Straw hat, shoulder-length hair, t-shirt, mountain boots and jeans. This is how locals know the herb farmer, who turned his passion into a profession over ten years ago. Today, Bernhard Auckenthaler plucks and pulls his way through a colourful sea of fragrant flowers, herbs and berries by hand and hoe on the meadow at his parents' Botenhof farm. Bernhard cultivates 8,000 m² together with his partners Sepp and Gabi Holzer. Their idea was to grow medicinal and aromatic herbs together at different altitudes and refine them into high-quality products according to organic guidelines – Bernhard at the Botenhof farm at 1,250 m in Pflersch, Sepp and Gabi at the Steirerhof farm at 900 m in Wiesen near Sterzing/Vipiteno. Today, the three herb farmers produce tea blends, spice blends, individual spices, herb and fruit syrups, liqueurs and herbal bitters as well as cosmetics under the "Wipptal Herbs Garden" brand. You can buy some of these products in our shop.
Waiting for the "balsamic moment"
Each product is the result of months of manual labour. Between spring and autumn, the herb farmers and their employees spend six to seven hours a day picking flowers. "Good weather and the balsamic timing of the plant are important," says Bernhard. A third of the harvest is even collected from the surrounding forests and mountains: yarrow, elderflowers, raspberry leaves and Swiss stone pine cones. The flowers and herbs are gently dried at a maximum temperature of 35 degrees using a dehumidification system.
Herbs have an eternal shelf life
There are 200 medicinal plants in the Alpine region and thousands worldwide. "But the four to seven herbs you need in life grow around your house," say the herbs experts. Ribwort plantain helps against coughs, yarrow for stomach complaints, elderberry or lime blossom tea for fever, lemon balm with hop blossom helps to calm. Prepared as a tea, the high-quality herbs have an excellent effect. Bring the water to the boil, pour over the herbs, leave to infuse for five minutes, remove the herbs and drink the tea hot, lukewarm or cold as required. "Herbs don't have an expiry date," says Bernhard. In general, however, they should be used up until the following year's harvest, as they can change in appearance and flavour.
The scent of herbs around the clock
At the Feuerstein, the herbs from the "Wipptal Herb Gardens" taste as if they have been freshly picked at any time of day. They revitalise in the morning as a tea assortment for breakfast, relax after a yoga session or a treatment in the Mountain Spa, invigorate in the lounge as a cup of tea, refine dishes as a spice and warm up in the evening as a grappa in the bar. And if you want to take the flavour of the mountains home with you, you can find healthy herbs in the Feuerstein shop.