Election of the 77th German Wine Majesty: Who will make it to the final?

Starting at 4 p.m., ten female and two male candidates will face challenging questions and tasks from a jury of experts in the Saalbau in Neustadt an der Weinstraße.

Regional Wine Royalties from twelve wine-growing regions

This year, for the first time, two men from Rheinhessen and the Mittelrhein will represent their wine-growing regions in the election. Saxony will not send a candidate in 2025. All candidates have previous experience representing their wine-growing regions. Some are still in office, and some have already passed on their insignia to subsequent Regional Wine Majesties.

Expertise and personality required

After intensive preparation, the candidates have to demonstrate their knowledge of winemaking, wine marketing and the professional handling of wine. The preliminary election is traditionally organised by the German Wine Institute (DWI)

Good English skills are mandatory

Since the German Wine Majesties are also active internationally, a task in English is a must. SWR presenter Holger Wienpahl will accompany the candidates on stage again this year.

Jury of experts selects finalists

A jury of around 70 experts from the wine industry, politics and the media will select the five finalists via online voting. On September 26, they will compete against each other again at the grand finale on the Saalbau. Pop singers Leslie Clio, Chris de Sarandy and Annett Louisan will provide musical highlights on the evening of the election gala.

Live online and on TV

The exciting preliminary decision will be streamed live from 04:00 pm to around 06:30 pm on the Homepage of the German Wine Majesties. Interested parties can also find detailed portraits of the twelve candidates there.

Extensive SWR coverage 

SWR will be providing comprehensive coverage of the election: The "Landesschau Rheinland-Pfalz" programme will report on the Rheinland-Pfalz candidates in the run-up to the election. The preliminary decision will also be shown via livestream on the SWR website and broadcast on television the following Sunday.

SWR broadcast dates at a glance:

Landesschau Rheinland-Pfalz: Presentation of the Rhineland-Palatinate candidates
12 to 19 September 2025, from 18:15

Election of the German Wine Majesty – The preliminary decision

Saturday, 20 September 2025, from 4 to 6:30 pm in the livestream on swr.de/weinmajestaet
Moderation: Holger Wienpahl

Election of the German Wine Majesty – The Final

Friday, 26 September 2025, 8:15 pm: Broadcast live from the Saalbau in Neustadt an der Weinstraße on TV and online
Moderation: Holger Wienpahl