Address: Via Labers, 4 (Maia Alta) - 39012 Merano (BZ) Italy
Phone: +39 0(473)211 011
Website: www.rametz.com/museo_vino-i.ht
Tours of the wine-growing museum and the Castle cellars including wine-tasting under the guidance of an expert take place daily from Monday to Friday at 4.30 p.m., starting in the vinothek.The tour lasts approximately 90 minutes. In winter the tour only takes place upon request.

In its four spacious rooms our wine-growing museum exhibits ancient tools used in viniculture. Many partly-forgotten implements have been brought together in decades of dedicated work and the collection now ranges from tools for cultivation of the land and for the picking and carrying of grapes to aids for pest control. There are also tools for the cultivation of corn and the processing of cereals - activities which have a long tradition in the Vinschgau Valley. The word “Vinschgerle”, given to the popular and delicious local bread, is derived from the name of the area.

The first mention of Rametz Castle as an important wine-growing estate dates back to 1227. In 1860 the first Pinot Noir grape-vine in South Tyrol was planted here. Since that year the distinguished Riesling, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon vines have flourished in its fertile soil. The special position on a hill formed by glacial deposits contributes to the fact that the Guyot vines, which are tended with loving care, produce high quality grapes which, in turn, by means of the most modern cellar technology develop into our prize-winning wines.

We begin our tour with a short walk through the vineyards. During it you will learn all you want to know about the work in the vineyard and the history of Rametz Castle. Then we pay a visit to the wine-growing museum. In its four rooms we can see all kinds of old implements, which were indispensable for the hard work in the vineyards in earlier times. It follows that we then go down into the cellars to find out more about the work there. The 18th century cellar is certainly one of the most beautiful of its kind in the whole of the Burggrafenamt. To round off the tour we sample five of our very best house wines and give you a taste of our delicious “Kaiserspeck” (raw smoked bacon), a typical South Tyrolean product.

The big cellar was built in the 18th century and is certainly one of the most beautiful of its kind in the Burggrafenamt; it is made entirely of square-shaped hewn stone blocks, arranged with great architectural skill. The oak casks stacked in rows and the evocative lighting give it a unique charm. The small wine cellar dates back to the 12th century. This is where the high quality barrique wines reach maturity.