August 2nd – The flood disaster in the German Ahr region at the end of July threatened the business of numerous wine producers: flooded offices, cellars and wine warehouses as well as destroyed machinery. But the wave of solidarity and the sense of community – also beyond the borders – is impressive. Vintners from neighboring regions who were not affected immediately set out and lent a hand, machine suppliers offered repairs free of charge or provided loan equipment, wine growers from Germany and abroad as well as retail representatives sell wine packages and donated all or part of the proceeds.
An excellent overview of current relief campaigns is provided by the website of the German Wine Institute (DWI). At www.germanwines.de appeals for donations and donation accounts, contact persons for coordinated actions as well as the numerous relief actions of wine producers, trade, associations and organizations are listed. Donations from abroad are best made via the corresponding account at Volksbank Mainz, which the DWI has set up especially for this purpose.
For detailed information: https://www.germanwines.de/-help-for-wine-producers/
With the slogan “SOLIDA(H)RITY” (https://www.facebook.com/Weingut.St.Antony/) wine-growing estate St. Antony has initiated a relief campaign that is synonymous with the cross-border cooperation of the sector: a wine package with six bottles donated by vintners and wine dealers from all conceivable growing regions including France, Greece, Israel, Luxembourg, Austria and South Tyrol. Proceeds will go to the affected wine growers along the Ahr river via the VDP initiative “Der Adler hilft e.V.” (the Grape Eagle helps). Within 48 hours, 10,000 sets were already sold online and demand continues to be so high that this campaign will enter its second round in early August. “This flood disaster and its consequences for people and the wine growing sector in the Ahr valley has touched us deeply. We want to show our solidarity and help out. To this end we are supporting the campaign of the St. Antony estate in form of a donation. This helps to finance the shipping costs of the wine packages,” stated Michael Degen, Executive Director at Messe Düsseldorf, and responsible for ProWein, the leading international trade fair for the wines and spirits industry.
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