The Marende, the South Tyrolean drink moment ⋆ Marstyle

Would you like to do something other than ‘having a drink’ with your colleagues or friends? Then go for the ‘marende’. Actually, this comes down to the same thing, but it is a nicer word and comes from the South Tyrol region of Italy. There, the farming families traditionally eat 5 meals a day, because of the physical work they regularly need energy. Around our afternoon drink time, so for the evening meal there is the Marende.

My daughter and I were recently invited to such a Marende. The organizer was our favorite ‘holiday on the farm’ provider: Roter Hahn. Last autumn, he introduced us to the phenomenon ‘törggeln’ where ‘our’ farmer’s wife roasted chestnuts and we enjoyed wine, lemonade and the sunset.

What do you snack on during a marende?

Well, what do you snack on during an afternoon drink on the farm? Halfway through the afternoon, work is put aside to make time for each other and the table is filled with regional quality products. Preferably, of course, from their own farm. Think of homemade cheese, bacon, sausages, dried apple, schuttelbröd and a good glass of wine or fruit juice.

In the photo you can see what Roter Hahn served us, in addition there were delicious wines from South Tyrol to taste. You can also serve with a marende:

• dried fruit, if you want it in a Tyrolean atmosphere then dried apple is a must
• baguettes with spreads such as butter, aioli and hummus or olive oil and salt
• various types of (dried) sausage
• olives, gherkins, pickled vegetables
• peanuts
• cucumbers and candy tomatoes
• potato chips

Many of the Roter Hahn farms have a small shop with regional products. At the horse farm Oberfahrerhof where we celebrated our holiday last year, you could buy homemade jams, for example.

Why Roter Hahn?

The farms also work together a lot. Roter Hahn was founded to provide small-scale farms – which cannot expand due to the mountainous landscape in South Tyrol – with an additional income stream in the form of tourism. There is more than enough space on the farms to furnish a few apartments as a holiday home. We loved helping the calves in the cowshed every evening, brushing the horses, chatting with the farmer’s wife and taking a carriage ride through the woods with the farmer. We were so busy that taking a wool bath and using the wellness unfortunately failed. But that was also possible.

As diverse as the South Tyrolean landscape is, so are the 1,600 farms of Roter Hahn. From farms with livestock and horses, to farms with fruit growing or viticulture and from old, traditional farms, to ultra-modern variants. There is something for everyone in the Northern Italian region.

You can search for your ideal holiday farm on the Roter Hahn website. The number of flowers indicates the quality: the more, the more luxurious. Many farms are fully booked well in advance in the summer, but during the autumn holidays (the perfect time to go: beautiful colors in nature and still beautiful weather) you can often still go!

Read also:

Are you going to turn your next vrimibo into a marende?