Wine in Caldaro lakeside, Alto Adige

Tenuta Manincor candle-lit cellar tasting room ★ 4.7

Manincor's modern cellar is built 12 metres below ground beneath the historic Caldaro villa, with skylights piercing the vineyard above and candle-style fixtures down the cellar corridor. Demeter-certified biodynamic wines from the Pinot Bianco-focused Caldaro estate. Visits late afternoon and into early evening by appointment.

The list: Biodynamic Demeter-certified Manincor cellar pours Reserve della Contessa Pinot Bianco, Mason Pinot Nero, Lieben Aich Sauvignon; underground cellar 12 m below the lake-shore villa

Tip: Book the late-afternoon vineyard-walk-plus-cellar-tasting; the cellar descent at dusk is the most atmospheric visit. The Mason Pinot Nero from the Mason cru is the estate's age-worthy red.

Lieselehof Vino del Passo Solaris dessert wine ★ 4.5

Werner Morandell's Lieselehof at Kaltern produces the Vino del Passo dessert wine from the fungus-resistant Solaris variety (a PIWI variety not authorised in most Italian DOC rules). Cellar visits and the on-site South Tyrolean Vine Museum trail combine viticultural history with the rarer dessert pour.

The list: Organic-certified Lieselehof estate; rare Vino del Passo Solaris dessert wine plus the fungus-resistant-variety range (Bronner, Souvignier Gris)

Tip: Book a Vine Museum trail walk plus dessert-wine flight; the Solaris Vino del Passo is unusual in Italy and rarely poured outside the cellar door.

Tenuta Manincor ★ 4.9

Tenuta Manincor at Caldaro is run by Count Michael Goess-Enzenberg, who took over in 1991 and converted the estate to certified-organic in stages. The estate achieved full respekt-BIODYN biodynamic certification on all 50 hectares in 2009 and Goess-Enzenberg founded respekt-BIODYN. The Reserve della Contessa Pinot Bianco, Mason Pinot Nero and Cassiano red blend are the estate signatures.

Tip: Count Michael Goess-Enzenberg founded respekt-BIODYN in 2007. The Manincor cellar is built 12 m underground beneath the historic Caldaro villa. Visits by appointment.

Tenuta Manincor respekt-BIODYN biodynamic vegan-compatible range ★ 4.5

Tenuta Manincor's respekt-BIODYN biodynamic production operates under the Demeter standard which goes beyond EU organic by prohibiting gelatine and isinglass animal-derived fining agents. The full Manincor range (Reserve della Contessa, Mason Pinot Nero, Cassiano blend) is therefore vegan-compatible at the cellar standard level, although individual cuvees are not separately marked as vegan-certified.

Tip: Ask the cellar team to confirm vegan status per cuvee, since cellar practice (not just Demeter standard) determines the final fining choice. The Reserve della Contessa Pinot Bianco is the headline pour and is vegan-compatible.