German Wine Harvest Hits 16 Percent Below Average as Domestic Market Share Falls to 41%

The German Farmers’ Association has issued a warning about what it describes as a historic crisis in the country’s wine industry. Despite the high quality of the 2025 vintage, many winemakers are facing severe economic challenges. According to the association, the price for barrel wine has dropped to between 40 and 60 euro cents per liter, far below the average production cost of about 1.20 euros per liter. This situation is putting significant financial pressure on producers across Germany.

Joachim Rukwied, president of the German Farmers’ Association, said he expects a notable reduction in vineyard areas if current trends continue. He called on consumers to support local winemakers by choosing German wines more often, emphasizing that domestic wines can compete with those from France, Spain, or Italy in terms of quality. Rukwied also urged political leaders to provide relief for the industry, particularly by reducing bureaucratic hurdles that add to operational costs.

The 2025 wine harvest in Germany was about 16 percent below the ten-year average, totaling 7.3 million hectoliters. This marks the smallest harvest since 2010. The industry is also struggling with structural problems such as a shortage of seasonal workers and rising labor costs, partly due to increases in the minimum wage. These issues are especially acute for winemakers working on steep slopes, where mechanization is difficult or impossible.

German wine’s share of the domestic market has fallen to 41 percent. At the same time, exports—especially to the United States—are being hit by tariffs, further straining producers’ finances.

The challenges facing German winemakers come at a time when consumption patterns are also shifting. In 2024, sparkling wine consumption in Germany dropped by nearly 20 percent compared to a decade earlier. Data from the Federal Statistical Office show that Germans drank about ten fewer glasses of sparkling wine, Prosecco, or Champagne per person than they did in 2014. Last year, total sales reached 255.3 million liters, which translates to an average of 4.8 bottles or 36 glasses per person aged 16 and over. In 2014, these figures were higher at 6.1 bottles or 46 glasses per person.

Only alcoholic sparkling wines are included in these statistics because they are subject to a special tax introduced in 1902 during the German Empire to help fund naval construction and infrastructure projects like the North-East Canal. The tax applies to sparkling wines with at least 1.2 percent alcohol by volume and three bar overpressure. In 2024, this tax generated around 352 million euros for the government, accounting for just 0.04 percent of total tax revenues.

As winemakers face mounting economic and structural pressures, industry leaders are calling for both consumer support and political action to help stabilize one of Germany’s oldest agricultural sectors.