German 2017 Vintage Small but Fine |

10/10/2017

The German 2017 wine harvest is headed toward an unseasonably early conclusion, with many estates already done before the end of September. Quality assessments range from good to very good, with the caveat that harvest volumes are relatively small.

The German Wine Institute (DWI) has prepared an updated set of figures showing estimated total yields across Germany of roughly 7.5 million hectoliters. That figure represents an 18 percent drop from both the year prior and from the 10-year historical mean of nine million hectoliters.

Yield totals often vary significantly from region to region, however. In fact, fluctuations can even be observed between neighboring estates, depending on which vineyards were affected by the April frosts — the primary driver behind the lower volumes. There were also isolated hail strikes and, for some winegrowers, the need to undertake manual selection, all of which further reduced yields.

Extreme weather conditions have led to significant crop losses in many European countries this year. The EU Commission is currently estimating Europe-wide wine must volumes of roughly 146 million hectoliters. If that figure holds, it would represent the smallest European wine must harvest since 2000, at 23 million hectoliters (14%) below the results from a year ago and 22 million hectoliters (13%) below the five-year historical average.

Estimated must volumes for 2017 in Germany
	Ø=2007-2016		Prov. as at	*2017 prov.*	*2017* *prov*.
Region	10-year-average	2016	*27.09.2017*	Δ y/y (%volume)	Δ y/y (%volume)
	hl	hl	hl	vs. hist. mean	vs. year prior
Ahr	39.000	40.000	31.000	- 21	- 23
Mittelrhein	29.000	25.000	30.000	3	20
Mosel	795.000	706.000	600.000	- 25	- 15
Nahe	329.000	308.000	270.000	- 18	- 12
Rheinhessen	2.563.000	2.557.000	2.050.000	- 20	- 20
Pfalz	2.232.000	2.209.000	1.800.000	- 19	- 19
Rheingau	220.000	200.000	180.000	- 18	- 10
Hess. Bergstraße	30.000	31.000	25.000	- 17	- 19
Franken	445.000	471.000	490.000	10	4
Württemberg	1.065.000	1.145.000	850.000	- 20	- 26
Baden	1.237.000	1.293.000	1.050.000	- 15	- 19
Saale-Unstrut	44.000	54.000	58.000	32	7
Sachsen	21.000	29.000	27.000	29	- 7
Germany	9.049.000	9.069.000	*7.461.000*	*- 18*	*- 18*
*www.dwv-online.de*