Winzerdörfer: Wirtschafts- und Lebensformen zwischen Stadt und Land : Überlegungen zu einem Siedlungstyp in vergleichender europäischer Perspektive

Abstract

The essay is divided into three parts. The first part is about brief observations on the status and prospects of research in the history of wine. In historical studies, partly also from an inter- and transdisciplinary perspective, they have been intensified throughout Europe since the eighties of the 20th century. Based on the type of wine town (Lukas Clemens), the second part defines the type of Winzerdorf (vintner village; winemakers village) that can be traced back to the early Middle Ages. As its five criteria are postulated and discussed: Viticulture as an important to dominant culture with approaches to monoculture; cooperative forms of organization and differentiated viticulture; expensive infrastructure: winepresses and cellars; integration of wine production into supraregional trade and favourable traffic situation: presence of non-resident owners of vineyards. In the third part, elements of structural change in late medieval viticulture are examined from a comparative European perspective: Expansion and reduction of vineyards; approaches to quality viticulture and diversification in consumption; complementary economic forms; loans and leases, self-reliant economy. It is shown that the type of Winzerdorf in the context of the agricultural and wine historical transformations of the late Middle Ages can be proven not only in northern alpine wine growing regions, but also in Mediterranean cultivation zones, a worthwhile field for further comparative wine historical studies.