Overview

• Bulk wine prices have plunged to about €0.30 per liter, leaving many wineries facing insolvency and some grapes likely to go unharvested this season.
• Rhineland-Palatinate minister Daniela Schmitt warns iconic steep-slope vineyards are at risk and unveils a support package with more than €3 million annually for marketing and image campaigns.
• State wine ministers plan a first joint meeting in the Rheingau in November to coordinate responses across all winegrowing regions.
• The German Winegrowers' Association urges Berlin to implement the EU wine package, including a provisional planting stop, expanded promotion and replanting rules, with green harvests and distillation no longer treated as taboos.
• VDP president Steffen Christmann calls for a tighter, internationally marketable profile with an export focus, as domestic market share for German wine fell to 41% in 2024 and new U.S. tariffs raise export costs.