Wine Sisters: Julia and Karoline Walch

For a long time, Elena Walch was Northern Italy’s only female winemaker. Originally an architect, she entered the world of winemaking as a career changer, arriving in Tramin and Kaltern. “In the beginning, it meant struggling, but I tried to immerse myself in it and find my own way,” Elena explains. With this, she became a pioneer at one of Northern Italy’s largest family-run wineries—especially as an outsider entering the long-established Walch winemaking family. Her determination undoubtedly benefits her successors, Julia and Karoline Walch, today. Many aspects, such as the focus on single-vineyard wines and native grape varieties, were shaped by Elena’s vision. But how do her daughters make their decisions today?