Germany has recorded its smallest wine harvest in 15 years, the ultimate estimate launched on Tuesday from the German Wine Institute (DWI) confirmed.
This yr’s harvest is anticipated to yield 7.3 million industry-standard hectolitres of grape should – even lower than estimated a couple of week in the past. Grape should is the freshly crushed juice used within the first stage of constructing wine. A hectolitre is the same as 100 litres.
The final time winemakers in Germany’s 13 wine-growing areas produced a smaller harvest was in 2010, with 7.1 million hectolitres, DWI spokesman Ernst Büscher stated in Bodenheim within the west German wine-growing state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
This yr’s yield is projected to be 7% decrease than the earlier yr and 16% under the 10-year common of 8.7 million hectolitres.
Lately, the Federal Statistical Workplace had estimated a yield of round 8.2 million hectolitres for this yr based mostly on preliminary knowledge.
Vital losses in prime wine-growing areas
The sharp decline is primarily attributed to considerably decrease yields in Germany’s 4 largest wine-growing areas: Rhine Hesse, Palatinate, Baden and Württemberg, Büscher defined.
“Smaller grape berries, below-average should yields and, above all, intensive grape choice following heavy rainfall in mid-September have led to an estimated 23% drop in harvests in Rhine Hesse alone, or almost 600,000 hectolitres in comparison with the 10-year common,” he stated.
Extremely concentrated and fruity wines anticipated
Nonetheless, some wine-growing areas that suffered extreme late frost injury in 2024 are seeing higher yields this yr, Büscher famous. These embody the jap areas of Saxony and Saale-Unstrut, in addition to the Ahr, that are reporting triple-digit proportion will increase in comparison with the earlier yr.
Moreover, the Moselle and Franconia areas are anticipated to see barely above-average harvest volumes this yr.
All 13 wine-growing areas agree on the evaluation of wine high quality: Because of the exceptionally excessive ripeness of the grapes, the standard is taken into account “outstandingly good.”
“Whereas the grape berries have been usually smaller this yr, they have been all of the extra fragrant, which is anticipated to lead to extremely concentrated and fruity wines,” Büscher stated.
