Cortaccia sulla Strada del Vino
Cortaccia sulla Strada del Vino, in tedesco Kurtatsch an der Weinstraße, è un comune della provincia di Bolzano/Alto Adige situato...
Mis à jour le 17 juillet 2026
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L'histoire de Cortaccia sulla Strada del Vino
Cortaccia on the Wine Road, in the Bassa Atesina
Cortaccia sulla Strada del Vino occupies a broad, sun-drenched terrace on the western side of the Adige Valley, in the Bassa Atesina (Unterland), between the municipalities of Termeno, Egna and Montagna, in the province of Bolzano. The main village sits at 333 metres above sea level, but the municipal territory climbs quickly toward Monte Favogna and Monte di Mezzo (Mitterberg), reaching altitudes well above a thousand metres. The German name, Kurtatsch an der Weinstraße, and the Italian one coexist on road signs and in the daily life of a community that is overwhelmingly German-speaking, with an Italian minority. Besides the main village, the municipality includes the hamlets of Corona (Graun), Niclara (Entiklar) and Penone (Penon) on the valley floor, and Favogna di Sopra (Oberfennberg) higher up, reached by a road that climbs through woods and pastures to the plateau. Cortaccia is one of the classic stops on the South Tyrolean Wine Road, the wine-tourism route that runs from Bolzano down to Salorno along the line of the vine-covered hills.
The Cooperative Winery and the Wines of Cortaccia
Winemaking is Cortaccia's strongest identity trait: the area's exposures, among the warmest in the province of Bolzano, were already valued in Roman times, as finds unearthed within the municipal territory attest. At the heart of local production is the Cantina Produttori Cortaccia (Kurtatsch Kellerei), founded in 1900 and renovated in 2020 with a dolomite-stone extension: around 190 grower families deliver grapes from as many hectares of vineyard. In the lower, warmer zones, growers cultivate Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, which also go into the Freienfeld reserve and the Tres selection, made from micro-parcels of the three red varieties harvested and vinified separately; higher up, above the Brenntal vineyard, on clay and gravel soils, aromatic Gewürztraminer finds its ideal home. Alongside the cooperative, historic private estates operate here too, including the Tiefenbrunner winery, based at Castel Turmhof castle in the hamlet of Niclara.
The Historic Village of Farmsteads and Manor Houses
The centre of Cortaccia, first documented in 1191, preserves an urban layout of narrow lanes, farmsteads and manor houses that speak of a prosperity built up over centuries through wine. Numerous buildings, including old farmhouses and noble residences, date from between the 13th and the 17th century; among them stands out the Am Orth farmstead, considered the oldest in the village, which today houses the small Zeitreise Mensch museum devoted to everyday life in the past. The village is dominated by the Romanesque bell tower of the parish church of San Vigilio, built around 1300, while the parish itself has been documented since 1515. Strolling through the village lanes, visitors come across stone portals, inner courtyards and signs marking family-run wine estates, in an urban fabric where farming has never stopped intertwining with the daily life of its inhabitants.
The Favogna Plateau and Monte di Mezzo
Behind the main village, Cortaccia's territory climbs to the Favogna plateau (Fennberg), shared with the neighbouring municipality of Magrè, a high-altitude environment that contrasts with the vine-covered landscape of the valley floor. Here lies Lake Favogna, a body of water at 1,034 metres that has been protected as a biotope since 1977 for the richness of its flora and fauna, a popular summer destination for swimming and lakeside walks. In the hamlet of Favogna di Sopra grow several giant sequoias planted in 1898 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Emperor Franz Joseph's coronation, while nearby lies what is considered Europe's highest Müller-Thurgau vineyard, cultivated by the Tiefenbrunner winery. On the opposite side of the valley rises the profile of Monte di Mezzo, the Mitterberg, clearly visible even from the western shore of Lake Caldaro, a destination for hiking loops that wind through woods and clearings.
History, Traditions and Wine-Tourism Experiences
The history of Cortaccia has its roots in Roman times, when the area's sunny hillsides were already planted with vines; excavations in the centre of the village have even brought to light the remains of a centuries-old vine. The village's name, from the Latin cortis (courtyard), appears for the first time in a document dated 1191. In the centuries that followed, Cortaccia remained an agricultural municipality, whose economy still rests largely on viticulture and fruit growing. Today the village offers several wine-related experiences, starting with the Sentiero Enodidattico, an educational wine trail of about 4 kilometres that starts from the main square, marked by the large wooden hand of the Saltner, and illustrates the stages of grape growing over a walk of a little more than an hour. Alongside it runs the Oltradige-Bassa Atesina cycle path, which connects Cortaccia to the other villages of the Wine Road, making the area easy to explore by bike among vineyards and wineries.
Not to be missed
- Cantina Produttori Cortaccia, the historic cooperative winery renovated in 2020
- Castel Turmhof and the Tiefenbrunner wine estate in Niclara
- The parish church of San Vigilio with its Romanesque bell tower
- Lake Favogna, a protected biotope on the Monte Favogna plateau
- The educational wine trail through the vineyards, starting from the village square
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