More than 2,000 grape deliveries, 1,062 individual vineyard plots and plenty of work by hand: the harvest at Cantina Kaltern is full of stories, figures and traditions. We have gathered seven interesting insights into the harvest in Caldaro.
The grape harvest is the most intense time of the year for a winery. Within just a few weeks, everything comes together that our winegrower members have worked towards throughout the year. Much has changed over time, while other traditions have been part of the harvest in Caldaro for generations.
But where does the term Wimmen, traditionally used by many German mother-tongue speakers in Alto Adige for the grape harvest, come from? What do many winegrowing families traditionally eat for lunch in the vineyards? And how many individual vineyard plots does our team have to keep track of? Here are seven insights into our harvest.
In Alto Adige, many people whose mother tongue is German still use the traditional term “Wimmen” for the grape harvest. The word has a long history and, like the Italian vendemmiare, ultimately derives from the Latin vindemiare, meaning to harvest grapes. Two different words with the same origin.
At Cantina Kaltern, the grapes are harvested exclusively by hand. Bunch by bunch and vine by vine, the ripe grapes are picked and today delivered to the winery almost exclusively in large crates. Harvest time makes it particularly clear just how much manual work goes into a bottle of wine. Before the grapes even reach our cellar, many hands have already carefully tended, picked and transported them.
The vineyards of our winegrower members are divided into a total of 1,062 individual plots. Each has its own particular conditions, from location and exposure to soil, microclimate and grape variety. Our viticulture manager Simon Ebner and our winemaker Thomas Scarizuola know these vineyards and monitor the development of the grapes throughout the growing season. Long before harvest begins, this gives them a precise picture of the quality developing in the individual sites. This knowledge is crucial in deciding when each plot should be harvested and what path the grapes will take in the cellar.
During the harvest, more than 2,000 individual grape deliveries arrive at our winery. And every single one is tasted by our winemaker Thomas Scarizuola. Analytical values such as sugar levels and acidity are only part of the picture. The grapes are also visually assessed and tasted to evaluate ripeness, flavour and quality. Together with our knowledge of where the grapes come from, this provides a comprehensive picture of every individual delivery.
For many winegrowing families in Caldaro, harvest time also includes a very special lunch break. Traditionally, polenta is cooked over an open fire in a copper pot right in the vineyard and served with homemade sausage and Gorgonzola. When several generations work together among the vines, lunch becomes a convivial moment in the middle of a long working day. And although not every family still brings a copper pot into the vineyard today, the tradition remains part of harvest time in Caldaro.
When harvest time arrives, the whole family pitches in for many of our winegrowers. Parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters – and often the children lend a hand too. For many families, harvest is therefore much more than simply work: it is a shared highlight of the winegrowing year, bringing several generations together. This is also where one of the essential aspects of our cooperative becomes particularly visible.
After weeks of intensive work, when the last grapes make their way to the winery, an old tradition marks the occasion: the final load of the harvest. It is decorated with a handmade wreath, visibly marking the end of the grape harvest. While harvest traditionally began in September and continued into October, this rhythm has increasingly shifted forward. Rising temperatures mean that harvesting now starts earlier. In 2026, we began as early as mid-August with Chardonnay for our sparkling wine base. Cabernet Sauvignon is generally the last variety to be harvested.
