WINEMAKER

Martin Schgraffer

Martin is based back home in South Tyrol (near Bolzano) and his path is the opposite of shortcuts: he studied viticulture & oenology in San Michele and Geisenheim, then went out to learn in real cellars and real harvest pressure — Oregon, plus time on the Nahe with the famous german winery Dönnhoff. After that he spent six years at Ansitz Dolomytos, before returning fully to his own place. Since 2023, it’s been 100% his project, his vineyards, his decisions.

His first home harvest of Chardonnay was in 2020, and the style is already super clear: organic farming, carefully worked sites between 220 and 500 meters above sea level, and a cellar philosophy that’s basically calm down and don’t mess it up. Low intervention here doesn’t mean “lazy” — it means the opposite: the work happens earlier, outside, so that inside the cellar there’s genuinely “almost nothing to do” during the year. Élevage is all about quiet structure and serious materials: Stockinger barrels in 300L and 600L, giving texture without ever making the wines taste like wood. Everything is bottled without fining and without filtration, so you get the full line — energy, grip, and that raw clarity that feels alive in the glass. The vines range from tiny young parcels to old material up to 63 years, adding depth without losing freshness.