DAY 2 DSTNCMP²⁴

ON MAY 22, 2024, BY WOLFGANG WEILER

Highs & Lows: Day 2 AT THE DSTNCMP²⁴

There were plenty of highlights from the moderators during the 16 morning sessions; the afternoon activities benefited from great weather, and the evening, under a brilliant night sky, focused on Joseph “Sepp” Möth’s “Tiefenrausch.” The winemaker had treated the participants of the DSTNCMP²⁴—who had made themselves comfortable on the beer benches among the vines—a few stories to share. Including the one about “Tiefenrausch,” which perhaps could only have been conceived by a winemaker who goes to great lengths to promote Vorarlberg wine.

Vorarlberg has only been an official wine-growing region in Austria again for the past 25 years. As recently as the early 19th century, nearly 500 hectares of vineyards were cultivated in the Alpine republic’s westernmost state; today, that figure stands at just under 20 hectares. Sepp Möth, Vorarlberg’s only full-time winemaker, cultivates nearly 4 hectares.

His best and highest-yielding wines are grown in the "Neu Amerika" vineyard on the shores of Lake Constance. These include the classic Müller-Thurgau grapes and the Grüner Veltliner, which matures as “Ländle Crü” on 35-year-old vines. The winery’s flagship variety is Welschriesling, with its apple and pear notes typical of Vorarlberg. On summer evenings in Bregenz, it is often enjoyed as a frizzante.

A few rows of grapevines nearby, at the foot of the Gebhardsberg, shield the popular city wine tavern from traffic. This is where the participants gathered on Wednesday for the traditional second evening of DestinationCamp.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PROGRAM AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES UNDER A SUNNY SKY

In the mornings, the participants had two two-hour sessions each in seven thematic tracks and at the netzvitamineAKADEMIE. Topics included digital and human transformation for better tourism management, waste separation and reduction, ideas for new hotel and restaurant concepts, spatial design, securing the destination’s future, the use of AI in guest communication, innovation management within companies, and a focus on the common good.

Using a wide variety of techniques , the moderators drew out fascinating insights from the wealth of knowledge and experience of tourism professionals, experts, consultants, and platform managers of all genders.

The participants in the Innovation Management session with Eric Horster had a particularly good time. Using thousands of Lego bricks and the “Lego Serious Play” method, they learned to model creative solution strategies for upcoming innovation processes in their field.

ACTIVITY PROGRAMS FOR WORKATIONS IN BREGENZ

In keeping with the “workation” approach that DestinationCamp had introduced a year earlier in Kufstein, the afternoon featured various activity programs to choose from. Only the stand-up paddling had to be canceled due to the uncertain weather. Those who went on the excursion to the yak farm and the participants in the city tour enjoyed the unexpectedly sunny weather on Lake Constance.

A HIGH, TOO? THE RUSH OF DEPTH.

The evening at the Stadtheurigen in Bregenz turned out to be unexpectedly sunny and warm. Nestled among the vineyards on the southern outskirts of the city lies the Möth Winery, a sort of cult temple of Vorarlberg wine. With scientific support from a 20-person team, the winemaker ventured into uncharted territory in 2019 with the“Tiefenrausch” project: “How do high pressure, a constant temperature of four degrees Celsius, and darkness affect Möth wine?”

On May 15, 2019, one 1,000-liter stainless steel barrel each of the 2018 vintage red and white wines was anchored to the bottom of Lake Constance at a depth of 60 meters, at a secret location and under the strictest security measures. After 417 days, the “Tiefenrausch ROT” was retrieved, and after 472 days, the “Tiefenrausch Weiß” was brought to the surface. A total of 1,299 bottles were filled from each barrel, sealed with cork and wax, numbered, and hand-signed by the winemaker. Sepp Möth:

The complete isolation, the energetically pure habitat, and the immense pressure have led to this wine's astonishing intensification of aromas.

AN AUTHENTIC AND JOYFUL EVENING AT THE TIEFENRAUSCH WINERY

Admittedly, no one got to taste the Tiefenrausch that evening: At 199 euros per bottle in the winery’s retail shop, it would have cost the DSTNCMP²⁴event. In fact, it was the beer benches, the homemade bread, bacon, Liptauer, horseradish, sweet-and-sour pickles, Veltliner on tap, and the classic Müller-Thurgau that into an authentic experience.

IMPRESSIONS from the day
CC-BY netzvitamine GmbH/ Johannes Leistner