Bibendum Wine Co.
Bibendum Wine Co.
Bibendum Wine Co.
Bibendum Wine Co.

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Alto Adige's Best Kept Secret

The Refreshingly Affordable Alpine Wines of Girlan
Alto Adige's Best Kept Secret

Girlan is the Alto Adige co-operative Bibendum has long championed for delivering serious quality at a very modest price. Founded in 1923, it's now run by cellarmaster Gerhard Kofler alongside Oscar Lorandi, working with around 200 grower families farming roughly 215 hectares—most holdings under a single hectare—with growers rewarded on quality rather than volume. Vineyards sit between 340 and 510 metres on limestone, granite, sandstone and clay in the German-speaking Südtirol, right up against the Austrian and Swiss borders. Stylistically it's all aromatic, textural whites and fragrant, crunchy reds with mineral freshness running through the range. 

The Wines

Girlan IGT Vigneti delle Dolomiti 448 Bianco 2025

Girlan IGT Vigneti delle Dolomiti 448 Bianco 2025

This juicy, drink-now aromatic white is a well-judged blend mostly Pinot Bianco with the remainder split between Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. All the fruit is grown at 448 metres (hence the name) on the mineral-rich hillside vineyards of Alto Adige's Cornaiano canton. The name not only refers to the altitude of the source vineyards but also to a local expression: “448” or “quattro quattro otto” is a local saying for “hurry up.” So, there's a bit of Tyrolean wordplay going on here!

This is delicious—an aromatic, juicy wine that’s a perfectly crunchy, fresh, blend for drinking any time of the day or night. Similarly weighted to a Loire or Savoie white, it's an airy, energetic wine with aromas of juicy pear, white peach and sliced apple. The palate is tangy and refreshing, then juicy and textural as it builds in the glass. The lovely grippy close is deliciously pure and mouthwateringly clean. An excellent pouring option—it doesn’t miss a beat.

Girlan IGT Vigneti delle Dolomiti 448 Bianco 2025
Girlan Alto Adige Pinot Bianco 2025

Girlan Alto Adige Pinot Bianco 2025

Drawn from hand-picked fruit on Alto Adige’s mineral-rich hillsides of Cornaiano at altitudes ranging from 450 to 500 metres, the juice fermented in tank with 10% going through malolactic conversion to add some flesh to the wine's cool Alpine bones. The weight and texture here are pinpoint; it’s a racy, pulpy, kaffir-lime, apple and spiced pastry-scented quencher with lovely, pithy minerality and a zesty Alpine tang on the finish. Another genuine bargain from this over-delivering outfit.

Girlan Alto Adige Pinot Bianco 2025
Girlan Alto Adige Pinot Grigio 2025

Girlan Alto Adige Pinot Grigio 2025

Hillside fruit from 400-500m in Oltradige, grown on porphyry soils shaped by ancient volcanic activity and ice-age sedimentation—a growing site with real mineral pedigree. Hand-picked, gently pressed, and fermented cool in stainless steel with time on fine lees for texture and grip. The result is a Pinot Grigio with more spine than the varietal's reputation suggests: pale and precise, savoury rather than fruity, with a saline mineral thread running through it. Delicate but not simple. Pours well against asparagus, white fish and lighter charcuterie.

Girlan Alto Adige Pinot Grigio 2025
Girlan Alto Adige Platt & Riegl Pinot Bianco 2024

Girlan Alto Adige Platt & Riegl Pinot Bianco 2024

This pristine Pinot Bianco is drawn from some of Girlan’s highest and most esteemed vineyards in Cornaiano and Eppan Berg at nosebleed altitudes of 600 metres in the gravelly, mineral-rich soils of the Appiano Monte. Here, in the lee of snow-capped Mount Mendola, the sun-drenched, rocky soils and elevation make a considerable contribution to the style of the wine, as do the old vines, hand-harvesting, partial malolactic conversion and partial vinification in large oak (50% in 5,000-litre cask). These influences result in a more satin-textured, mineral wine than you typically expect from this variety. Think a cracking combination of chalky white stone fruits, citrus and mountain-stream freshness with a long, piercing, fragrant palate shot through with refreshing salty nuance and grapefruit bitterness. Top class.

Girlan Alto Adige Platt & Riegl Pinot Bianco 2024
Girlan IGT Vigneti delle Dolomiti 448 Rosso 2025

Girlan IGT Vigneti delle Dolomiti 448 Rosso 2025

Named for the altitude of Cantina Girlan's historic farmstead—448 metres above sea level—this is a blend of Alto Adige's three key red varieties: Lagrein, Schiava and Pinot Nero, grown on mineral-rich soils shaped by glacial sedimentation. Lagrein comes from deep, sandy sites in the warmer Bassa Atesina, ideal for ripening; Pinot Nero and Schiava from the sunny, well-aerated hillsides of Cornaiano, where Pinot Nero in particular has found real affinity with the terroir. Hand-picked into small containers to protect the fruit, destemmed and fermented slowly at controlled temperature in steel, then through malolactic and ageing in concrete. The result is fresh, light and fleshy, with a velvety, juicy texture and compact aromas of red berries, cherry and plum, lifted by herb and spice. Alpine Beaujolais, anyone? Pair with grilled and roast meats, game or spicy cheeses.

Girlan IGT Vigneti delle Dolomiti 448 Rosso 2025

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