Franz Haas, Dolomiti Pinot Grigio

The grapes for this wine come from hillside vineyards in both Alto Adige and Trentino. In Alto Adige, the soils are rich and deep, with good clay content and dolomitic limestone formed by erosion from the surrounding mountains. Many of Franz Haas’s Alto Adige vineyards are now planted at higher altitudes (750–900 metres above sea level) to extend the growing season and enhance aromatic complexity. In 2020, Franz Haas secured a long lease on Pinot Grigio vineyards in Trentino to bring greater weight and structure to the wines. These vineyards lie lower (around 300 metres), with stony, limestone-rich soils. The vines in both regions are 16 years old, Guyot trained, and yield about 60 hectolitres per hectare, with exposures ranging from south to southwest.

The 2024 vintage required meticulous vineyard management due to highly volatile weather. A wet spring with heavy rains initially threatened vegetative growth and flowering. This was followed by intense heat in July and August, which demanded careful canopy management to protect the grapes from sunburn. At harvest, an extended period of rainfall added further challenges. Despite these conditions, the resulting fruit exceeded expectations in both quality and ripeness.

Grapes were hand picked and selected in the vineyards. Fermentation took place at controlled temperature almost exclusively in stainless steel tanks, with a small quantity in barrique.The wine aged for about four months on its lees to add complexity and give the wine a fuller body. Finally the Pinot Grigio remained three to four months in bottle before release.