In vino veritas

Volg Weinkellereien has been located close to the center of Winterthur near the train station since 1927. But space became tight and the winery was also spread over seven floors, which was impractical. The possibility arose of relocating to the edge of town, where Volg already had a bottle warehouse and where building land was available. 

The groundbreaking ceremony was held at the new Niderfeld site in August 2015. The first tanks and filling plants had already been moved in by the end of April 2016. In other words, a very ambitious schedule. Thomas Wettach, managing director of the winery and himself an expert in wine and wine making, explained: “We had to wait till the 2015 harvest was in and then quickly empty the tanks for the move.” About 400 containers holding a total of some 4.5 million liters of wine were moved over the course of several months. The biggest tank held 52,000 liters, the heaviest – a steel tank – weighed around 30 tons.

Bauberger AG had removed the walkways in the older winery and re-opened the removal opening – a concrete slab – from the floor. Holes were also made in the facade for efficient and safe removal, so the tanks – the largest measuring 6.30 x 2.80 x 2.20 meters – could be transported to their new destination in horizontal position on the truck.

Volg Weinkellereien has always turned to Bauberger to relocate its tanks or machines. “They’ re absolute pros. Everything goes smoothly: They have the right machines, the right special tools, and the expertise,” Wettach summarized. He was particularly impressed by how calmly and quickly the work proceeded. “They know how to tackle a job. It’s great to watch them in action.”

The tanks and filling plants were brought into the 60×80 m hall in rank and file and arranged and installed exactly as planned vertically or horizontally, so that operations could continue without interruption.

The Volg winery

Volg Weinkellereien, a member of the Fenaco Group, cultivates about 50 hectares of vineyards in Winterthur, Hallau and Malans. In addition, it processes grapes from about 300 wine-growers in eastern Switzerland. Along with Riesling Silvaner and Blauburgunder, it produces 27 further varieties, some of them very old.