Although the Kuen Hof vineyards have been farmed by the family for 200 years, it wasn’t until 1989 that they realized they knew the terroir so well, that it made sense to make the wine themselves. Today, Peter and Brigitte Pliger do it all—they own and run the estate, diligently work the steep vineyards and make the wine. Their careful attention to organic farming, in addition to the use of a few biodynamic practices, makes all the difference in their wines. Terroir is pure and unadulterated, which is good, because the continental climate, high elevation and unique soils are all excellent for Riesling. Planted at more than 1,800 feet above sea level on southeast-facing slopes, the vineyards for the Kaiton Riesling are very intense to farm. Many growers in the region have given up on farming here because the work is so grueling and dangerous. This however, does not keep Peter and Brigitte from producing some of the most magnificent Riesling in all of Italy.

The unique glacial runoff soils, full of schist, quartz phyllite, stones and crushed rocks, are really what make this wine so special. Unlike other Riesling soil types this distinct combination gives the wine more complexity and depth than we may be used to in Riesling—though it still retains the classic minerality, freshness, and thirst-quenching acidity that we all love in top-quality examples. When I first tasted this wine, I found it hard to put the glass down. Another reason why I found this wine so alluring, may be the technique of aging the wine in Acacia barrels. Peter is one of the first winemakers to do this in the Eisacktaler region and even the man whom he studied under, Ignaz Niedrist, has now begun to use Acacia barrels for aging.