In the 1960, 26 winemakers of Colterenzio founded their own cooperative near Appiano, thus becoming independent from the wine merchants who set the prices at the time. This handful of rebels gave the newly founded cooperative the name of their land: the small village of Schreckbichl (in Italian Colterenzio), also playing a pioneering role in pursuing a path of quality with great consistency. Luis Raifer, lit the fuse and in 1979 entered the cooperative as director. He brought with him a baggage full of ambitions, also as a result of his study trip to California. It was the 1980s and Alto Adige was mostly a land of red wines of mediocre quality; Raifer, also a winemaker, recognized the potential of this land of his excellent wines and, taking advantage of the favorable terroir, the adequate extension of the vineyard surface and the expertise of the local winemakers, took the step forward. First of all, in his “Lafòa” estate , a hill kissed by the sun, replaced the Schiava vines with those of Cabernet Sauvignon and later with Sauvignon Blanc. He introduced a new quality standard, that is, a smaller quantity of harvest, but with fine grapes, for excellent wines. Thus, a new dimension of quality began to take shape, right from his “pilot” vineyards with Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc.

This mentality is transmitted to everyone, experimenting with the creation of quality groups with new varieties. Even today, members and collaborators of the winery consistently pursue this model, both in the vineyard and in the production of all wines.

At the base of this whole project there are now, 300 winemakers : members of the Colterenzio Winery, who work all year round in the vineyards with their families to obtain fine grapes, autumn after autumn.