German Wine Business Flashcards
How many wine growers were there in Germany in 2016? What was the average land holding?
About 16,000 growers, half of whom owned 3 ha or less
What has been the trend in grape growers in Germany since 2010? How has this correlated to area under vine?
The number of growers dropped 20% despite a slight increase in area under vine.
Why has the number of German wine grape growers dropped since 2010?
On steeper sites, cost of labor and low yields (especially for sweeter wines) have increased costs beyond a point of profitability. Consumers are unwilling to pay higher prices, leading to a reduction in growers.
Consolidation of land on flatter sites by bulk wine producers has also had an effect.
What types of producers are responsible for Germany’s best wines?
Wine estates ranging in size from 100 ha to 5 ha that grow and vinify their own grapes.
Is modern Germany defined primarily by legacy winemaking institutions or new winemakers?
Both. Several organizations were founded centuries ago either by the Catholic Church, aristocrats, or charitable foundations. Recently a number of estates have been established by highly skilled and knowledgeable winemakers.
What do the majority of growers in Germany do with their grapes?
Sell them to Weinkellerei, merchant houses responsible for the production of higher volume wines.
Process them through cooperatives.
What is the significance of cooperatives to German wine production?
Germany was one of the first to establish winemaking cooperatives. The Mayschoss cooperative in Ahr was founded in 1868 and is believed to be the world’s oldest.
Crops from 30% of German vineyard area is processed through cooperatives, which includes 75% of production in Baden and Württemberg.
What is generally the focus of winemaking among German cooperatives?
Many are now quality focused and have obtained considerable grape growing and winemaking technology and expertise.
Badisher Winzerkeller, for example, is one of the largest German cooperatives but has several high quality, small production bottlings.
Has the shift in producing drier styles of wine been predominantly a climatic influence or domestic consumer influence on German winemaking?
Mostly a consumer influence. Despite being a beer drinking country, German consumers began to prefer drier white and red wines, leading to a change in production.
How much wine does Germany consume each year? How much is produced by German winemakers?
Germany consumes 20 million hL per year, ranking 4th in the world.
German winemakers produce 15-16 million hL per year.
What has been the trend in German wine exports since 2000? Why?
Exports have fallen 50%, though value is up on average from €200 to €300 per hL. There has been a reduction in the export of bulk wine and an increase in bottled exports.
What are the top 5 export markets for German wine?
USA Netherlands Norway UK China
What are important notes regarding Germany’s five most important wine export markets?
USA is the leading consumer both in volume and value
Netherlands and UK are high volume consumers of low value wines
Norway consumes high value wines in moderate volumes
China has expanded its imports of German wines with a focus on value
What has Germany done to improve awareness of its quality wines?
The Deutsches Weininstitut (DWI) has promoted quality and sales of German wines in export markets. ‘Riesling Weeks’ is a campaign run in 13 different countries to promote German wines among retailers and restaurants.
