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.