Wine overtakes beer in German drinks market

Germany has traditionally been one of the world’s biggest beer consumer and in production as well but I found some incredible facts which are competing against the old notion of Beer’s popularity in Hamburg, famous for brewing beer from ages. Perhaps, Germans needs some change and everybody needs some change, so what’s so incredible here, let’s see…



Wandering in some glittering shopping avenues and streets in Hamburg. Lot of usual charm, culture and style of metropolitan region one can experience in just few glimpses. But I struck to see that in every open bars and restaurants wine is on the table. People are enjoying their lazy afternoons and romantic nights with wine here.

Germans consume the third-largest amount of beer per capita in the world behind the Czechs & Irish but wine is omnipresent here. Unlike France or Italy, wine-producing nations that mostly drink their own. Hereby, if we talk about the grocery chains, wine shops and supermarkets, German wines are in the minority but they are not lacking behind in sales.
Wein twei Drei is a well-stocked wine shop in Hamburg in city centre, Arnd Nebert the owner running this shop from last one year showed some different selections of German wines, a dozen of vintage reds & whites from different wine regions.

But nowadays, if we talk about the competition in Europe the wines from South Africa and Chile giving a tough competition to European markets. So how they are competing against European markets?
“South African wines are popular because they’re more in the European style, and also some of the wineries have very old European connections,” Arnd said.

Besides this one of the most common scenes in German supermarkets where the wines from different countries are displayed and people are picking the German wines frequently.
The reason of popularity of German wines from the mouth of one of the buyer is “Germans are strict about ingredients than any other country; the EU overturned their purity law for beer, but consumers still reject brands that don’t follow it. Perhaps German consumers are still unwilling to buy wines without knowing the source and they are more definite about their own country wines.”

The German Food and Drink Report and statistics in various magazines also show that how in recent years the popularity of wine increases. From export to consumption. The report stated: “Over half of the wine consumed in Germany is domestically produced”
Arnd also commented that the “German wines are intensely flavored and can be matched with any food. The phenomenon of drinking red wine with varied dishes is getting old”.
The other reason of wine’s popularity in Germany is the health conscious population. They increasingly prefer non-alcoholic drinks or, when they are drinking alcohol, are opting for wine which has less calories and offers health benefits.
Of the wine produced in Germany 65 percent is white and 35 percent red. And the quarter of the production is exported, in particular to the USA, Great Britain and the Netherlands.

Arnd also expressed his desire to do a course in wine business to enhance in professional terms. In this the German Wine School in Hamburg, popularly known as Deutsche Wein- Und-Sommelierschule headquarted in Koblenz imparts the various courses and seminars in promoting wine tasting to successful wine businesses.
Not only at home. German wine villages collectively host more than 1,000 wine festivals every year. And here the local government and council plays a major role in enhancing the region’s attraction and promotion.