The Austrian province in the far west is one of the smallest wine-growing regions (along with Carinthia, Upper Austria, Salzburg and Tyrol) Bergland Austria. This designation applies to country wines, quality wines may be marketed under "Weinbaugebiet Vorarlberg". Once there were about 500 hectares of vineyards here, mainly in the Walgau and in the Rhine valley. Due to phylloxera and competition from South Tyrolean wine after the construction of the Arlberg railway, the vines almost completely disappeared except for one vineyard in Röthis. In 2022 they covered 5 hectares, the "Verein der Weinbautreibenden Vorarlbergs" consists of 70 members. The white wine varieties Müller-Thurgau, Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Traminer are cultivated, as well as the red wine varieties Pinot Noir, Blaufränkisch, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Well-known wineries include Gert Markowski and Volker Scheidbach in Göfis, Franz Nachbaur in Röthis, Peter Summer in Frastanz and Josef Möth in Bregenz with the westernmost Heurigen in Austria.
Winemaker Josef Möth cultivates 3.5 hectares of vineyards on Lake Constance. In May 2019, he started an interesting project. Two tanks, each containing 1,000 litres of white wine and red wine, were sunk 60 metres deep into Lake Constance. The white wine is to spend half a year, the red wine a whole year in the lake. The aim is to find out how the prevailing constant temperature of 4 °Celsius, the dark light conditions and the high water pressure affect the taste and quality. The wines are marketed as "Edition Tiefenrausch". The project is supported by the Klosterneuburger Weinbauinstitut (HBLA for fruit and viticulture). There have already been similar projects on Lake Neusiedl and in the sea.
Source Tiefenrausch: Der Winzer 06/2019
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Markus J. Eser
Weinakademiker und Herausgeber „Der Weinkalender“