Thalman
Laste Basse, Renon
Where the lion lives.
Just below the narrow road leading from Bolzano up to Renon, at an altitude of 600 meters above sea-level, lies Gottfried Lun’s Thalman Hof. Vineyards can be traced back here to the Middle Ages (around 1300); the small plateau high above the Isarco River has a microclimate that produces grapes for very special wines. With a look of pride on his face, Gottfried Lun, whose ancestors took over the farm in 1893, stands in front of the house, which offers a fantastic view of the Catinaccio mountains aka the Rose Garden. The door behind him is surmounted by the coat of arms of the vineyard, a lion rampant holding a bunch of white grapes in its paws.
Residual soils for Pinot Noir.
The strength of a lion is what Gottfried Lun needed many years ago when his father unexpectedly died. He was just 8 years old, and from one day to the next he was alone with his mother. The vineyard was kept going with the help of relatives until the young Gottfried had finished school and was ready to manage the business himself. Today he can say with a certain satisfaction and in his South Tyrolean voice: “The way was always up!” This is especially true of the Pinot Noir vines he planted. Pinot Noir has flourished at Thalman for about 30 years now; the vines love the deep residual soils which are somewhat heavier here than elsewhere. Lun thinks that even Lagrein could one day prove successful at this elevation.
A future with the first women in charge.
When he surveys his vineyards, in his blue apron worn over a shirt and dark corduroy pants, you can see the laugh lines around the eyes in his sculpted face. At the age of 67, he is thinking not about retirement but about the future. His dream is that one day his daughters will take over the vineyard. The Thalman Hof would then be run by women for the first time in its history. And of one thing Gottfried Lun is quite sure: The lion in the coat of arms will help them, too.
