Wine harvest 2024 in Germany
The 2024 vintage will be remembered as extremely labour-intensive and demanding.
Late frosts, lots of rainfall and changing weather conditions during the grape harvest required a great deal of commitment and flexibility from the wineries. In the end, they were rewarded for this with excellent grape quality throughout Germany.
Great regional differences in yield
As a result of the extreme weather conditions, yields varied greatly depending on the growing region, grape variety and microclimate. They ranged from a normal yield to a total loss and fell far short of expectations for the most part.
Nationwide 7.9 million hectolitres of wine must
According to the German Wine Institute (DWI), based on a current estimate by the German Winegrowers' Association, a harvest volume of around 7.9 million hectolitres of wine must is expected nationwide. This corresponds to a ten per cent drop compared to the ten-year average of 8.8 million hectolitres and around nine per cent compared to the previous year. A similarly low yield of 7.5 million hectolitres was last seen in 2017.
Particularly heavy losses in the east
The regional differences in yield were due in particular to late frosts in April, which often severely damaged the young vines after very early budding. The eastern regions of Saxony and Saale-Unstrut were particularly badly affected, which is reflected in yield losses of 70 to 73 per cent compared to the previous year. Wine producers in the Ahr region also suffered exceptionally high weather-related losses of around 64 per cent. On the Moselle, large hailstorms in May also reduced yields, meaning that the harvest there is expected to be the smallest for 50 years at around 510,000 hectolitres.
But the April frost has also left its mark on the slopes along the Rhine and Nahe rivers as well as in larger parts of Franconia and Württemberg. Here, the reductions in harvest volumes range from 19 per cent in Franconia to 25 per cent in Württemberg.
Greatest growing regions on average
The two largest German wine-growing regions, Rheinhessen and Pfalz, have been largely spared frost. With a minus of four per cent, the Palatinate is only slightly below the previous year's level and Rheinhessen is slightly above it with a plus of seven per cent.
Fruity, light mineral wines
The rainy year also had positive effects on the development of the vines. Due to the good water supply, they were able to store many minerals from the soil in the grapes, which means that wines rich in extract with pronounced minerality can be expected. The long ripening phase also had a positive effect on the development of flavour in the berries.
The 2024 vintage will therefore produce fresh, lively wines with pronounced fruit. Thanks to moderate alcohol levels, this year's wines are also somewhat lighter overall and therefore perfectly match the type of wine that is currently in demand.
Forecast of the German wine must harvest 2024
(Status: 24.10.2024)
Cultivation area |
Harvest estimate 2024 |
Harvest volume 2023 |
Change quantity 2023/2024 |
hl |
hl |
% |
|
Ahr |
15,000 |
42,000 |
-64 |
Baden |
1,100,000 |
1,276,000 |
-14 |
Franken |
341,000 |
419,000 |
-19 |
Hess. Bergstraße |
31,000 |
33,000 |
-6 |
Mittelrhein |
19,000 |
22,000 |
-14 |
Mosel |
510,000 |
724,000 |
-30 |
Nahe |
265,000 |
312,000 |
-15 |
Pfalz |
2,200,000 |
2,287,000 |
-4 |
Rheingau |
222,000 |
224,000 |
-1 |
Rheinhessen |
2,580,000 |
2,420,000 |
7 |
Saale-Unstrut |
13,000 |
48,000 |
-73 |
Sachsen |
9,000 |
30,000 |
-70 |
Württemberg |
614,000 |
822,000 |
-25 |
Total |
7,933,000 |
8,688,000 |
-9 |
Source: DWV estimate, Destatis
Contact persons
-
Ernst Büscher
Pressesprecher / Press officer