Rhineland-Palatinate winegrowers sought to distill only 6.3 million liters under an EU crisis program

Winegrowers in Rhineland-Palatinate submitted 266 applications to send 6.3 million liters of wine into an EU-backed crisis distillation program, far below the maximum volume that could have been requested, the state ministry responsible for wine said on Monday, November 2.

The ministry in Mainz said the applications covered only about 36% of the program’s ceiling of 17.5 million liters. The deadline to apply expired on October 15.

The program is meant to reduce a wine surplus that has been weighing on the market. Under the measure, excess wine from selected regions can be distilled into industrial alcohol instead of being sold as wine. The alcohol can be used for products such as disinfectants or for energy, but not for food or beverage uses.

According to the ministry, it is still unclear how many applications will be approved. The final authorized volume will probably be lower than the total requested. The German broadcaster SWR had previously reported on the lower-than-expected demand.

Of the 6.3 million liters requested in Rhineland-Palatinate, about 4.7 million liters were red wine and about 1.6 million liters were rosé, the ministry said. Based on the total, the average application amounted to roughly 23,800 liters.

The EU set aside 14.16 million euros for the crisis distillation measure in Germany. About 10.3 million euros of that total were allocated to Rheinhessen, the country’s largest wine-growing region. The rest was designated for Württemberg, Germany’s fourth-largest wine region. No other wine regions were included in the program.

The limited participation is significant for the beverage industry because it suggests the subsidized removal of excess stocks may have a narrower effect than expected on the oversupply that has been putting pressure on prices and demand, especially in German red wine. At the same time, the rules mean the distilled alcohol will not return to the drinks market in another form, since its use in food and beverages is barred.

The crisis measure followed a German request to the European Commission. The ministry said the commission approved support because too much wine was available on the market. Only red and rosé wines from the 2025 vintage and older were eligible.

The subsidy is structured on a per-liter basis. The EU pays 43 cents per liter for the distillation itself, with an additional 16 cents per liter intended to cover logistics and distillation costs.

The restriction on end use is intended to avoid distorting competition. Alcohol produced through the crisis program may be used only for industrial purposes, including disinfectants and energy. It cannot be used in the food and beverage industry.

The figures from Rhineland-Palatinate cover one of only two German wine regions allowed to take part in the measure, making the response there an important indicator of how strongly producers are willing to use public support to reduce inventories. Rheinhessen has been at the center of the effort because of its size, but the total requested volume remained well below the level the program had made possible.

The ministry did not say on Monday, November 2, when approvals would be completed. It said only that the approved amount is likely to end up below the 6.3 million liters requested by applicants.