Africa,
Tajikistan, the
Czech Republic,
Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan. As a speciality, a white and a red "Hundert-Sortenwein Vino del Museo" are pressed from one hundred grape varieties each
The vineyards are located in the municipalities of Kaltern and Tramin, with an experimental vineyard on the Mendel Pass. Apart from the museum varieties, the vineyards are planted with the red wine varieties Vernatsch, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Carmenère, and with the white wine varieties Weißburgunder, Gewürztraminer, Bronner, Souvignier Gris and Solaris. Since the beginning of the 1990s, the vineyards have been cultivated according to the rules of
organic viticulture with as little use of chemical
pesticides as possible. The farm is certified organic (Land Südtirol, controlled by BIKO Tirol), but is not a member of an organic association. Almost exclusively organic
wines are produced.
Specialities of the product range are the Trockenbeerenauslese "Sweet Claire" from
Bronner with ~350 grams of residual sweetness, the "Vino del Passo" from
Solaris with 500 grams of vine yield coming from 1,300 metres above sea level, the DOC red wine
Kalterersee "Amadeus" from Vernatsch as well as the red wine cuvée "Maximilian" from Cabernet-Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Carmenère, which is aged in barriques for 24 months and then matures in the bottle for another year before being marketed. The winery is a member of the two winegrowers' associations
Freie Weinbauern Südtirol and PIWI Südtirol.
