Lenz Moser

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Lenz Moser
Lenz Moser at the demonstration of pruning.

Lorenz Moser III , called Lenz Moser (born June 22, 1905 in Rohrendorf near Krems , † January 1, 1978 in Krems ) was a winery owner and oenologist . He is considered a pioneer of high culture in Austrian viticulture.

Development of high culture

For 2000 years the vines were grown on stakes and planted at a distance of 1 to 1.20 meters. This stick culture (pole training) with a low trunk was very labor intensive. A lack of technical equipment and inadequate plant protection options often resulted in bad harvests. In the 1930s, Lenz Moser took up all technical and scientific innovations in order to check whether they could be used in viticulture. He planted the vines (from 1928) with a row spacing of 3 to 3.5 meters and pulled the vines up on trunks with a height of 1.20 to 1.30 centimeters. Several wires were stretched on a support frame for the shoots. This enabled the first towing devices to have sufficient mobility in the alleys. The cane maintenance work could be done much more easily, at a comfortable working height. The overall workload was thereby significantly reduced. In doing so, he created the prerequisites for the mechanization of Austrian viticulture.

The Moser family has been working as wine growers in Rohrendorf near Krems since the 14th century. Lenz Moser returned to his parents' business in 1923 after graduating from the viticulture school ( higher education institution and federal office for viticulture and fruit growing ) in Klosterneuburg , and in the following years began collecting hundreds of grape varieties in small experimental vineyards and planting them in different row spacings. In 1920 vines were already grown on wire, but the vines themselves were still raised very close to the ground. In the opinion of the winemakers at the time, the vines had to be covered with earth over the winter to protect them against winter frost . Lenz Moser proved that this is not true. In January and February 1929, temperatures dropped to -31 ° C. The closely planted vineyards were completely frozen. Of the raised varieties, Grüner Veltliner , Riesling , Welschriesling and Muscat-Ottonel , were significantly less damaged. From this experience more and more high cultures emerged in Rohrendorf . In 1938 it was 15 hectares.

The fact that the Grüner Veltliner survived that winter well contributed to the widespread use of this variety in Lower Austria . This variety began to spread even more widely after World War II . Today it is the most important cultivation area in Austria. For the distribution, the good yield of this variety and the production reliability were also important decision criteria when the winegrowers chose the variety.

Shoot and leaf area distribution of a high culture

A few years after the end of the Second World War, especially from the mid-1950s, advanced civilization began to spread rapidly. From this point onwards, the vineyards were often planted separately. From 1956, many winemakers visited the vineyards, the experimental facilities and the winery of Lenz Moser every year. Almost all winegrowing associations made an excursion to Rohrendorf. Abroad showed great interest in the " Lenz Moser education ", as it is still called today around the world.

The mechanization of agriculture began after the Second World War. Traction devices were affordable in the often mixed viticulture and arable farms. Lenz Moser has adapted the vineyards to these tractors, the standard track tractor, by increasing the row spacing. Other pulling devices were not available at that time.

Lenz Moser passed on his findings at a very early stage through lectures at home and abroad. Many winemakers remembered the technically well-founded and pointed lectures at the Krems Viticulture Day, an annual event in Krems an der Donau . In 1950 he published the book Viticulture in a different way. It has been translated into 12 languages.

In 1975, in the course of the Quality Wine Ordinance, the grape variety previously referred to by Fritz Zweigelt as "Rotburger" was renamed " Zweigelt " at the suggestion of Lenz Moser .

Honors

Works

  • Viticulture with a difference . Self-published, 1950
  • The old and the new Rohrendorf. Upper u. Unter-Rohrendorf, Neustift u. Neu-Weidling as well as the remote places. On the history of a village community. , together with Fritz Dworschak, self-published in 1970

See also

literature

  • Lorenz Moser , Society for the History of Wine . Wine culture personalities
  • Lenz Moser - Doctor honoris causa from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences . Austrian wine newspaper 3/1970
  • Lenz Moser - honorary doctorate from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences . The modern hotel 4–5 / 70
  • Lenz Moser - honorary doctorate from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences . apa (Austria Press Agency) report Vienna, on March 11th. (ku / w / 1 / na)
  • Lenz Moser , From stake culture to high culture , contribution in the commemorative publication 100 Years of the Krems Wine School - 1875–1975

Web links

Commons : Lenz Moser  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ W.-Ba .: Zweigelt, Fritz (1888–1964). In: Society for the History of Wine eV , accessed on November 20, 2014.
personal data
SURNAME Moser, Lenz
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Moser, Lorenz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian winemaker
DATE OF BIRTH June 22, 1905
PLACE OF BIRTH Rohrendorf near Krems
DATE OF DEATH January 1, 1978
Place of death Krems at the Donau