Over the past ten years, white and rosé wines have gained popularity, while red wine has continued to decline. The growth in rosé has been particularly noticeable in the latter half of this period, while the share of white wine has remained relatively stable at 46 to 47%. Meanwhile, the share of red wine in German consumption has dropped significantly—from 51% to 40.6%.
There are indications that this shift in consumption varies across different price segments.‘Our customers are not showing any major changes when it comes to their preferred wine colour,’ says Luca Lobenberg, CEO of Germany's largest fine wine retailer Lobenbergs Gute Weine. ‘There are even more differences in the segments we serve, for example Bordeaux has not lost the same degree of importance as an origin as is generally reported.’
One long term trend that might have come to a halt now is the substantial increase in market share for organic wine. Production in Germany doubled between 2010 and 2020, while the organic share of imported wine has likely increased even more. But growth was only 1.6% in 2021 and fell by around 10% in 2022.
‘My assessment is that in 2024 organic wine kept pace with the rest of the wine range in food retail and discount stores. So we are talking about a shrinking market,' says Dirk Haux, Managing Director of Bionisys, a leading company dedicated to this important market segment.
Germany imports between 14 and 15m hectolitres of wine, putting it in a close race with the USA for the title of the world’s largest wine importer by volume. However, this leading position applies only to volume. In terms of import value, Germany ranks third, with total imports worth less than €3bn, trailing behind the US and the UK.
For the 2023/24 fiscal year, the German Winegrowers’ Association reported total wine sales of 18.6m hectolitres, reflecting a 1.4% decline. While this initially seemed like a positive sign—as previous years had seen even sharper declines—the latest trade figures quickly dampened any optimism. According to the NielsenIQ HomeScan Panel, buyer reach fell by 7.1% in Q4 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
Only just over half of all German households still buy wine, and per capita consumption has dropped to 22.2 litres. An additional 3.6 litres of sparkling wine per year is consumed per capita (population aged 16 and over).
Wine prices are also declining. In 2023/24, the average price of German wine fell for the first time in 15 years. On average, German wine fetched €4.47 per litre, while imported wines sold for €3.72 per litre.
Bulk Wine Buyers
The average price per imported litre is under €2, for two reasons. One is the huge number of entry-level wines consumed in Germany. The second is that quite a few companies import bulk wine for processing.
Three of the largest sparkling wine producers in the world are based in Germany. These companies’ best-known brands are sparkling wines without indication of origin. The two biggest include their flagship brands in their corporate names: Henkell-Freixenet and Rotkäppchen-Mumm.
Freixenet’s Cava is produced in Catalonia, but the other three are put together in Germany from base wines sourced from all over Europe. If you want to become a supplier here, you need to know Marcel Szopa, who heads German production at Henkell-Freixenet.
At Rotkäppchen-Mumm, Markus Jauch is responsible for production. He joined the company at the beginning of this month in the midst of major changes: CEO Silvia Wiesner follows Christof Queisser who ended his 12 year reign with yet another period of growth outperforming the overall market.
‘Faber’ and ‘Feist’ are important brands belonging to Schloss Wachenheim AG in Trier. The company, managed by Oliver Gloden, can be contacted via weineinkauf@schloss-wachenheim.de.
Other important bulk buyers include brandy producers Chantré & Cie. GmbH in Eltville and Asbach GmbH in Rüdesheim. The largest bottler in the country is Peter Mertes KG, which is managed by Michael Willkomm and his son Matthias. More than 400 employees help to generate revenues of around €330m.
Retail – Dominated by Discounters
Aldi and Lidl, Germany’s family-owned discounters, are now a familiar sight in a number of countries — but few of them have yet come close to witnessing the retail power of these companies inside Germany itself. According to Mintel, they enjoy 99% market penetration. Almost everyone shops there at least occasionally. It is important to know that while German consumers are happy to pay a premium price for high-quality products, they love to find a great deal. Unlike in the UK, however, German shoppers do not appreciate artificial bargains based on cyclical promotional discounts. They prefer the EDLP (Every Day Low Price) model.
While the discounters offer attractive prices for their own-label products through skilled buying and low margins, they do take quality and consistency seriously. They can also buy quite adventurously, knowing that their customers trust them.
While Aldi is Germany's biggest wine retailer, the company is split into two independently operating companies. Originally founded by two brothers, Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, it was divided into Aldi Nord, based in Essen, and Aldi Süd, in Mülhein, in 1960. The Aldi stores in the US belong to Aldi Sud, while Trader Joe’s is part of Aldi Nord. Both companies operate in a wide range of countries and do some central buying.
The discounters are keeping a low profile when it comes to their staff. Only Patrick Donath, Head of Wine Purchasing at Aldi Süd, makes a public appearance. Those looking to be listed in Lidl, need to complete a lengthy form (https://kundenservice.lidl.de/SelfServiceDE/s/suppliercontactsupport).
Other retail chains also move large quantities of wine. Edeka has its own bottling company called Rheinberg Kellerei, under the management of Dr. Markus Rammert. Vanessa Klaus is in charge of purchasing at the head office. At the other large supermarket chain, Rewe, Markus Prockl buys the wine, while his colleague René van Hall does the same for the 2000 Penny stores belonging to the group..
Groups, Chains and Franchises
There are only two franchise chains in the German wine industry. Vom Fass has 133 shops but focuses on oils and vinegars tapped from the barrel or demijohn. Wine plays a secondary role.
The market leader among specialist wine stores is Jacques Weindepot, run by Kathy Féron and Alexander Borwitzky, with over 300 franchises nationwide. This heavyweight whose individual stores enjoy extraordinary loyalty in their immediate vicinity, is part of a far larger business called Hawesko-Holding. This group of companies headed by Thorsten Hermelink generates a turnover of €637m. Its most important pillars are an import and distribution group called Wein Wolf as well as various B2C trading companies such as Jacques (bricks and mortar), Hawesko and Tesdorpf (both online).
The ranges are strongly fed by Wein Wolf’s five business units that include Weinland Ariane Abayan led by Maximilian Scheld, Volume Spirits, Deutschwein Classics & Weinkollektion Österreich‘ and most importantly, one also called Wein Wolf, headed by Khalid Wolff, and Grand Cru Select, managed by Moritz Nikolaus Lüke MW. The Wein Wolf group itself is led by Philipp Gericke.
The B2C subsidiaries also buy wine. In particular, Vinos, covering Iberian Wines, and Enoteca Enzo, which focuses on Italy, are relevant for wine producers in these countries.
Wine Importers
In addition to the Hawesko Group already mentioned, the Eggers & Franke Group plays a major role. While the company led by Jens Gardthausen and belonging to Rotkäppchen-Mumm distributes global brands such as Yellowtail or Frescobaldi's entry-level wines to supermarkets, various subsidiaries are active in the fine wine market.
Reidemeister und Ulrichs sells big names like Chapoutier and Frescobaldi, but also niche wineries like Elena Walch, while its sister company Eggersohn has Biondi-Santi in its portfolio, among others. With Ludwig von Kapff (10 shops plus online) and Club of Wine (online only), two B2C companies also belong to the group.
Schlumberger — not to be confused with the global market leader in off-shore oil drilling — is structured similarly. Part of the Austrian holding company, based around the sparkling wine producer of the same name, imports famous brands such as Ornellaia and Yquem and is headed by Rudolf Knickenberg. Subsidiaries for the specialised trade (Segnitz) and B2C (Bremer Weinkolleg) cover additional suppliers.
Family-owned Mack & Schühle, with more than 200 employees, is the third largest importer. Unlike its competitors, this firm does not split import and distribution into separate companies. Supermarkets, specialist retailers and Horeca are all handled by one company which moves 120m bottles of wine a year. Owner and managing director Christoph Mack is also president of Bundesverband Wein und Spirituosen International‘ (BWI), Germany’s national importers’ association.
The only exception to Mack & Schühle’s single-company distribution model is its handling of certified organic wines for supermarkets and discounters, which is managed by Bionisys—a joint venture between Mack & Schühle and Riegel Wein.
Riegel Wein, founded by Peter Riegel in 1985, has grown into Europe’s largest distributor of organic wine, now selling nearly 20 million bottles annually. With Felix Riegel as Managing Director, the next generation is now leading the company.
In addition to the big three generalists, there are numerous niche suppliers, some of which have grown to considerable size. Alongside Riegel, another key specialist in organic wine is Vinaturel, founded in 1995 by Jürgen Franke, who still manages the company today. Vinaturel focuses more on the ultra-premium segment and biodynamic wines, catering to a high-end market.
Ardau Weinimport, run by Björn Gerhard, focuses on the Iberian Peninsula, but has also added French wines to its portfolio in recent years. Completely focused on France is Sebastian Visentin who just merged his two companies Vin sur Vin (B2B) and Passion Vin (B2C) in Berlin to a single one bearing his surname. Augsburg based deuna, led by Ralf Kastner imports Spanish and Italian wines.
Specialist Trade
All specialist wine stores with more than 10 branches in Germany, such as Ludwig von Kapff and Jacques Weindepot, have now been acquired by large companies. The last of these transactions was the takeover of Rindchen's Weinkontor with 17 branches in northern Germany, Berlin, Leipzig and Munich, by Schloss Wachenheim in 2017. Gerd Rindchen, who with various new projects certainly still belongs on every top listing of German wine personalities, left the company in 2019. Since then the route to a listing in the Kontor range of shops is via chief buyer Vitus Steinhorst.
Online retail has a market share of about 6% in Germany. But it is particularly relevant in the price range of €15 and above. The ultra-premium segment is dominated by retailers founded when e-commerce was still called mail order. The largest is Lobenbergs Gute Weine in Bremen. Here, founder Heiner Lobenberg shares responsibility with his son. Since Luca Lobenberg joined the company in 2018, sales have leapt from €15m to €40m in 2021. Since then, the company has grown to slightly above €50 million in 2024.
The Saarwellingen-based retailer Pinard de Picard, where co-founder Ralf Zimmermann works with Marcus Budai to shape the range, is some distance behind.
Thanks to an impressive hand-picked range, former European champion sommelier Bernd Kreis has also enjoyed long-term success with his Weinhandlung Kreis: he has built up two shops, a wine bar and a well-stocked online store since founding the company as a sideline to a restaurant job in 1996.
Fourth in line of the premium retailers is K&U Weinhalle founded in 1982 by Martin Kössler and Dunja Ulbricht. Most of the other online start-ups in the segment have either dropped out in recent years or have been taken over by larger companies already listed.
In addition to these, however, the Swedish Viva Wine Group acquired two major players: Wine in Black and Vicampo.
Owner-managed and relevant in terms of size are the Italy specialist Superiore.de under the leadership of Lutz Heimrich and Vipino by Michael Liebert, which was founded in 2013 and is one of the fastest-growing companies in online retail.
Owner-managed and relevant in terms of size are the Italy specialist Superiore.de led by Lutz Heimrich and Vipino lead by Michael Liebert. Founded in 2013, Vipino has experienced rapid growth in recent years. To broaden its portfolio, the company has now secured a strategic cooperation with Gerd Rindchen.
Trade Fairs
Germany is the land of wine fairs and direct marketing, although the latter is changing One of the two longest-established big players in direct marketing, Pieroth in Burg Layen. After a phase of reorganization under leadership of Dr. Sebastian Potyka it reported stable sales with 2022 revenue reaching €105m, but has not commented sales development since. The other major player in the sector, Brogsitter from Gelsdorf, is cagey when it comes to figures.
It is not only the internet that is affecting the business model. It is becoming increasingly affordable for foreign producers to send their wines to German customers directly after recruiting them at one of the numerous wine consumer fairs.
The market leader here is Vincenz Weber, who organises events in 16 German cities with his company Weber-Messe.
Of course, the best B2B contacts are still made at ProWein, although it’s now facing fierce competition from Wine Paris. In response to this, the organiser Messe Düsseldorf has launched various programmes including one to lower hotel prices during the show.
For only the second time, Karlsruhe hosted the Eurovino trade fair last week. This year's edition saw an increase in participation, attracting more than 400 exhibitors.
Competitions
Consumers all over the world love medals and best lists, and the German ones are no exception. Germany, however, is the world champion in wine awards. Mundus Vini run by Meininger Verlag (publisher of Meininger’s International) is one of the two most important international wine awards, managed by Christian Wolf. Meininger’s also organises a number of specialised competitions for specific styles such as Riesling, sparkling and rosé.
PR Agencies and Consultants
The field in Germany is almost entirely left to small owner-managed companies. Even in the German market there are mostly small companies that deal with PR for wine producers.
With around 20 employees, FrersFierenzKoch (ff.k) is one of the heavyweights in the industry, working primarily for several southern European AOP Consejos and Consorzios.
Organize Communications, run by Barbara Wanner and Oliver Frank, is also one of the busiest in the industry.
Anyone looking for a very hands-on approach should consider Sommelier.Consult. The agency, run by Christian Frens, is an association of sommeliers and other experts, including the well-known Master of Wine Caro Maurer.
Representing renowned brands such as Masi and Gil Family Estates, Constanze Braun’s komma,zum.punkt has quickly established itself as a noteworthy newcomer in the industry.
Media and Influencers
In Germany, too, media consumption is undergoing a strong shift towards digital offerings. However, it is not easy to establish professional (online) B2C offerings. Consumers are too reluctant to pay for content. wein.plus from Erlangen may be the only profitable online only publisher, albeit with a mix of B2B and B2C offerings with ad-revenue and paid content.
Print is not dead yet: The long-established wine magazine brand Vinum was even able to launch a new guide book to German wines a few years ago. Both are led by editor-in-chief Harald Scholl.
When it comes to showcasing high-quality wine brands, the wine magazine Fine is very relevant. Publisher Ralf Frenzel and his Tre Torri Verlag also regularly produce spectacular coffee table books on the subject of wine. Falstaff Magazine has just upped their game by Hiring well known Romana Echensperger MW as their new Co-Editor in Chief responsible for tasting and judgement.
Weinwelt under the leadership of Ilka Lindemann is the fourth German language wine magazine aiming at consumers. It is the only B2C product of Meininger Verlag, market leader in the B2B segment, which also produces Meininger’s International. Weinwirtschaft, under the direction of Karin Eymael, is the name of the most important trade journal. Direct access to sommeliers is provided by Sommelier Magazin, managed by Sascha Speicher. Events, publications and awards round off the family-owned company’s portfolio.
Influencers from Germany often post in English, which makes it difficult to estimate the actual reach in German-speaking countries. On a global scale Master of Wine Konstantin Baum has tremendous influence, reaching 174 thousand subscribers on YouTube and 55 thousand on Instagram. The three most successful German-speaking Instagram accounts are: Louisa Maria Schmidt (@bringflavorhome, 72 thousand followers), Johannes Quernheim (@johannes.trinkt.wein, 70 thousand) and Toni Askitis (@asktoni.de, 36 thousand).
The most successful YouTube channel is Webweinschule (13.5 thousand subscribers) by the author of this article, the blog with the widest reach is Christoph Raffelt's originalverkorkt.de, which also includes a successful podcast. Another important B2C podcast is Terroir & Adiletten by the Austrian sommelier Willi Schlögl, who runs the famous wine bar 'Freundschaft' in Berlin.
