On 14 July 2021, a rain flood caused the narrow River Ahr to swell into a torrent that swept away houses and roads. 130 people died and almost all the vineyards were damaged or destroyed. Thomas Ehlke reports on how the affected winegrowers live and work two years after the disaster.
There is a crowd of people in the container in front of the closed wine house in the main street of Dernau, while the rain pours down on the tin roof outside. Winemaker Markus Bertram serves his wines to the group of journalists. An improvised tasting in a makeshift wine bar, where the day-to-day business of the estate is conducted. "It has to go on," says Markus Bertram. Visitors to the Ahr Valley come across this sentence again and again. "It has to go on."
Two years ago, on 14 July 2021, a flood caused the tranquil little river Ahr to swell into a huge torrent within a few hours, sweeping away houses, trees, vehicles and even people. Over 130 people died and hundreds of buildings and livelihoods were destroyed: These are the terrible results of the day of the disaster.
Viticulture was hit particularly hard. Barrels, bottles, machines and vehicles were caught up in the water and sank into the mud. Wine press houses, wine shops and other buildings were metres under water. Only five of the 46 wineries on the Ahr were spared from the flood. Wine-growing president Hubert Pauly puts the total damage to buildings, vineyards and wine at 150 to 200 million euros. Around ten per cent of the 560 hectares of vineyards on the Ahr were destroyed by the flood. However, wine is being grown again on around 530 hectares. "The vines were all still in the ground after the flood, only the stakes and wire frames were washed away," explains Pauly.
The viticulture president reports on the slow progress of the reconstruction work. There are several reasons for this: Bureaucratic hurdles, building applications that have not yet been approved, fire safety requirements or contradictory expert reports. But the lack of craftsmen is also making itself felt.
But the winegrowers on the Ahr are not letting this get them down. The confidence is clear in conversations: "There is a spirit of optimism among the winegrowers," confirms Carolin Groß from the Ahrwein e.V. association, which unites around 90 per cent of the vineyards on the Ahr under its umbrella. Many winegrowers are also using the destruction caused by the flood disaster to rebuild their vineyards sustainably. The problem is that although the money from the federal and state reconstruction funds can be used to rebuild the old buildings, it cannot be used for sustainable and thus modified new buildings.
According to Groß, more than half of the wineries have now returned to their original manor houses. "The rebuilding is taking place alongside this, and some have also used this as an opportunity for renovations," she says. Carolin Groß draws attention to the oldest German winegrowers' cooperative in Mayschoß. Founded in 1868, the cooperative produces 1.2 million litres of wine every year. Although the old company building has been provisionally renovated for the time being, those responsible are planning a completely new building.
Two years after the flood disaster, viticulture on the Ahr is back on track, although it will be years before the gaps are closed again. Improvisation and flexibility are necessary - and will remain so for quite some time. "Some outsourced buildings are being used for wine production and some wine tastings are still taking place in containers until the wine shops are rebuilt," says Ernst Büscher from the German Wine Institute.
The fact that the businesses were able to survive at all is also due to the unprecedented solidarity that those affected experienced from professional colleagues and wine lovers from all over Germany. Markus Bertram, who runs the 4.8-hectare estate in Dernau together with his brother Christian, also benefited from this. Nevertheless, the Bertrams had a stroke of luck: apart from two leaking barrels, the wine stock was saved. "As we had only just filled up a week before, the bottle store was full," says the 41-year-old master winemaker. A few days after the flood, the Bertrams fished the filled bottles out of the mishmash of cardboard boxes, mud and pallets, cleaned them and sold them as "flood wine".
While Markus and Christian Bertram are still waiting for permits for the core renovation of their wine house in Hauptstraße, the winery continues to operate under conditions that have become part of everyday life for many other Ahr winegrowers after the flood. Markus Bertram is currently running his office in the granny flat of a friend in the neighbouring village, the bottle warehouse is housed in a haulage company and will be moved to a rented hall in August. A talent for improvisation is required.
Wines can often still be tasted in containers.
But what winegrowers and the hospitality industry in the Ahr Valley urgently need are guests. They only come at the weekend. During the week, many places in the pubs remain empty and the number of visitors to the wineries is also limited. Under the slogan "We Ahr open", regional providers are attracting guests to the valley. In 2019 - before the flood disaster and the Covid pandemic - the Ahr recorded around 1.3 million overnight stays. The region is currently a long way off this figure: only 150,000 guests came in the first quarter of 2023. If you extrapolate this to the end of the year, it will be well over half a million. They currently have 60 per cent of the previous stock of 5,600 beds at their disposal. The large hotels in particular, such as those in Neuenahr, are still closed. "But you can still enjoy an active holiday here," emphasises Carolin Groß.
While politicians in the distant state capital of Mainz have been arguing about guilt and responsibility in a committee of enquiry, this aspect only plays a subordinate role for the people of the Ahr. The question of guilt is a waste of time, says VDP winegrower Alexander Stodden from Rech. You have to look ahead. "It will definitely be better than before," Stodden is certain. A view shared by Markus Bertram. Despite all the tragedy, destruction and loss, the disaster is an opportunity - albeit unintentional - to reshape the Ahr valley with a view to the future. "We can do it," says the man from Dernau.