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The Wines of Liechtenstein

© James Foster Robinson

In October of 2002, nine wines produced in Liechtenstein were among two thousand two hundred entries at Expovina, the well-known Wine Fair in Zurich, Switzerland. Wine makers from Liechtenstein and the Prince of Liechtenstein's vineyards in Vaduz and the Wilfersdorf (owned by the Liechtenstein Family) in Austria took home two gold, six silver and one bronze medal. Among the winning wines were the Zweigelt Selektion Karlsberg Profundo and the FL Premier Brut 1996, a vintage sparkling wine, pressed from Rhine Riesling grapes grown in the little Principality.

The people of Liechtenstein are justly proud of their wines. Over the centuries winemaking has proved extra income for the local farmers. The tradition and cultivation of vine as well as wine making goes back to the time of the Raetians, a Celtic tribe that settled in the Alps before the birth of Christ. They grew vines on the lower slopes of the mountains that produced a wine good enough to be served at the tables of the Roman Emperor after the Romans conquered the area. When the Alamani drove the Romans out vine cultivation all but ceased. Then with the introduction of Christianity into the area in the 4th Century, vine growing and wine producing was re-established. The Christian monks, preaching the word of God, encouraged agriculture including wine.

Charlemagne, who ruled over the area around 800 AD, owned the vineyards on the flanks of the hill on which Gutenberg Castle stands in Balzars. The vineyards yielded him three thousand gallons of wine a year. Among Charlemagne's many accomplishments was his hygiene reforms. He was especially concerned about the traditional method of pressing the grapes. He forbade the Raetians to stamp out grapes with their bare feet, but they refused and continued in the old ways. Charlemagne then tried to improve the hygiene by ordering all men to wash their feet before treading out the grapes and to wear garments to prevent perspiration from running into the juice. It is not known if these measures was carried out, for as late as 1930's, a great deal of Liechtenstein's wine was still stamped out by foot.

Wine making was so important in Vaduz that its coat of arms, granted on the 31st of July 1932, contain bunches of grapes symbolizing the viticulture practiced in the district for nearly two thousand years.

The little land of Liechtenstein is ideally situated for the cultivation of vines. Its mountain slopes face in a southwest direction. With an average of about 1,500 hours of sunshine a year, and a calcareous soil, the grapes grow to full ripeness. In summer, the infamous 'Föhn, a hot dry wind blows up from the south drying out the air and making a lot of people miserable. But the vine growers welcome the 'Föhn as it sweetens the grapes and usually insures the growers a good year.

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