Sustainability in the wine industry
For the third time, on April 28, 2022 the Market and Wine Forum was held in cooperation with the German Wine Institute (DWI) at the Wine Campus Neustadt. The two main topics of the presentations and discussions were sustainability in wine marketing and wine tourism.
Monika Reule, Managing Director of the DWI, presented current figures right at the start of the event in her presentation on the "German wine market". In 2021, sales and turnover in the wine industry remained largely at pre-corona levels. In the first quarter of 2022, however, there were initial indications of a significant decline in sales. "The war in Ukraine and rising inflation, as well as a high inflation rate, are unsettling customers in Germany. It is to be feared that people are now cutting back on luxury foods in particular," says DWI Managing Director Monika Reule. In this situation, an event such as the Market and Wine Forum is particularly important in order to be able to react to the changing market.
"Current developments have also brought the topic of sustainability even more to the fore," explains Marc Dreßler, Professor of Business Administration and Entrepreneurship at the Wine Campus Neustadt. Marc Dreßler is certain that ecological and economic sustainability will play an increasingly important role in the marketing of wine in the future. Sustainability can be a decisive differentiating feature for German wine and has the potential to open up new sales options.
However, as the discussion rounds showed, wine customers need to be made aware of sustainable products. Last but not least, wine tourism is playing an increasingly important role here and could also make a valuable contribution to promoting the profile of a wine region. There was also a discussion about how difficult it is to set standards for sustainability in the wine industry. For example, does it make sense to certify wineries? The participants had the opportunity to exchange views on these topics in discussion groups.
A new date for the Market and Wine Forum has already been set. Next year, the industry meeting will take place again on April 27, 2023 at the Wine Campus Neustadt.
