Tramin, pearl of Alto Adige, has invested another 15 million euros in the winery, and in “Epokale”

Alto Adige is universally acknowledged one of the territories where the absolutely best white wines come from in Italy, and around the world. This success is due to private and cooperative organizations, which have transformed a territory that in the past, like many others, focused more on red wines and quantities, but then changed, and by studying the suitability of the vineyards and white vines, has become synonym of quality. One of these is the Tramin Winery, a wine company that boasts 270 hectares of vineyards, managed by 160 families of winemakers, and which, thanks to its success, continues to invest on multiple fronts. They have invested 15 million euros in the “structure”, to renovate the part of the winery dedicated to depositing and vinifying grapes, especially white ones. They decided to invest following the rapid growth of the area planted with white berry grape varieties, and consequently to vinifying (but it will also affect vinifying red wines), in two scheduled steps: first, by August 2024, the structural work will be completed, creating a new underground space, and secondly, the existing machinery and the new machinery - which will be purchased for even higher quality processing - will be moved to the new part, directly connected to the existing tank area, for the 2025 harvest.
The work to be carried out is aimed at enhancing the quality of the wines, which the market and critics have already widely acknowledged, and that especially some labels symbolize. For instance, the very famous Epokale, the wine that refines inside the Ridanna Monteneve mine, and that was also the first Italian white wine (and the first wine produced outside of Tuscany and Piedmont) to win the 100/100 of “Robert Parker - The Wine Advocate”, in 2018, for the 2009 vintage. The wine, Gewürztraminer Spätlese is the fruit of the talent of Willi Stürz, who has been the wine director of the winery for 32 years, and has continued to collect consistently very high scores, thus becoming one of the few great Italian “investment” whites. And, therefore, a significant revaluation of the price, as confirmed by companies such as the online auction portal, Catawiki (which has just sold a lot of three bottles of varying vintages (2013, 2015 and 2016),“ex winery”, for 1.700 euros, and eWibe, the first live market dedicated to buying and selling fine wines. “Epokale is now experiencing a top player moment on the Italian and European wine scene”, Mattia Garon, Catawiki auction curator, commented, “especially considering that we are talking about a white wine obtained from Gewürztraminer, an absolute uniqueness. The starting cost is considerable, but data shows a growing trend - driven by the 2009 vintage - gaining stability and consolidating into a potential investment”.
“Epokale is one of the Italian wines that in recent years has received the greatest approval from specialized critics, and at the same time has sparked the curiosity of many enthusiasts. The revaluation achieved on the secondary market”, Leonardo Bernasconi, Head of Wine at eWibe commented, “has astounded even the most attentive observers. As a matter of fact, it is the first case of Italian white wine to have obtained a significant revaluation compared to the winery’s release prices”. For instance, Epokale 2009, released on the market in 2017 at 80 euros per bottle (the company’s issue price), reached a value of 1.100 euros per bottle in 2023, while the 2015 vintage, released in 2022 from the winery at 150 euros, today is already fluctuating between 380 and 400 euros on the secondary market.
Furthermore, Leonardo Bernasconi explained, “eWibe uses a proprietary algorithm that tracks the prices and trends of each bottle of wine. Specifically, Epokale 2013 highlights the average market price at 208 euros, while Epokale 2015 is positioned at just under double that price, at an average price of 393 euros. Moreover, its recent performances suggest an interesting potential in growth prospects, by virtue of the upcoming 2016 vintage release, rated excellent. The eWibe market has highlighted that including some wines selected from less consolidated production areas, compared to more historical geographical areas such as Piedmont and Tuscany, can be useful for the purpose of diversification within investment portfolios of fine wines”.
“Nowadays, it is quite difficult to identify investments in the wine world, because the usual suspects continue to have increasingly higher prices and very few Italian names manage to enter the list. Epokale”, Mattia Garon added, “although it is young, is demonstrating and consolidating its presence in this segment, opening up many opportunities. We can confidently state, in light of the data collected, that Epokale has become one of the spearheads of Italian wine internationally acknowledged”.
“The Epokale project”, Wolfgang Klotz, Commercial Director of Cantina Tramin, explained, “was created almost fifteen years ago, having the aim of giving shape and consolidating the quality and distribution summit of the company. Our dream, expressed in a path of continuous improvement, thanks to constant research, consists in creating a memorable, elegant, exciting wine, which will become established in the signature restaurant circuit. The speed with which we have collected so many prestigious awards has exceeded all our expectations. We have interpreted this result as the confirmation of the value and commitment we place in the vineyard and the winery, and which has led Epokale to become the most sought after Italian white wine in Italy”.