Agrar: German winemakers generate significantly less wine

A moist spring and extreme weather events have significantly depressed the amount of wine generated by German winemakers. A total of 2024 with 7.75 million hectoliters of Weinmost came together almost ten percent less than in the previous year, as the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden announced.

If you compare the amount with the average of 2018 to 2023, the minus is even 12 percent. The amount for 2024 is still under the estimate of the Federal Office from last October. At that time, the authority assumed less than 8.3 million hectoliters of Weinmost. However, the development is very different in region.

While in the two largest cultivation areas of Rheinhessen (2.44 million hectoliters) and Palatinate (1.78 million hectoliters), from which more than half of the wine came together with 54.5 percent, the amount generated remained almost at the level of the previous year, other regions had to accept bitter losses: in Baden, the crowd shrank by a quarter to 954,000 hectoliters, in Württemberg, in Württemberg. More than 18 percent to 667,000 hectoliters and in Franconia by more than 26 percent to 302,200 hectoliters.

The decline in small growing areas was even more violent in percentage. In terms of 9,000 hectoliters, almost 69 percent less came together, in the Saale-Unstrut area with 17,600 hectoliters almost 64 percent and almost 55 percent less on the Ahr with 22,400 hectoliters.

The Federal Statistical Office said that the rainy spring promoted mushroom diseases. In addition, late frosts, hail, storms or heavy rain have harmed the harvest in many places. A little more than two thirds of the amount generated was 2024 white wine, a third red wine including rosé wines. According to the statistics, the amount generated corresponds to around one billion bottles in 0.75 liter bottles.