Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the planned members' meeting in Bern in March had to be canceled. After the situation calmed down somewhat over the summer, the Board of Directors decided to stick to the fall event and hold the general meeting on the same date. We decided to visit the vineyard of our member Urs Freiburghaus and combine this with a guided tour of Solothurn.
On October 10, 16 members and 4 accompanying persons met at the Restaurant Solheure in Solothurn. We enjoyed an excellent aperitif before gathering in an adjoining room for the meeting. Just in time for the end of the agenda, we were served a delicious lunch in a separate room.
After dessert and coffee, Mrs. von Gunten from the tourist office awaited us outside the restaurant for a guided tour of the town. On the subject of "The magic number 11", she led us through the center of the old town to various historical places and told us all sorts of interesting facts about the history of Solothurn and in particular the significance of the number 11 for the city.
In Solothurn, for example, there are 11 museums, fountains, chapels and churches and a clock with a dial that only shows 11 hours. The number 11 also appears in St. Ursen Cathedral: The bell tower measures 6 x 11 meters, 11 bells hang in the tower, 11 altars adorn the cathedral, the pews are arranged in rows of 11 and it took 11 years to build!
After the entertaining guided tour, we took the Bipperlisi to Feldbrunnen and walked from there to the Rebgut «Le Patron» (only in German) vineyard. The destination could be seen from afar as Urs had hoisted the UNO flag at the vineyard.
Maya and Urs Freiburghaus were waiting for us with their delicious white and red wine, accompanied by home-baked bacon plait. Urs then told us the story of his vineyard, from its construction in 2016 to the care of the vines, the harvest and the pressing of the wine. He has around 500 vines of the Solaris variety (white) and around 500 vines of the Divico variety (red). In March 2019, Urs was able to collect his 2019 harvest from the wine press in Hornussen: 280 bottles of white wine and 100 bottles of red wine of very good quality.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Maya and Urs Freiburghaus for their interesting explanations and excellent hospitality.
B. Haenni
Von Geld und Geist, resp. Budget und Wein(berg)
