Wine road cycling tour with tastings

Italy's oldest designated wine road stretches 70km through Alto Adige, connecting 16 wine villages. Cycling the route allows stops at multiple wineries, castles, and traditional Buschenschank taverns serving local wine and speck.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Rent an E-Bike and Ride Into Italy's Oldest Wine Road Adventure · Price: low

   You are about to ride through the Südtiroler Weinstraße — Italy's oldest designated wine road, running 70 km through 16 wine villages from Nals near Bolzano south to Salorno. The cycle path from Caldaro to Eppan follows a converted 19th-century railway line — old locomotives could barely handle 6% grades, so the path is essentially flat. Book online at suedtirol-rad.com for up to 20% discount at Sportservice Erwin Stricker (Piazza dei Rottenburg 1, Caldaro, directly next to the train station). E-bikes approx €30-45 per day. Pick up the Tabacco cycling map #049 and ride south toward Lake Caldaro first — 3.5 km flat through wine country where road signs are in German first, Italian second.

   Backup: If full, the tourism office across the street lists all nearby rental points. Alternatively take the regional train one stop to Termeno/Tramin and rent there, working north instead of south.

   Log Memory
2. 2 Taste Free Wine at the Cooperative That a Village Built Wine · Free

   Walk into Cantina Kaltern (Via Stazione 7, Caldaro — 200 metres from the bike rental) and ask to taste the Kalterersee Classico Superiore DOC. This is Vernatsch (Schiava) — a grape so light-bodied Germans chill it like rosé, yet it is a red wine. Soft strawberry, almost weightless in the glass. 530 farming families from this one village make it together. Not a corporation. A village. The vineyards surround the lake you are about to ride to. Tastings are completely free — walk in, no appointment. Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-7pm, Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 10am-6pm. Pick up a bottle of Kalterersee Classico Superiore (€8-12) to bring to the lake.

   Backup: If closed (early spring or winter), any wine shop or Stube restaurant in Caldaro village will have Kalterersee Classico Superiore by the glass for €4-6.

   Log Memory
3. 3 Swim in the Warmest Alpine Lake Inside a Wine DOC Zone Adventure · Free

   This is the warmest bathing lake in the entire Alpine region — water temperature reaches 28°C in summer. The vineyards producing Kalterersee Classico Superiore DOC run right to the water's edge at Lake Caldaro (south shore public beach, 3.5 km south of Caldaro on the cycle path). The grapes in the glass you tasted at Cantina Kaltern grew here, within sight of this beach. There is no other place in the wine world where you can swim inside the appellation you just tasted. Public beach is FREE. Swim season May to October. Bring the bottle you bought at Cantina Kaltern. The cycling path continues south along the lakeshore — ride the full perimeter (about 8 km) before pushing south to Tramin.

   Backup: If off-season or cold, lakeside restaurants along the east bank serve Kalterersee wine by the glass with local Speck. Same effect, drier version.

   Log Memory
4. 4 Stand in the Village That Named Gewürztraminer Wine · Price: moderate

   The village of Tramin (Termeno) lent its name to Gewürztraminer — the world's most aromatic white wine. Medieval Tramin wines had international fame by the 1200s. German winemakers named their best aromatic white 'Traminer' after this village's legendary reputation. Then in the 19th century the spicy mutation became 'Gewürztraminer' — 'spiced Traminer'. The grape was not even genetically from here. The village was so famous that it named a grape it did not create. Elena Walch's cellar tour (Via Andreas Hofer 1, Tramin, 10 km south of Lake Caldaro) takes you through avant-garde architecture and carved barrels, ending with a tasting of Vigna Kastelaz Gewürztraminer — the estate's single-vineyard benchmark, a Gambero Rosso 3 bicchieri winner. Ask about the naming paradox. Book: email visite@walch.it or call +39 0471 860172. Tours May to mid-October, Mon-Sat. €20 per person.

   Backup: If Elena Walch is fully booked, Cantina Tramin (Via del Vino 144, Termeno) is the historic cooperative in the same village — one of the oldest in northern Italy. Walk-in tastings available.

   Log Memory
5. 5 Find the 424-Year-Old Vine Clinging to a House Wall History · Free

   In October 1601, Domenig de Valentini grafted a vine scion onto the wall of his family's residence. It took root. It is now 424 years old — the oldest documented domestic vine in Europe, confirmed by the Alto Adige Wine Consortium. It still produces approximately 80 kilograms of grapes every autumn. There is no fence. No ticket booth. No opening hours. Just a gnarled, centuries-old vine covering a stone wall at Vicolo dei Conti (Grafengasse) in Margreid village center (8 km south of Tramin on the Wine Road), unmistakably alive. In 1601, planting a vine was a tradition for marking major events: a wedding, the birth of an heir, a new construction, a farm handover. Domenig planted his to mark something. No record survives of what. The vine survived phylloxera, two World Wars, and four centuries of harvests. Ask any local for 'la vigna antica' or 'der alte Weinstock.'

   Backup: The Magrè village itself is worth 15 minutes regardless. Smallest wine village on the Wine Road. A wine shop at the village entrance sells local producers.

   Log Memory

Insider tips

• Rent e-bikes in Bolzano (Südtirol Rad) as the terrain is hilly

• Stop at Buschenschank Pernthaler for cold cuts, cheese, and wine from the farmer

• Book a guided cycling + wine tour for logistics and insider access