Wanted: Nimble and skilful hands

Bottling took place about twice a week back then at Rauch, about 10,000 litres each time. The day before, the 14-year-old Erich Rauch would speed on a bicycle through the Rankweiler Unterdorf and organize the team. This work was a useful source of extra income for several housewives.

At 7 o'clock in the morning it started: the 6 or 7 women spread out among the stations in the small bottling hall. Check empty swing-top bottles - briefly smell whether there had been petrol or acid in them before. Place in the alkali bath. Then put into the brushing machine by hand. That was tricky, the machine ran very fast. Spray out. Hold the bottle iup to the light. Cracks? Then place it in the 2.5 meter high filling machine. Place the filled bottles on a table. Close the lid and collect on a trolley. Push the trolley into the pasteurizer for about an hour. Stick on the labels. Place in wooden crates. They repeated every move 10,000 times and then in the evening over 800 crates stood on the ramp, ready for dispatch to the pubs and traders in Vorarlberg and Tyrol.

In 1954 large areas of Rankweil were orchards.