Abbazia di Novacella 2025 Kerner Alto Adige Valle Isarco 750ml

Abbazia di Novacella is genuinely one of the world's oldest working wineries — founded in 1142 by the Augustinian Order of Canons Regular in the Isarco Valley of the Italian Alps, the monks still run the abbey today, taking vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and personally overseeing the organic farming of their own vineyards. The abbey functions as a genuinely self-sustaining community, farming grapes, apples, and vegetables, and operating its own viticulture school alongside the winery — a real, living monastic tradition stretching back nearly nine centuries.

Kerner is a genuinely cool-climate specialty — a cross between the red grape Schiava Grossa and Riesling, developed in Germany in 1929 and named for Justinus Kerner, a poet and physician who recommended his patients drink a glass of wine as "the best natural medicine." The grape has found a true home in the high-altitude Alpine vineyards surrounding the abbey, climbing more than 2,600 feet above sea level, less than 30 miles from the Brenner Pass into Austria, where cool evenings preserve the wine's characteristic zippy acidity. Farming is organic, grapes are hand-harvested, and fermentation relies entirely on native yeast in stainless steel, lightly filtered and unfined to preserve real freshness and purity.

James Suckling reviewed this exact 2025 vintage. Argaux's own tasting found the wine showing "peaches, apricots, tangerines, lime zest, green apple, white flower, herbal-edge, mountain minerality," calling it "all about purity and freshness." Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant's tasting found the wine "fuller bodied on the palate with a texture bordering on opulent," ending "with bright acidity on the crisp finish," with enologist Celestino Lucin — named Winemaker of the Year by Gambero Rosso in 2009 — recommending it paired with "cold summer pasta salads," while noting it has "the weight to hold up to pork, veal, roast chicken or swordfish." For genuine house-style context, the immediately preceding 2024 vintage was described by Skurnik as entering with "heady scents of elderflower, citrus, yellow peach, white almond and wet stone" that transform on the palate "into apricot, gooseberry, grapefruit and saline mineral notes." This is genuinely serious, high-altitude Alpine white wine — real purity and structure from one of the oldest continuously operating wineries on Earth.

Origins & Craftsmanship

Abbazia di Novacella 2025 Kerner Alto Adige Valle Isarco is produced by Abbazia di Novacella, founded in 1142 by the Augustinian Order of Canons Regular in the Isarco Valley (Valle Isarco), South Tyrol, Italy — one of the world's oldest working wineries, still run today by the monastic order. The wine is made entirely from Kerner, a cross of Schiava Grossa and Riesling, grown in high-altitude vineyards more than 2,600 feet above sea level, near the Brenner Pass.

Farming is certified organic, with hand-harvested grapes and native yeast fermentation in stainless steel, lightly filtered and unfined. The winery's enologist, Celestino Lucin, was named Winemaker of the Year in 2009 by Gambero Rosso.

Critics Reviews

James Suckling •  "A succulent and lively white with ripe lemons, fresh flowers and some pastry spices. Medium-bodied with fresh acidity. Vivid and precise with a salty finish."

Skurnik Wines & Spirits (house-style context, 2024 vintage):
"The Abbazia di Novacella 2024 Kerner is another fantastic offering from this leading producer. It entices with heady scents of elderflower, citrus, yellow peach, white almond and wet stone that on the delicious, elegant palate transform into apricot, gooseberry, grapefruit and saline mineral notes."

Tasting Profile

Nose
Peach and apricot lead, joined by tangerine and lime zest, alongside green apple and white flower, with a subtle herbal edge.

Palate
Fuller-bodied, with a texture bordering on opulent, carrying real mountain minerality and fresh stone fruit.

Finish
Bright and crisp, closing with lively acidity — genuinely pure and food-friendly.

Quick Overview

Food Pairings

• Cold summer pasta salads
• Pork, veal, or roast chicken
• Grilled fish or swordfish
• Alpine cheese