Köfererhof Kerner: 2006-2014

BY IAN
D’AGATA | FEBRUARY 7, 2017&nbsp;



















Weingut Köfererhof
is one of Italy’s smallest and best white wine producers. Just about any grape
variety owner Günther Kerschbaumer touches turns to gold. Over the years, he
has fashioned remarkably delicious and ageworthy wines from the likes of
Sylvaner, Riesling, Kerner, Müller-Thurgau and other varieties. While
Köfererhof’s two most famous wines have always been the Sylvaner R (“R” stands
for reserve) and the Kerner, it was the estate’s amazingly pure, vibrant,
old-vines Müller-Thurgau wine—a variety from which few producers achieve truly
memorable wines—that first alerted me, now many years ago, to Kerschbaumer’s exceptional
talent. It is a sign of the times, unfortunately, that Kerschbaumer makes very
little Müller-Thurgau nowadays, as the variety is unfashionable and the wine is
a hard sell despite its high quality.<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1486487361161-Kerner+vineyards+behind+the+Kofererhof+winery+copy.JPG">Kerner vineyards behind the Kofererhof winery&nbsp; The Köfererhof EstateKöfererhof
is located in Alto Adige’s beautiful Valle Isarco subregion, next to the town
of Novacella and not far from Bressanone (or Brixen, in German, as Alto Adige
is the German part of Italy). The Valle Isarco is one of Italy’s true hotbeds
of high-quality white wine production, and the only place in Italy where you
will find world-class wines made from Kerner and Sylvaner (varieties that
aren’t grown much in the rest of Alto Adige, never mind Italy). Founded in
1940, the estate is run today by Günther Kerschbaumer, who took over the reins
from his father Peter in 2010, after having learned the craft by working alongside
him for roughly ten years. The family has only been bottling wine since the
1995 vintage; before that, like many others in the Valle Isarco, they sold grapes
to the Abbazia di Novacella, the area’s largest producer, and they previously
raised livestock as well. Today, Köfererhof is fully devoted to wine
production, though it also boasts a wonderful stube, or alpine restaurant, full of rustic charm that whips up
accurately cooked, flavorful and highly typical Alto Adige specialties
(incorporating a high-quality restaurant into the winery is another point
Köfererhof has in common with other top Valle Isarco wineries, such as
Pacherhof and Strasserhof).Everything You Wanted To Know About Kerner but
Were Afraid To AskYou might
say that Rodney Dangerfield and Kerner have something in common: as the latter
is a grape crossing, it doesn’t get any respect either. And that’s a real shame,
for Kerner can give standout results, at least in Italy. In fact, Köfererhof’s
isn’t the only noteworthy example of Italian Kerner wine: Manni Nössing,
Pacherhof, Abbazia di Novacella, Cantina Produttori Valle Isarco, and
Strasserhof are just some of the others in the Valle Isarco that produce
knockout Kerner wines. Kerner’s parents are Riesling and Trollinger (Italy’s
Schiava); it was bred by August Herold in 1929 and named after Justinius Andreas Christian Kerner,&nbsp;a 19th-century
poet and medical doctor (a seemingly rather charming fellow who believed in the
therapeutic qualities of wine in warding off ailments). No slouch in the
literary department, Kerner was but one in a long line of medical doctors who
have made noteworthy contributions over the centuries to the field of the
creative arts.Clearly,
Herold’s intent was to create a new grape variety embodying the best qualities of
each parent—in this case, Riesling’s nobility and Trollinger’s hardiness. There
are numerous reasons why farmers are happy to work with Kerner. In fact, at
7.5% of the total land surface planted to wine grapes, Kerner was Germany’s
third most planted wine grape in the mid-1990s (today it covers roughly half
that surface). In Alto Adige plantings are still small—roughly 90 hectares,
compared to Gewürztraminer’s 570 and Pinot Grigio’s more than 600 hectares—but have
been increasing steadily over the past few decades. Kerner is a hardy cultivar
that is less demanding than Sylvaner and Riesling and can be planted in
slightly less favorable sites. For example, it stands up better than those two
do to unexpected bouts of frost; in fact, one of Köfererhof’s best Kerner plots
is located in a small depression where the average daily temperature is at
least 2 degrees C. lower and humidity is higher than at the top of the hill, where
Riesling and Sylvaner are planted instead. In terms of preferred soil types, Kerner
is not particularly demanding either, although it does seem to have adapted
especially well to the sand, gravel and clay soils of the Valle Isarco.
Kerner’s thick-skinned berries and loosely packed bunches are another big plus,
because the variety doesn’t succumb to rot as easily as other local wine grapes
do.<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1486487406238-Gunther+Kerschbaumer+copy.JPG"> Gunther Kerschbaumer With
Kerner, vineyard altitude and yields are the two factors that most affect wine
quality. In the Valle Isarco, Kerner is grown at high enough altitudes (on
average, about 600 to 700 meters above sea level) to ensure that its wines
maintain freshness and vibrancy. As Kerner accumulates sugar very easily, it
needs to be planted higher up than many other varieties in order to avoid
excessive alcohol levels. A generous producer, Kerner also needs to be cropped
relatively low. Generally speaking, most Kerner grown outside of the Valle
Isarco is planted at altitudes that are too low for the variety to show its
best. But even in Alto Adige Kerner usually flowers and is picked a full two
weeks later in the Valle Isarco than it is in the rest of the region due to the
higher average altitude of its vines. Valle Isarco also experiences much
stronger diurnal temperature variation, which helps to ensure brighter aromas
and greater freshness in the wines.Clearly, not even the best Kerner wines deliver the almost magical purity and the penetrating aromas and flavors that characterize the finest wines made with Riesling. But Kerner does produce delicious, easy-to-understand wines that offer considerable early appeal and often sneaky concentration, and they can be surprisingly ageworthy. Generally speaking, Kerner wines are fuller- bodied but lower in acidity than Rieslings, and they offer lovely, exuberant aromas and flavors of kiwi (especially in the young wines), sage, mint, basil and especially white peach, the latter a&nbsp;sine qua non&nbsp;of a good Kerner wine. When the grapes are especially ripe, passion fruit and pineapple are evident, and I often find a curious hint of bubblegum too. With a little bottle age, Kerner’s familial relationship to Riesling is demonstrated by the development of diesel fuel notes, although these are never as obvious or as intense as they can be in some Riesling wines.Köfererhof’s Version of KernerKöfererhof
farms 11 hectares of vines overall (5.8 hectares are estate-owned) and grows
all the traditional varieties of the Valle Isarco (Sylvaner, Kerner,
Müller-Thurgau) as well as less traditional ones that are, however, very fashionable
today and much in demand everywhere (Riesling, Grüner Veltliner,
Gewürztraminer). The estate produces about 80,000 bottles annually, of which
their highly successful Kerner accounts for roughly 30,000. Köfererhof’s Kerner
vineyards face full south and are planted at a
density of 6,000 to 7,000 vines per hectare; they extend over 3.6 hectares
(of which 1.8 are estate-owned) at roughly 650 meters
above sea level. Soils are mainly gravel, rich in silt and sand of
morainic (i.e., glacial) origin. Kerschbaumer
vinifies Kerner in stainless steel, with only a short maceration on the skins
for six hours followed by clarification and fermentation at 20 degrees C. The
wine remains on its lees for six months in stainless steel and sees no oak
prior to being bottled.<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1486487494445-Gunther+and+his+Kerner+vertical+copy.JPG"> Gunther and his Kerner vertical<a target="_blank" href="http://vinous.com/wines?sort%5Bdirection%5D=asc&amp;sort%5Bname%5D=id&amp;wine_filter%5Barticle_id%5D=1574&amp;wine_filter%5Bproducer_id%5D=3649&amp;producer=true">See
All the Wines from Youngest to Oldest</a>You
Might Also Enjoy<a target="_blank" href="http://vinous.com/articles/cantina-terlano-pinot-bianco-vorberg-1959-2014-jan-2017">Cantina
Terlano Pinot Bianco Vorberg: 1959-2014</a>, Ian D’Agata, January 2017<a target="_blank" href="http://vinous.com/articles/miani-s-friulano-filip-and-buri-1991-2014-jan-2017">Miani’s Friulano
Filip and Buri: 1991-2014</a>, Ian D’Agata, January 2017<a target="_blank" href="http://vinous.com/articles/benito-ferrara-greco-di-tufo-vigna-cicogna-2008-2015">Benito Ferrara
Greco di Tufo Vigna Cicogna: 2008-2015</a>, Ian D’Agata November 2016<a target="_blank" href="http://vinous.com/articles/norman-hardie-chardonnay-vertical-2006-2014-nov-2016">Norman Hardie
Chardonnay Vertical: 2006-2014</a>, Ian D’Agata November 2016<a target="_blank" href="http://vinous.com/articles/weinbach-riesling-schlossberg-cuvee-ste-catherine-1990-2011-nov-2016">Weinbach
Riesling Schlossberg Cuvée Ste. Catherine: 1990-2011</a>, Ian D’Agata
November 2016<a target="_blank" href="http://vinous.com/articles/tawse-chardonnay-quarry-road-2006-2013-aug-2016">Tawse Chardonnay
Quarry Road: 2006-2013</a>, Ian D’Agata August 2016<a target="_blank" href="http://vinous.com/articles/zind-humbrecht-s-pinot-gris-clos-saint-urbain-rangen-de-thann-1983-2013-jun-2016">Zind-Humbrecht’s
Pinot Gris Clos Saint Urbain Rangen de Thann 1983-2013</a>, Ian D’Agata
June 2016<a target="_blank" href="http://vinous.com/articles/vertical-tasting-of-domaine-dirler-cade-s-sylvaner-may-2016">Vertical Tasting
of Domaine Dirler-Cadé’s Sylvaner</a>, Ian D’Agata May 2016&nbsp;





































<a target="_blank" href="http://vinous.com/multimedia/in-the-cellar-with-cantina-terlano-s-klaus-gasser-mar-2014">Multimedia: In
the cellar with Cantina di Terlano’s Klaus Gasser</a>, Antonio Galloni
March 2014

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