Lago di Vogorno is a reservoir with a 220 m high wall. It is located at the entrance to the Verzasca Valley in Ticino. Construction of the dam was completed in 1965. Some residents had to give up their homes. A number of vineyards were also flooded.
In the winter of 2022, the reservoir was emptied after 57 years in order to carry out routine repairs to the dam. What had been submerged reappeared. Much was still well preserved. The old country road, stone bridges, walls and bare forests were visible. The terraced vineyards with their remaining vines were also clearly visible. All the elements in the landscape had taken on a uniform grey-beige color.
G. Schicht had purchased wine from 2020 from the winegrower Götsch in Mergoscia, who lives above the reservoir. Due to their natural wine and wine liqueur characteristics, these wines have a particularly long shelf life. Both bottles were buried in a former vineyard in Lago Vogorno. The exact location is marked and easy to find. It lies approx. 120 m below the normal water surface.
The lake will be refilled to its normal water level with the spring rainfall from March 2022. The water will not be drained again until the next repair, probably in 50 to 60 years. The buried wine will then be accessible again. At the same time, bottles of the same wine will be stored in the studio and sent into the future. After the wine bottles have been excavated, both bottles are opened and compared oenologically.
automatically translated from german