Sustainability in the wine industry
For the third time, on April 28, 2022 the Market and Wine Forum, in cooperation with the German Wine Institute (DWI), took place at the Wine Campus Neustadt. The two main focuses of the presentations and discussions were sustainability in wine marketing and wine tourism.
Monika Reule, the managing director of the DWI, presented current figures right at the start of the event in her presentation on “The German Wine Market.” According to her, sales volume and revenue in the wine industry remained largely at pre-COVID levels in 2021. In the first quarter of 2022, however, the first signs of a significant decline in revenue became apparent. “The war in Ukraine, rising inflation, and high cost-of-living pressures are causing uncertainty among customers in Germany. “It is to be feared that people are now cutting back on luxury goods in particular,” says DWI Managing Director Monika Reule. In this situation, she notes, an event like the Market and Wine Forum is particularly important for responding to the changing market.
“Due to current developments, the topic of sustainability has once again come to the forefront,” explains Marc Dreßler, professor of Business Administration and entrepreneurship at 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 key differentiator for German wine and has the potential to open up new sales opportunities.
As the discussion panels highlighted, however, wine consumers must be made aware of products that promote sustainability. Not least, wine tourism is playing an increasingly important role in this regard and could also make a valuable contribution to raising the profile of a wine region. There was also discussion about how difficult it is to establish standards for sustainability in the wine industry. For example, does it make sense to certify wineries? 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 gathering will take place again at the Wine Campus Neustadt on April 27, 2023.
