South Tyrol by the Glass: High Wine at the Bülow Palais
From Dresden’s perspective, South Tyrol is a welcome vacation destination. But what if you don’t have time to drive (or fly—more on that later) south? Then South Tyrol simply comes to Dresden! The bar at the Bülow Palais is one of the 17 stops on the first “South Tyrol by the Glass” tour across Germany. From October 23 to November 8, 2026, 17 restaurants, hotels, and wine bars across Germany will be serving South Tyrolean wines by the glass—a great opportunity to discover something new.
The Bülow Palais has been offering the after-work treat High Wine for quite some time now—an exciting alternative to the very English tradition of High Tea. The new director of the Bülow Palais, Robbert van Rijsbergen, who came to Dresden from the five-star hotel The Dylan in Amsterdam, summed it up at a press event with an almost British sense of humor: "Instead of tea and scones, we’re doing something that might be even more fun!” Namely, an exciting pairing of four wines with four small dishes—for a fixed price of 45 euros. During this period—late October/early November—the High Wine will be dedicated to Tyrol. As always with this format, there will be four wines, each paired with a small dish.
Word has gotten around that South Tyrol has much more to offer than just Vernatsch or Pinot Grigio (the most widely grown grape variety in South Tyrol). For example, there are excellent examples of these varieties, such as a well-aged Vernatsch! Even from the common Müller-Thurgau grape variety, a winemaker like Tiefenbrunner can craft a memorable explosion of flavors: Anyone who ever sees the Feldmarschall von Fenner from the historic Tiefenbrunner family winery on the menu should order it without hesitation (even if the glass is certainly a bit pricier than one might expect for a Müller-Thurgau. But why? It’s well deserved!).
Four wines, four courses
I discovered what such a HighWine might look like at the official end of a long day in South Tyrol after the podcast with Eduard Bernhart, the director of the South Tyrol Wine Consortium. The podcast (as well as the accompanying article) contains plenty of basic information about South Tyrol, so you can read more or listen to it.
Head Chef Torsten Bubolz had put together a rather substantial tasting menu consisting of a four-course meal, with each course presented and explained at the table by the new restaurant manager Babette Lambers—who is also from Amsterdam—while Eduard Bernhart introduced the perfectly paired wines. And since it was HighWineTime, the food was naturally paired with the wine—and not the other way around ;-)
The first wine in our lively quartet: a Spätburgunder, which is usually called Blauburgunder in South Tyrol—or, internationally, Pinot Noir. The 2023 Riserva. In South Tyrol, “Riserva” means that the wine is aged for at least two years—regardless of whether that happens in the barrel or in the bottle. The Girlan Winery is one of South Tyrol’s leading cooperatives, and Pinot Noir is one of its specialties. The kitchen paired the wine with beef tartare topped with egg yolk cream and enoki mushrooms—“The Pinot Noir doesn’t have that many tannins, so it pairs very well with the raw meat,” Babette Lambers told us. The natural acidity (due to South Tyrol’s climate) also pairs very well with the food. She explains it, we listen, and it clicks: Ah, so that’s how wine and food pairing works!
The 2024 Lafóa Chardonnay from the Schreckbichl winery comes from selected vineyards; Lafóa is the winery’s premium wine line. South Tyrol’s high altitudes and alpine climate foster a pronounced freshness, while careful winemaking ensures richness and complexity. It was no coincidence that this was already the second cooperative in our selection: South Tyrol has a strong cooperative tradition—on average, a winegrower in South Tyrol cultivates about one hectare, so joining forces makes sense.The twelve winery cooperatives produce about 70 percent of the wines (around 25 percent come from private estates, and about five percent from so-called independent winegrowers). Incidentally, Schreckbichl is the youngest of the twelve cooperatives. The wine was paired with a soup (truffled potato and leek soup)—and what surprised me was that while I usually follow the rule of pairing soup and wine—that is, wine first, then soup, then wine again—this Chardonnay paired perfectly with the soup. Maybe it was because of the truffles ;-)
The Sankt Pauls winery in Eppan has created the Schliff, a Sauvignon Blanc whose character is quintessentially South Tyrolean—distinct from Sauvignons from other growing regions. We tasted a glass from the 2023 vintage, which displayed a silky, elegant texture on the palate, paired with crisp Alpine acidity and mineral notes. The grapes come from selected plots above St. Pauls. The vineyards are located at altitudes ranging from 420 to 490 meters and face southeast. Their soils consist of limestone-rich moraine debris with large porphyry boulders—remnants of glacial landscape formation. A fine accompaniment to the pikeperch fillet with pumpkin greens—for which the pumpkin greens received a round of extra applause: this is how pumpkin can (and should!) taste!
A 2025 Ritterhof Gewürztraminer rounded out the selection of four wines. This variety boasts an intense bouquet reminiscent of rose petals, cloves, and geraniums. Lychee and other exotic fruits are also frequently present. On the palate, Gewürztraminer is aromatic and spicy, with ripe fruit and a combination of richness and freshness typical of South Tyrol. Enjoyed at the Ritterhof with a view of Lake Kaltern, it certainly tastes great on its own—but paired with apple crumble and vanilla ice cream, it was definitely worth a second glass…
Our tasting event with press conference took place in early September—so, of course, the menu featured different dishes than it will in late October/early November. That’s why the current lineup for “Südtirol by the Glass” at the Bülow Palais looks a bit different:
- Alois Lageder Chardonnay DOC 2025 Cured salmon, coconut, lime, cucumber & mint
- Gewürztraminer Alto Adige DOC 2024 | WG Peter Zemmer Sweet potato foam soup, sesame & date
- Rubeno Lagrein Alto Adige DOC 2025 | Cantina Andrian Veal cheek, balsamic lentils & parsnip
- “Sias” Sweet Wine Cuvée 2025 | Meran Winery Burggräfler Apple Crumble with Vanilla
Info
- High Wine at the Bülow Palais, daily starting at 3 p.m., 45 euros per person,
- All stops on the South Tyrol by the Glass Tour from October 23 to November 8, 2026
Bülow Palais/Caroussel Nouvelle
Königstraße 14
01097 Dresden
Tel. +49 351 / 80030
buelow-palais.de
