Tyrebiter

The year 1443 was a catastrophic year for Viennese viticulture (capital of Austria). The wine was so extremely sour that even the iron tyres of the barrels were allegedly attacked. In the Viennese vernacular, the term "Reifbeißer" was therefore created (this name for sour wine is still used today). The wine could not be drunk and was therefore poured onto the streets. Emperor Frederick III (1415-1493) then banned the "pouring away of God's gifts" on pain of severe punishment and ordered that the undrinkable wine be used to quench the lime and make the mortar for the extension of St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.

However, this was more than just an expedient solution, as the addition of wine caused the formation of the almost insoluble calcium tartrate (which was unknown at the time). This makes the mortar much more resistant to damaging chemical influences. Many sources report that the use of wine in the production of mortar was a common practice at the time. In the wine-growing community of Falkenstein in the Weinviertel (Lower Austria) there is an educational wine trail. One of the exhibits is a wine barrel on which the tyres have burst open. A plaque mentions the term "Reifenbeißer" and the year 1456. The Falkensteiner of this vintage was also extremely acid that it was possibly also used for a mortar. See also under winegrowing customs.