Interest in German Riesling Increases Significantly in the Fine Wine Secondary Market (2021)

Pictures: Tasting with Markus Molitor at Weingut Markus Molitor in Haus Klosterberg, Mosel - Germany-North Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours

"Interest in top German wines has skyrocketed in recent years, and demand far exceeds supply. It seems that all serious wine lovers have their eyes on top German wines, especially in Europe and the US," says Alix Rodarie, head of international development at wine auction house iDealwine. Ten years ago, only two German wines were traded on the fine wine trading platform Liv-ex; by 2021, there were already 201.

 

Pictures: Christian Schiller and Dorothee Zilliken at Frankfurt/Wein in Frankfurt, Germany. See: Dorothee Zilliken, Weingut Forstmeister Geltz-Zilliken Presents her Noble Rieslings at Frankfurt/Wein in Frankfurt, Germany. Annette Schiller and Hanno Zilliken at Weingut Forstmeister Geltz-Zilliken. See: Germany-North Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours: Quintessential German Riesling and the Northernmost Pinot Noir

However, the growth drivers are a relatively small group of producers such as Markus Molitor, JJ Prüm, Zilliken, Dönnhoff and Willi Schaefer. At the top are the wineries Egon Müller and Klaus Peter Keller, which are hardly available on the free market any more, but only at auctions, says Alix Rodarie. "Due to the low supply, the hammer prices for cellars increased by 62 per cent in 2021."

 

Picture: Annette Schiller and Egon Müller in New York City. See: The Annual "Slaughterhouse" Riesling Feast in New York: Rieslingfeier 2017, USA

The regional distribution of top wines on the Liv-ex trading platform is interesting: Mosel accounts for almost 60 percent, followed by Rheinhessen - mainly because of Klaus Peter Keller. A surprisingly low 2.4 percent of the German wines traded on Liv-ex come from the Rheingau. Riesling accounts for almost all of the trade.

Pictures: Annette Schiller, Julia and Klaus Peter Keller at the 2015 Rieslingfeier in New York, see: A German Riesling Feast in New York City: Rieslingfeier 2015, USA

Despite the growing interest in dry wines and Grosses Gewächs, the most traded German wines are Spätlesen or Auslesen. Alix Rodarie from iDealwine reports that Trockenbeerenauslesen continue to break records. The most expensive dry white wine in 2021 was a bottle of Domaine d'Auvenay Puligny-Montrachet at €10,070. In 2018, a bottle of Trockenbeerenauslese from Egon Müller was auctioned for 12,160 euros.

At the same time, German wines are an extremely small market segment in the secondary market: white wines account for only 9.5 percent there, and Germany has a share of only 1.8 percent in this segment.

(Source: drinksbusiness, April 1, 2022) 

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