Endrizzi – more than 125 years of innovation in the Trentino

Those who have ideas and can successfully implement them are often ahead of the others. This is the case with the Endrizzi estate, whose owners continue to give new impulses to the wine growers in the Trentino area. The wines are perfect, which American First Lady, Michelle Obama, was able to see for herself.

Sustainability? 25 years ago and long before the term sustainability became a buzz word, the Endricis took the first steps toward becoming a “green” operation. For the Endrici family, Dr. Paolo Endrici says, “sustainability is an intentional lifestyle and not a short-lived hot topic.” For the past 15 years, the company has been engaged in a field test with the renowned Istituto Agrario di San Michele. Numerous nest boxes (25 per hectare) and complex small biotopes make almost all chemical pesticides unnecessary for the 700 bushes and other vegetation that were planted. Pest control is performed by the feathered helpers and other beneficial organisms that have taken up residence there.

Having a lawyer in the family is almost tradition. Back in 1885, Francesco Endrici founded the vineyard and the agricultural operation in Masetto close to San Michele all’ Adige, and he introduced the traditional Bordeaux grape varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc to the Trentino area. The Endricis were always wine growers and lawyers; Paolo, like Francesco, works as a lawyer, and the two traditions have merged. Together with his wife Christine, an architect from Germany, and her brother Thomas Kemmler the traditional winery has been aligned in a future-oriented way.

Today, the family cultivates 17 hectares of its own vineyards in the Trentino area, but also purchases grapes from local contract wine growers with whom they have a long-standing business relationship (another 23 hectares). 30 hectares are under vines at Serpaia di Endrizzi in Tuscany. In Trentino, autochthonous grape varieties like Nosiola, Teroldego and Lagrein are cultivated, and likewise some blends with a long tradition. The Masetto-Wines represent the Endrizzi imprint in a very special way. 80% of the production (600,000 bottles) are distributed abroad via selected retailers and gastronomes.

Many awards, including the recent Grand Gold awarded by the International Wine Award MUNDUS VINI 2011 for their 2007 Gran Masetto, which received the highest score for red wine in this com-petition, and references to it in the pertinent magazines and wine guides speak for themselves. Michelle Obama sampled Endrizzi wines while visiting a restaurant in Rome during the G8 summit and loved it; and the players of world champion football club Bayern Munich toasted with the Brut Endrizzi at their summer camp in the Trentino region, and Donna Leon served at the official celebration of her 70th birthday in Venice exclusively Endrizzi wines.