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Viticulture, cellar technology, wine sales, gastronomy and retail have been part of our lives for more than a 100 years now. Since the company was founded in 1924 in Munich by Ludwina Bertoldi, the Saffer Company has developed into the leading supplier of Italian and Austrian quality wines on the German market.
Below is an overview of the most important milestones in the history of our company:
Ludwina Saffer, born Bertoldi, comes from one of the oldest winemaking families in South Tyrol. Even today, the Bertoldi family’s vineyards above Lake Kaltern, is still among the regions finest.
This is where she met Bavarian hotelier and hop-grower Johannes Saffer. The couple married and went on to run a hotel in the town of Arco near Lake Garda.
After her husband’s premature death, Ludwina Saffer and her children fled in 1923 with a team of Haflinger horses & carriage and moved to Munich to introduce the wines of northern Italy to Germany.
She took up residence in the Giesinger quarter of the city and bought a wine cellar attached to a restaurant. This is where she began to sell wines from the family’s vineyards, in 1924. This is where she began to sell wines from the family’s vineyards, in 1924.
The foundation for a promising company was in place.
In the years that followed, Ludwina’s son Anton Saffer took over the wine business and in 36 successful years he turned the company into a highly regarded specialist supplier of South Tyrolean wines. He focussed on expanding the wine cellar and extended the Saffer range to include an increasing number of wines from other producers in northern Italy, which he sold to restaurateurs in Bavaria and small regional merchants. Locals in the rapidly growing quarter also developed a taste for the Italian specialities.
In 1958, Anton Saffer handed over the company to his son Paul Saffer, for him to be the new head of the company. The construction of new cellars and the purchase of a new filling station an important base was set for the company’s expansion. Saffer extended its range and expanded its distribution activities across the south of Germany. The Saffer name became a synonym for Italian wines, winning the custom of a host of merchants and restaurateurs. With the companies growing success and the takeovers of the ROVINA cellars in Munich and the EINSLE cellars in Krumbach, Bavaria, the company soon outgrew its premises in Giesing. An increasing focus on the sale of estate bottlings from Italy was another factor which influenced the decision to build modern administration and warehouse premises in the east of Munich. The result of this was the now provided space for efficient management and professional storage of bottled wines.
Andreas Saffer, who was inducted into the business by his father at an early age, took over the company in 1996. After he completed a Business degree and a subsequent Qualification in international wine marketing (with the OIV in Paris), Andreas Saffer transitioned into the role of the new head of the company smoothly and successfully. In the years since then, Andreas Saffer has developed the company’s range and has built a national sales structure. Saffer’s expertise can be especially clearly seen in its strong and exclusive brands such as Bertoldi, Contessa Marina, Bella Aura Oro, Luce del Sole and Griwaldi. With the reconstruction of the administrative building and expansion of the warehouse in 2011, the company’s wine outlet moved into premises of its own. Saffer’s new flagship store in central Munich opened its doors in February 2021.
Saffer’s Fattoria and historical wine cellar is not just a homage to Saffer company’s origins – it is also an expression of our commitment to gastronomy. Here you can experience Italian hospitality and authentic home cooking. The historical wine cellar can now also be hired for events. We still fill our keg wines in the same place where our bottle-filling line once stood.
Under this brand name, we offer our private customers a wide range of wines from Italy, Austria and Germany, as well as France and Spain from a single source. Discover our wine selection both, online (winzerwelt.de) and on site, in two vinotheques in the Munich city area.
To visit our end customer shop, please click here.
