1.1 billion bottles of wine are still bottled in Germany every year. But contrary to what was hoped, the 2023 wine harvest turned out to be significantly worse than in previous years.
Contrary to what was expected in the fall, the wine harvest in Germany in 2023 was worse than the year before. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the winegrowers produced 8.6 million hectoliters of wine and must. That was 344,000 hectoliters or 3.9 percent less than a year earlier, the authority announced today.
At the beginning of September, a significant increase to almost 9.9 million hectoliters was forecast. The actual harvest volume was now 28,000 hectoliters or 0.3 percent below the average for the years 2017 to 2022.
Grapes ripened quickly
After a wet spring and a dry period in early summer, it looked like a good wine year for a long time, especially since there was initially no major storm damage. However, weeks of persistent rainfall followed, locally combined with storms and hail.
“The late summer was warm in many places, which encouraged fungal and pest infestation and led to rapid ripening of the grapes. As a result, the winegrowers were confronted with challenging harvest conditions, which was one of the factors for lower wine production,” explained the statisticians.
Rheinhessen is the number 1 wine producer
According to the information, almost half (49 percent) of the wine produced in Germany last year came from the two largest wine-growing regions, Rheinhessen (2.4 million hectoliters) and Palatinate (1.8 million hectoliters). Almost 15 percent came from Baden (1.3 million hectoliters), a good 14 percent from the Moselle (1.2 million hectoliters).
A good two thirds (68.5 percent) of the wines produced in 2023 were white wines, just under a third (31.5 percent) were red wines, including rosé wine and Rotling. Converted into 0.75 liter bottles, the wine and must production in 2023 amounts to around 1.1 billion bottles, according to statisticians’ calculations.
Extreme weather reduces harvests
It was also recently expected that there would be less wine produced worldwide than in more than 60 years. The International Organization of Vine and Wine provisionally estimated 244.1 million hectoliters for 2023. That would be seven percent less than 2022 and the lowest level since 1961. The organization blamed extreme weather conditions for this.
In Germany and also around the world, less wine has recently been drunk. According to the German Wine Institute, wine consumption per capita in this country fell by around one bottle of wine per person in the last wine year.