Winemaker: Urban Plattner
Country: Italy
Region: Sudtirol (Alto Adige)
Website: https://www.indereben.com/
At the southern entrance of the Eistacktal (Isarco Valley), winemaker Urban Plattner biodynamically farms 3.5 hectares situated in the St Magdalena growing area. Perched on warm porphyry soils between 450-500 meters of elevation with southern exposure, the inner-alpine vineyards themselves are relatively flat, natural moraine terraces surrounded by forests. The name In Der Eben—which translates to “in the plain”—refers to this counterintuitive flat space up on the Ritten slopes above the Eisack just outside of Bozen (Bolzano).
The climate is Alpine-continental with warm days and cool nights. The Ritten slopes are near enough to the Adige to be influenced by the warm winds that come from the south which create ideal growing conditions for Urban’s native Vernatsch (Schiava) and Roter Malvasier vines.
Of the 3.5 total hectares, nearly half are devoted to Vernatsch (Schiava), an extremely important grape to the region and to Urban. Near the house and cellar, at 450 meters, the Vernatsch is trained—as is typical—on old pergolas. The Gewürztraminer and Sauvignon vineyards are planted a half-kilometer up the slope where the morning air is much cooler. As a result, these varieties express the alpine freshness the region’s white wines are best known for.
The smallest plots are the Freistil vineyard—a single vineyard co-planted with Merlot, Lagrein, and Teroldego—and a miniscule site directly in front of the house devoted to the rare, autochthonous Roter Malvasier. Urban’s Roter Malvasier is the last monovarietal wine made from this very old local variety.
Urban Plattner’s father, Johannes, was an early pioneer of organic viticulture in Alto Adige. He began the conversion to organic farming in 1990 when it was hardly marketable to do so. When Urban took over in 2014, he took the next step and began biodynamic management in the vineyards and cellar.
