Recap VDP.Weinbörse 2026

Fulfilled, inspired, and full of gratitude, we look back on

two intense days at the 2026 VDP.Weinbörse.

There are weekends that stay with you for days afterwards. VDP.Weinbörse 2026 in Mainz was one of them: full of encounters, full of discoveries – and above all marked by a palpable sense of euphoria that this special kind of exchange is happening: focused, open and international.

More than 3,000 trade visitors from 29 countries came to the Rheingoldhalle to taste the 2025 vintage from 186 VDP member estates – and to have the conversations that are crucial for positioning German fine wine worldwide: between importers, the trade, top gastronomy and the specialist press. The strong international presence was clearly noticeable this year, with guests from the key export markets the USA, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia, as well as from the Netherlands, Japan, China, Colombia and many other countries.

To ensure this platform continues to operate with such focus and quality, further structural measures were introduced in 2026: with a new registration and accreditation system, the VDP sharpened VDP.Weinbörse even more clearly as a trade-only event. Access was consistently restricted to a qualified professional audience.

VDP.Weinbörse has thus once again impressively confirmed its role as the most important international trade fair for German fine wine.

The opening ceremony on Sunday morning began—fitting for this weekend—with a look ahead. VDP President Steffen Christmann welcomed the guests in the expectant, connecting spirit that is so characteristic of VDP.Weinbörse. “Every year at the end of April it is a joy to set off for Mainz on a Sunday morning, when spring is truly getting serious,” he said—linking the first tender shoots in the vineyards to the many faces in the hall that bring together so many different facets of German fine wine.

Christmann reminded everyone that, in its 52nd year, VDP.Weinbörse is not only about tasting and market dynamics, but also a place where conviction takes shape: here, “directly on the banks of the Rhine,” the river that has shaped German wine culture for centuries. His central message was as clear as it was constructive: origin is not a state of being, but a responsibility—and it requires reliability. Nothing, Christmann said, is “more fleeting than worldwide renown”: it has to be earned again and again—through consistency in the vineyard, precision in the cellar, and a shared presence wherever the world looks to German fine wine.

This idea carried particular weight this year through the anniversary of the VDP.Grape Eagle: 100 years ago (1926) it became the association’s hallmark—an answer to a time when winegrowers needed to move closer together and place the common good above what divides. For Christmann, this look back is above all optimistic: it shows that winegrowing has repeatedly found answers—and that community, the courage to be consistent, and the willingness to keep evolving are part of the VDP’s DNA. “So I am not anxious about our future,” he suggested—not as reassurance, but as the self-confidence of an association that has measured itself against excellence for more than a century.

Afterwards, Lord Mayor Nino Haase addressed the guests, making clear that for the City of Mainz VDP.Weinbörse is far more than a wine fair: it is a multiplier for winegrowing, for the region, and for international visibility.

Among the highlights of the opening were the honours that made this connection between history, the present and people tangible: Robert Haller, long-standing chairman of VDP.Franken, received the facsimile of the original VDP.Grape Eagle from 1926—in recognition of a commitment that extends beyond his own estate: reliable, balancing, and formative for both region and association.

With the “Herkunft Deutschland” Trophy—awarded only once in the past ten years—the VDP also honoured journalist Jakob Strobel y Serra for his journalistic advocacy for German wine: for writing that not only describes origin, but makes it understandable, places it in context and defends it as part of our culture. The laudation was given by VDP.Vintner an TV host Günther Jauch, who praised Strobel y Serra for giving German wine the language it deserves in the international discourse on culture and enjoyment. In his acceptance speech, Strobel y Serra called for respect for one of humanity’s oldest cultural goods and for a differentiated view of enjoyment. One line in particular stayed with the audience—his focus on immediate experience in the glass: “That’s when I realise what wonderful diversity wine contains, how inexhaustible its richness of flavour is, and how precious this cultural treasure truly is.” He then described a personal ritual: a wine shelf he stands in front of on many evenings, choosing the right bottle for his mood. An image that instantly resonated—because it shows how close wine culture is to everyday life, and how much can be contained in a single bottle.

The opening also saw the presentation of the “Ausgezeichnetes Weinkonzept 2026” awards—an unmistakable sign that fine wine has its strongest impact where it is conveyed with knowledge, conviction and hospitality.

Alongside the extensive walk-around tasting, the masterclass programme offered the calm and precision needed to focus on individual topics in depth: origin, classification, Prädikat wines and Sekt—each from its own perspective, and each accompanied by outstanding (sparkling) wines.

Caro Maurer MW demonstrated in her masterclasses—“VDP in 45 Minutes – Where site matters” (English) and “Ausdruck durch Lage – der VDP in 45 Minuten” (German)—just how convincingly the VDP’s idea can be explained when it is not discussed in theory but shown directly in the glass. She guided the audience along the VDP pyramid, from VDP.GUTSWEIN to VDP.GROSSE LAGE®, making the logic of the classification accessible through a precisely structured tasting: once with Weißburgunder from VDP.Weingut Kranz, once with Spätburgunder from VDP.Weingut Deutzerhof. The effect was immediate: the VDP’s rules did not feel like a rigid scheme, but like a true system of orientation—one that orders origin, quality and style in a way that can be understood, and that explains to international guests in a short time why “site matters” in the VDP quite literally.

An equally compelling focus was set by Marc Almert with the masterclass “Renaissance of the Prädikate – positioning German icons.” Drawing on great names and great wines from VDP.Weingüter Egon Müller, Dönnhoff, Joh. Jos. Prüm, Matthias Müller and Peter Jakob Kühn, he showed why Kabinett, Spätlese and Auslese—through to Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese—are once again read as international benchmarks: for their ageing potential, their precision, and because their balance and often moderate alcohol levels feel remarkably contemporary. That this is not only about greatness but also about time in the glass became immediately tangible through mature comparative wines.

How to think VDP.GROSSE LAGE®—and what, at its core, defines a VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS®—was at the centre of “German Grand Crus – what makes a great wine a VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS®?” Moderated by Sommelière Anna Rupprecht and featuring guests from different perspectives—Steffen Christmann, Dr Ulrich Sautter, Isabella Rutayungwa, as well as Friedrich Keller and Meike Näkel—German GGs were placed in dialogue with international reference wines: the Palatinate alongside Alsace, Baden and the Ahr alongside Burgundy. The outcome was not a competition, but a clear sharpening of the VDP’s own profile: the importance of origin, a transparent rule set, style and signature became unmistakably clear—alongside the willingness to keep refining the system as a demanding, living work in progress.

And there was sparkle, too: Anne Krebiehl MW looked back on a decade of development in “VDP.Sekt.Statut – Progress & Perspective after 10 Years”, together with leading sparkling-wine producers—featuring VDP.SEKT.PRESTIGE® from Schlossgut Diel, Sektgut Barth, Forstmeister Geltz-Zilliken, Sekthaus Raumland, Ökonomierat Rebholz and Winter. The takeaway: in the world of Sekt, ten years is only the beginning—yet a beginning that already shows how strongly origin, patience and artisanal consistency can shape a category.

VDP President Steffen Christmann summed up the significance of the past days as follows: “On the weekend of VDP.Weinbörse, Mainz reliably becomes the place where the world of German fine wine comes together. For our estates, this platform is essential: it creates visibility, deepens international relationships and brings together the people who represent our wines in the trade, gastronomy and the media.”

VDP Managing Director Theresa Olkus emphasised the character of the fair and its programme: “VDP.Weinbörse thrives on its audience – and this year it was particularly international and exceptionally valuable. Added to that were masterclasses that, with great depth, showed what the VDP stands for: origin, classification, diversity.”

We look forward to seeing you at the next VDP.Weinbörse on 25 and 26 April 2027.