‘Wine’ may make roads safe

Press, 26 December 1986, Page 7

‘Wine’ may make roads safe

By

ROBIN CHARTERIS

Lateral thinking by a snowplough manufacturer in the Alps has resulted in a possible use for Austria’s embarrassing lake of contaminated wine.

Millions of gallons of wine impounded last year after it was revealed that it had been spiked with an anti-freeze additive to make it smoother, may now be sprayed on to Austria’s icy roads this winter, says Britain’s "Guardian” newspapers. Mr Toni Kahlbacher, who makes snow-clearing equipment in the Austrian Tyrol, thought of the solution while reading about Government problems in getting rid of the confiscated wine.

Instead of dismissing it as a poisonous wine, he argued to the Ministry of Works, why not think of it as a flavoured antifreeze?

“It sounded crazy at first, but now we are convinced it is an extremely interesting development,” said a Ministry spokesman, . Mr Hannes Drossier.

The "Guardian” said the wine anti-freeze had a melting power at a much lower temperature than commonly used salt, and was also less harmful to the environment. It diluted the corrosive effect of the salt on trees and road verges, and reduced contamination of the water table.