From early October to late November, South Tyrol's wine farms open their parlours for Törggelen: farmhouse dishes, roast chestnuts, grape must and new wine. What it is, where the name comes from, where to go, from the Isarco Valley to the Sciliar, and how to book.
Törggelen is South Tyrol's autumn custom tied to the end of the grape harvest. The name comes from the Torggl, the wooden wine press that stood in farmers' cellars, and Torggl in turn comes from the Latin torquere, to turn. The Chiusa tourist office adds that these presses could be up to 15 metres long, and that after the harvest people went from press to press to taste and compare the young wine.
There is more than one theory about its origin. One links it to the wine merchants and innkeepers who came from northern Tyrol and southern Germany to taste the new wine. Another to the trade between the winegrowers on the valley floor and the livestock farmers higher up: when the new wine was ready, an animal was slaughtered and the wine was tasted over a hearty meal. On one point the sources agree: the custom was born in the Isarco Valley, perhaps because at the edge of the wine-growing area the previous year's wine did not last until the next.
The typical menu, according to the South Tyrol tourist board, starts with barley soup, cheese dumplings or Schlutzkrapfen. Then come cured pork (Surfleisch), spare ribs and homemade sausages, with Knödel dumplings and sauerkraut. It ends with sweet Krapfen and roast chestnuts. To drink there is Sußer, fresh grape must, or new wine. There is a reason for so much food: originally it was the meal with which farmers thanked those who had helped with the harvest.
The historic heartland is the Isarco Valley, which the tourist board calls the home of Törggelen. The Chestnut Trail, the Keschtnweg, runs along it: 90 kilometres high above the valley between Varna, near Bressanone, and Runkelstein Castle in Bolzano, through chestnut groves and farms. But Törggelen happens wherever vines and chestnut trees grow together, and Red Rooster, the South Tyrolean farm quality mark, also lists the area around Bolzano, the Bassa Atesina and Oltradige, the Adige Valley, the Burgraviato around Merano and the Fiè area.
The link with the Dolomites runs through the Sciliar. The Alpe di Siusi tourist office lists places for Törggelen in Castelrotto, Siusi, Fiè and Tires, and names as the best known the hamlets of San Osvaldo and San Vigilio above Castelrotto and the area around Fiè, especially Aica. Here Törggelen is often combined with an autumn walk, for example on the Aica farm trail, a loop that starts at Prösels Castle and passes farms, vineyards and chestnut groves.
The season has an official opening. On the first Saturday of October the Buschenschank taverns in the Authentic Törggelen scheme light the chestnut fire, the Keschtnfeuer, and from 6pm open their farms for tours, tastings and stories. In 2026 that is Saturday 3 October, with ten farms taking part, one of them in Fiè allo Sciliar.
Where Törggelen in South Tyrol falls in the Dolomites year, and what happens in the other weeks: When to Go to the Dolomites: A Month-by-Month Guide.
Good to know
- Admission: There is no ticket: at the Buschenschank taverns and farms you pay for what you eat and drink. Each farm sets its own prices, so ask when you book.
- When: early October to late November 2026. The official opening of Authentic Törggelen is on Saturday 3 October 2026 from 6pm, with the chestnut fire at the participating farms.
- Book: Red Rooster advises letting the farms know well in advance. Each place has its own closing days, so check those too.
- A Buschenschank and a Hofschank are not the same thing. A Buschenschank is in the wine-growing area and serves only wine from its own farm. A Hofschank is a mountain farm that serves dishes made with meat from its own animals, with a South Tyrolean wine alongside.
- How to spot Authentic Törggelen: a bunch of branches, the Buschen, with a red ribbon, hung above the entrance. The farms in the scheme serve only their own wine, South Tyrolean chestnuts and dishes made to family recipes.
- Farms with the Red Rooster mark meet set criteria, including at least 30% of produce from the farm itself, 80% from South Tyrol and dishes that are all homemade.
- Walks: the Chestnut Trail (Keschtnweg) in the Isarco Valley, 90 km in stages from Varna to Runkelstein Castle, or the Aica farm trail, a loop from Prösels Castle near Fiè allo Sciliar.
- Without a car: from the Sciliar area, buses reach Bolzano, Chiusa and Bressanone every 30 minutes, with journeys of 30 to 50 minutes. If you are drinking the new wine, it is the simplest way home.
- In Chiusa, in the Isarco Valley, the Gassltörggelen brings Törggelen to the streets of the old town from 18 to 20 September 2026, before the season opens.
Official website (tickets & info) ↗
Dates, times and prices change every year: always check the official pages before you go.