Winemaker
Norbert Marginter
- Discipline
- Winemaker
- Based in
- Ritten, Italy
i. Biography
Oenologist at Ansitz Dolomytos Sacker in Unterinn am Ritten, Italy, Norbert Marginter carries one of South Tyrol’s more unusual natural-wine estates through exacting vineyard work and long cellar patience. In 2013, after Rainer Zierock’s death, he bought the property at auction and continued the estate in Zierock’s spirit, giving the achievement its plain force: preservation through work, not display.
The Honours
The clearest title attached to Marginter is oenologist of Ansitz Dolomytos Sacker, where rare wines are known beyond South Tyrol for longevity and special flavor. That reputation rests on a narrow, demanding practice: natural wine made from vineyard decisions, spontaneous fermentation, long lees aging, and restraint in the cellar. At Dolomytos Estate Winery in Auna di Sotto on the Renon plateau, Italy, he is proprietor as well as the person responsible for a production system shaped by gravity. As he puts it, "All work steps can be carried out using natural slopes without outside influences – all the way to bottling."
The Craft
Three hectares of vineyards are tended as close to nature as possible, with strict grape selection and fermentation by the estate’s own natural yeast. The wines macerate for 10 to 14 days on the skins, then mature for at least 24 months in cylinders made from French oak. The cellar grammar is unusual in another way: "All of our wines are blends of Italian and Greek grape varieties." That principle runs through the Dolomytos work, linking the estate’s red and white wines to a cross-Mediterranean idea of grape cultivation rather than a single-variety model. At the Unterinn am Ritten estate, vineyard work is close to nature and gentle; harvested grapes are gently pressed, spontaneously fermented, and aged without added sulfur for at least two years on full lees. The barrels are 150-liter, cigar-shaped vessels stored in a 70-meter tunnel, a physical setting that makes time and temperature part of the wine’s structure. Among the signature bottlings, Amphora is cellared in amphorae and described as a novelty: a blend of the 2014 and 2016 vintages, with one part bottled in glass and the other in an earthenware vessel. Athos Rot is a red wine described as full-bodied, spicy, and structured; Dolomytos Weiss is a white wine described as multi-layered and exotic-aromatic; Skythos is a red cuvée from the Dolomytos project.
The Career
The turning point came in 2013, when Marginter bought Ansitz Dolomytos Sacker at auction after Rainer Zierock’s death. The purchase was not treated as a reset: production and vineyard work continued according to Zierock’s ideas of wine and grape cultivation. His daughter Bruni was part of the restoration that followed. Together they purchased an overgrown vineyard, restored work among the vines, and rescued historic Zierock bottles from a threatened cellar tunnel. From that recovery came the present shape of the estate: a proprietor-oenologist working with natural slopes, natural yeast, Italian and Greek grape varieties, long aging, and low-intervention methods. The result is not a broad catalogue but a focused body of wines built for length, texture, and the particular flavor that has carried the estate’s name beyond South Tyrol.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Norbert
What is Norbert Marginter's current role?
Norbert Marginter is proprietor of Dolomytos Estate Winery in Auna di Sotto on the Renon plateau, Italy, and oenologist at Ansitz Dolomytos Sacker in Unterinn am Ritten, Italy.
What awards has Norbert Marginter received?
No specific award can be cited; his formal recognition is tied to his oenologist role and to the rare, long-lived natural wines of the estate.
What is Norbert Marginter's most notable recognition?
His most notable recognition is his work as oenologist of Ansitz Dolomytos Sacker, continuing Rainer Zierock’s approach after taking over the winery in 2013.
