Storia
Medieval antecedents
The Pignater property was already documented as a wine farm in the 13th century.
The Mayr family at Unterganzner
The Mayr family’s history at Unterganzner began in 1629, when Simon Mayr—known as “Küchenmayr” and originally from Völs am Schlern / Fiè allo Sciliar—purchased the Unterganznerhof. The farm subsequently passed directly from father to son. Eleven generations of the family have lived and worked there.
The property was preserved as a characteristic South Tyrolean closed farm: an inherited agricultural holding maintained as an undivided estate. Knowledge accumulated over successive generations, shared work and cooperation within the family supported continuity in farming and wine production.
Cellar tradition and protection from the rivers
A well-preserved historical booklet containing detailed instructions for cellar masters bears witness to the estate’s longstanding engagement with winemaking. Wine was formerly stored and matured exclusively in wooden barrels. Long before the beginning of the 20th century, it was already being transported beyond the province.
The main Unterganzner vineyard was reclaimed over centuries from the surrounding river environment. A flood-protection wall constructed in 1779 still surrounds the farm and protects it from the adjacent waterways.
Estate bottling and expansion
For approximately four decades, the family has bottled its own quality wines and managed the entire process—from growing and processing the grapes to vinification and the sale of individual bottles—within the estate.
The historic Pignater estate entered Mayr-family ownership in 2004. In 2014, the family began cultivating the Heilmann vineyard beside the Heilmann farm at Santa Giustina. Kohlegg was added to the estate’s vineyard sites in 2018. At more than 800 m, it became a setting for organic cultivation of fungus-resistant varieties and trials involving several Pinot Nero clones.
The cellar evolved from its historical reliance on wood to modern installations incorporating concrete, stainless steel and contemporary technology. Wooden casks nevertheless retained a central role, with the finest wines continuing to mature exclusively in wood.
Eleventh-generation management
Josef Mayr assumed leadership of the estate in 2025 as the eleventh generation. He works alongside his parents, Barbara and Josephus, his sister Katharina, his wife Franka and the estate team. The current approach combines careful vineyard cultivation and harvesting at optimal maturity with precise, creative cellar work.
Terroir
Setting
The main Mayr-Unterganzner farm stands at 285 m above sea level on the eastern edge of the Bolzano basin, where the Eggentaler Bach / Rio d’Ega meets the Eisack / Isarco. The farm is situated on the area’s characteristic porphyry rock. Its vineyards extend from the valley basin onto the adjoining slopes, ranging from the riverside Unterganzner property to Kohlegg at more than 800 m.
Soils and river influence
At Unterganzner, proximity to the rivers has created deep alluvial soils of porphyritic origin. Their light structure allows them to warm rapidly in spring, remain well aerated and drain efficiently. They also possess a complex mineral composition. The vineyard land was secured against erosion and flooding over the course of centuries; the protective wall erected in 1779 continues to enclose the farm.
The other sites encompass porphyry-derived material, weathered porphyry, glacial gravel and shallow, light morainic soils. Kohlegg’s weathered porphyry soil also contains clay.
Site diversity
Pignater occupies a north-east-facing position on the Kampenn slope at 370–450 m. It combines prolonged growing-season sunshine with good ventilation and pronounced temperature fluctuations. Heilmann lies above the steep porphyry face on the right bank of the Eisack; its proximity to the edge of the rock face provides particularly effective ventilation. Boden, at the foot of the near-vertical porphyry cliffs of Santa Giustina, is the warmest and most sheltered site. Platt is a narrow foothill vineyard at Kampenn. Kohlegg, beneath the Außerkohlegg farm at Cornedo / Karneid, lies above 800 m and provides the estate’s coolest high-altitude growing environment.
Vinificazione
The vineyard program is directed toward the production of high-quality grapes. Traditional pergola training has been retained but modified to combine a high number of vines per hectare with low yields from each vine. Variety selection, updated methods of yield regulation and gentle cultivation practices serve that objective.
Artificial fertilizers and herbicides are excluded. Vineyard care is designed to work in harmony with the surrounding environment. To preserve a high average vine age, entire vineyards are not routinely uprooted. Dead or declining vines are replaced individually, while established plantings are renewed only in part.
Lagrein is the estate’s principal variety and receives particular attention. Decades of selection have produced vine derivatives retained for the quality of their grapes. At Kohlegg, above 800 m, the family is developing experience with the organic cultivation of fungus-resistant varieties and multiple Pinot Nero clones.
Harvest timing is determined by the objective of picking grapes at their optimal maturity. Selective yield regulation is applied, while the training system varies between pergola and Guyot according to the vineyard and variety.
For approximately four decades, the Mayr family has bottled its own quality wines and handled the complete sequence—from growing and processing estate grapes to vinification, bottling and direct sale of the finished bottles—within the property.
The historical cellar relied exclusively on wooden barrels. Wines were being transported beyond the province long before the beginning of the 20th century. The modern facility combines concrete and stainless-steel installations with contemporary cellar technology. Wood remains fundamental: the finest wines mature exclusively in wooden casks.
Cellar work centers on careful grape handling and scrupulous treatment of the developing wine so that the quality created in the vineyard is preserved and refined. The present approach combines precision with creative winemaking instead of imposing a single uniform method across the range.
Filosofia
Quality begins with the cultivation of high-grade grapes and must be protected through every subsequent stage. The estate therefore connects careful vineyard work and harvesting at optimal maturity with gentle grape handling and precise cellar practices.
Continuity is a central family principle. Eleven generations of accumulated knowledge, shared labor and cooperation have kept the farm intact and shaped its present approach. Traditional elements—particularly pergola training, older vines and wooden casks—are retained where they contribute to quality. Contemporary yield-management knowledge, concrete and stainless-steel cellar installations, modern technology and experimental high-altitude plantings are incorporated selectively.
Environmental responsibility is expressed through the exclusion of artificial fertilizers and herbicides, partial rather than wholesale vineyard renewal, organic cultivation at Kohlegg and experimentation with fungus-resistant varieties. The family’s objective is to produce wines of consistent quality and marked character while preserving the quality achieved in the vineyard.