A business dating back a thousand years, set amongst vineyards and hops

Lake Constance’s agricultural heritage has deep roots that stretch back to the financial and industrial history of Europe. Wine-growing has been practised here for around two thousand years and centres on symbols of entrepreneurial longevity such as the Staatsweingut Meersburg, a state-owned winery first documented as far back as 1210 and now owned by the State of Baden-Württemberg. Not far away, Salem Abbey and Castle houses historic wine presses for crushing grapes, whilst the Princes of Liechtenstein produce elite wines in Vaduz. Every Friday evening until 16 October, tasting tours set sail from Meersburg’s small harbour aboard the Winzer-Ahoi, offering the chance to discover the region’s Müller-Thurgau, Riesling and Chardonnay whilst cruising across the lake. But the region’s liquid backbone is not built on wine alone: the hops grown in Tettnang are considered among the best in the world and, at Hopfengut No. 20, an economy centred on the so-called ‘green gold’, which successfully combines brewing tradition with tourism, alongside historic brewing giants such as Mohren in Dornbirn and the veteran Schützengarten in St Gallen. Hopfengut No. 20 is, among other things, a multifaceted venue, serving simultaneously as a hop farm, a brewery, a museum, a shop and an inn. Here, the Locher family – now in its fourth generation – produces the most sought-after aromatic hops for breweries around the world and uses them to create special, refined beers.