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In Germany, a harvest volume of 7.9 million hectoliters of wine must is expected this year. This was announced by the German Wine Institute (DWI) based on a current estimate from the German Winegrowers' Association. The volume represents a decrease of nine percent compared to the previous year and ten percent compared to the ten-year average of 8.8 million hectoliters. A similarly low yield (7.5 million hl) was last recorded in 2017.
The vintage 2024 was labor-intensive and challenging for the businesses. Late frosts in spring, heavy rainfall in summer, and variable weather during the harvest posed significant challenges for the winemakers. There are large regional yield differences: In some growing areas, winemakers had to accept significant losses or even a total crop failure. Especially in East Germany, late frosts in April damaged the vines. In Saxony and Saale-Unstrut, this is reflected in yield losses of 70 to 73 percent compared to the previous year. Exceptionally high losses of around 64 percent are also recorded by businesses in the Ahr. In the Mosel region, the smallest harvest volume in 50 years is expected due to widespread hail damage in May. In Franconia and Württemberg, harvest volumes have also decreased by 19 and 25 percent, respectively.
Other areas report "normal yields" that are in line with the average of recent years. The two largest German wine-growing regions, Rheinhessen and Pfalz, have largely been spared from frost. With a decrease of four percent, Pfalz is only slightly below the previous year's level, while Rheinhessen, with an increase of seven percent, is even slightly above.
According to DWI, the rainy year also had positive effects. Due to good water supply, the vines were able to store many minerals from the soil in the grapes. The long ripening phase also positively affected the aroma development in the berries. Extract-rich wines with a lot of minerality, freshness, liveliness, and pronounced fruit are expected.
(ru / DWI)