The ancient monastery of Muri-Gries, located just south of the Brenner Pass in Südtirol is the source for a bevy of clean, complex and classy wines made from the traditional grapes of this beautiful region. Muri-Gries remains a working Benedictine monastery, which was originally built in the late eleventh century as a fortress. In the fourteenth century, the fortress was donated to a local group of monks and converted into a monastery. Brothers of the Benedictine order arrived here from neighboring Muri Switzerland in 1845 to take up residence in the recently abandoned site, in Gries, in South Tyrol. The monks immediately brought their more sophisticated viticultural approach to the monastery’s wines. Muri-Gries began to produce DOC wines in 1947, and since then the monastery has won local fame for the high quality of its wines, and is now becoming well-known to Italian wine-loving insiders throughout Europe and the US.
Today, Muri-Gries covers 30 hectares between two different areas. In the Oltradige area in Appiano, Muri-Gries has 10 hectares of mostly white varieties (Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Müller-Thurgau) grown on hillside vineyards at slightly higher elevations with calcareous gravel soils. In the Bolzano basin, at the confluence of three rivers, 20 hectares of red varieties are grown in this warmer area. The jewel of these excellent vineyard sites is the Klosteranger vineyard directly behind the monastery in Bolzano. Protected by the old monastery walls, Klosteranger covers 2.7 hectares. While Klosteranger has been prized by the monastery for several hundred years, it was registered as a single site in 2014. This is where enologist Christian Werth found perfect conditions for his single-varietal site project, focusing on Lagrein. The red wine grape of Lagrein is a traditional local variety of the Süd Tyrol (a cousin of Syrah), which produces a deep and complex wine that is both broad-shouldered and elegantIn his quest for ideal vine stocks, he and viticulturist Walter Bernard have performed intensive research in the vineyards and cellars since the early 1990s to preserve and propagate excellent old Lagrein vines. This multi-year selection has delivered exceptional Lagrein biotypes.
Always true to his principle of aiming for the ultimate in quality, Werth continued to steer the development of the monastery winery – as he has done for more than 30 years, during which he has made a decisive contribution to putting red wines from Alto Adige on the map and strengthening their position at the international level. After almost 40 years, Christian Werth handed over the responsibility of the monastery cellar and vineyards to Manfred Bernard 2025.
Lagrein produces a world-class red wine that offers a unique aromatic mélange of black cherries and dark berries, chocolate, fresh herb tones, earth, and a slightly resinous topnote that adds an additional layer of complexity. On the palate, Lagrein is full-bodied; a deep wine that is surprisingly supple and voluptuous, with modest, well-integrated tannins and lovely framing acids that add succulence and focus in the mouth. While the flavors run a bit towards its cousin, Syrah, the velvety palate impression, coupled with higher acidity, makes Lagrein unique in the world of Italian wine. Muri-Gries produces four distinct bottlings of Lagrein: Lagrein Kretzer a young wine raised in stainless steel, a “normale” fermented in steel and raised in oak, a Riserva that will age gracefully for a decade or more and the exceptional Weingarten Klosteranger, a single site wine from old vines in the Clos of the monastery.
In addition to their stunning examples of Lagrein, the monks and Manfred also produce a bevy of other lovely wines, including a superb Schiava, also called Vernatsch, which is the principal grape for the Santa Maddalena DOC. Schiava is lighter in body than Lagrein, with exceptional acidity and freshness. It's a perfect red for late spring and early summer, and is incredibly versatile. In addition, they the Abtei produces a Moscato Rosa (done in a sweeter style that can double as an aperitif or a dessert wine), a dry Rosé also made from Lagrein, and two excellent dry white wines: a stunning and very serious example of Pinot Grigio, and a more minerally and soil-driven Müller-Thurgau bottling. The monastery of Muri-Gries is a throwback to the times when all of the great European viticultural areas were pioneered by monks of various orders, and in their uncompromising commitment to quality, one can almost hear an echo of the walls of the Clos Vougeot being constructed by the Cistercians. This is a great source for superb Italian wines that offer stunning value: they are not to be missed.