The Pfalzwein e.V. has attempted to modernize and open the office of the Palatinate Wine Queen. This has triggered massive resistance in the region. A compromise has now been found – yet the conflict continues.
In mid-July, the Palatinate regional wine advertising announced that it wanted to modernize the office of the Palatine Wine Queen. This was to be replaced in 2024 by "PfalzWineAmbassador" and "PfalzWineAmbassadors," who would appear together as "TeamPfalz" (see image above, from left to right: Lara Karr, Denise Stripf, Manuel Reuther) and wear a pin instead of a crown.
This initiative caused a stir in the wine scene and regional politics. A debate with far-reaching media echo swept through the industry. A compromise has now been found, yet it seems hardly suitable to resolve the tension.
The first step towards transformation was the opening up to male candidates. Pfalzwein made this clear by formulating "candidates," who would "prepare for their office as wine royalties." This established "wine royalties" as a gender-neutral designation.
The Mayor of Neustadt an der Weinstraße, where the elections for the Palatine and German Wine Queen take place, opposed the plans. "The glamorous and fairytale-like belongs to the figure," he emphasized to the FAZ. "This cannot simply be transferred to a man just because we say we live in an equal society."
In other regions, they are already further along. At the local level, there are wine princes in several German growing areas. In Rheinhessen, a man is also up for election at the regional level, and two regional wine princes are already in office on the Middle Rhine. The difference with the Palatine push: There, they do not shake the monarchical concept. In the Rheingau, however, no men will be allowed to run, explained wine president Peter Seyffardt in the FAZ. The German Wine Institute (DWI), on the other hand, has already opened the office of the German Wine Queen to all genders. If a regional wine king is elected, he can also become the German Wine King.
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In response to Pfalzwein's plans, a board member of the CDU Neustadt initiated a petition to preserve "the office and title of the Palatine Wine Queen." It states: "Tradition forms the identity that we reflect as a community." The office and title of the Palatine Wine Queen are part of this identity, and the crown has been "a symbol of our cultural heritage and the strength of our wine culture for over 90 years.".
Within three weeks, over 6,400 people signed this petition. Their motives reflect conservative values: In most comments, terms like tradition, culture, customs, identity, and homeland appear. Some comments apparently come from the far-right fringe. The signatories complain about "crazy nonsense," "woke fascists," "ideological terror," "gender ideology groups," "left-green woke nonsense," and an ominous "rainbow sect.".
In fact, the Palatine Wine Queen has a long history. The idea of declaring "the most beautiful girl at the wine harvest festival in Neustadt as the Wine Queen" originated in 1931, as stated on the Pfalzwein website. Thus, the election of the Wine Queen was initially a beauty contest.
Under the Nazis, the majesty from the Palatinate was abruptly declared the German Wine Queen in 1937. The Palatine NS district leader Josef Bürckel had already initiated the German Wine Route in 1935, which runs only through the Palatinate. Therefore, a German Wine Queen from the Palatinate fit perfectly into his concept. After the German Wine Advertising – the later DWI – was founded in 1949, the Palatine Wine Queen was once again crowned as the German Wine Queen that year, just as before.
The current Palatine Wine Queen Charlotte Weihl
BK-Productions / Pfalzwein e. V.Since 1950, a specialist jury has selected the German Wine Queen from among the regional wine queens. By now, it is also significantly about wine knowledge and communication. "We are aware of the tradition and want to preserve it, but we are open to contemporary adjustments," explains DWI spokesperson Ernst Büscher. However, impulses must come from the wine-growing regions themselves. "To rename the office, there would need to be a majority among the 13 growing regions," Büscher clarifies.
The comparison of the Wine Queen with other customs-related figures like shooting kings, asparagus queens, or carnival princes is close at hand. However, a Wine Queen or Wine King not only represents tradition and culture but also the entire wine industry. Therefore, an ambassador might be the right concept for image promotion.
However, in the Palatinate, as in other wine-growing regions, there are culture and wine ambassadors who primarily take on tourism tasks after IHK examination. Critics consider the concept of the "PfalzWineAmbassadors" to be not valuable enough. For Ernst Büscher, the term "is not the happiest choice of words." He advocates changing the perception of the office, not the designation. The term queen or king polarizes, but it stands out and attracts attention. The crown is a distinctive feature, a draw – especially outside the wine regions." At industry events, it is more about personality and expertise. "But in areas where the wine royals are not known, they are approached because they wear a crown," explains Büscher.
Janina Huber, Palatine Wine Queen 2013/14 and German Wine Queen 2014/15, relativized this in a TV contribution: In the wine regions, the office is known and received positively. "But in Northern Germany or somewhere else in the world, it is more surprise" that the crowned ladies evoke, she reported. Politician Julia Klöckner, who was the German Wine Queen in 1995/96, said in an interview that she even felt a certain "discomfort" while wearing the crown.
On social media, a group of over 35 young Palatine winemakers has endorsed the changes. Names like Sophie Christmann, Andreas Rings, or Lukas Krauss are included. They "see the redesign of the office of the wine royalty as an opportunity. The office has long encompassed much more than a crown and young women." It stands for wine expertise, cultural ambassadors, and the figurehead of the wine region. "The reorientation names this role and modernizes the image."
Similarly, the Pfalzwein chairpersons Boris Kranz and Yvonne Libelli formulated: "We are not abolishing the office; rather, we are developing it further and thereby accounting for a long-standing change process in the office."
The social media discussion about this is sometimes personal, sometimes polemical. Positive comments include: "A good, long-overdue, future-oriented change." Or: "Tradition is not what one inherits, but what one passes on." Some statements for and against are again sensational to populist, such as when on one side the Wine Queen is labeled as "a sexist relic" and on the other side the change is called "woke shit.".
After two weeks of heated debate, Pfalzwein announced "in-depth discussions" with the city of Neustadt and within the board. At the beginning of August, a solution emerged: If a woman wins the election for wine majesty in October, she will remain a Wine Queen and continue to wear the crown. If a man wins, he will be a wine royalty and wear a gold pin. Analogously, there should be one or two wine princesses with a crown or a male wine royalty with a silver pin.
The compromise consists of the artifice of applying the term "wine royalty" only to men. Whether this will lead to more understanding of the situation remains questionable. However, after the election, Pfalzwein wants to establish an interest group "Palatine Wine Royalties" to develop a future-oriented concept.
Whether such a round table can clarify the contentious issues seems doubtful. The concept of the Wine Queen moves in the tension between beauty contest and performance competition, between village square and export fair. Changes have occurred rather homeopathically over three-quarters of a century. Pfalzwein has now attempted for the first time to break the tradition – and received massive headwinds, especially from regional politics. No word of support was heard from the other twelve German wine-growing regions.
Nevertheless, the debate has proven that there are many more advocates for change in the industry than traditional thinkers suspect. The controversy surrounding the Wine Queen will therefore continue. However, for now, only in a classically German working group. The end: open. The wine industry has once again proven: Changes are only welcome if everything remains the same.