The "Verband deutscher Prädikatsweingüter e.V." was founded in 1910 under the name "Verband Deutscher Naturweinversteigerer e.V.". This was done on the initiative of the mayor of Trier Albert von Bruchhausen (1859-1948), who was also the first chairman of the association. The model and predecessor was the Großer Ring VDP Mosel, founded two years earlier. The founding members were associations from several wine-growing regions. The aim at the time was to sell the members' wines, produced according to special quality standards, at auctions. In 1972, the name was changed from "Verband der Versteigerungsvereine" to "Verband der Weingüter". In 1990, the name was changed to "Verband Deutscher Prädikatswein- und Qualitätsweingüter e.V." (Association of German Prädikat and Quality Wine Estates) and the objectives were revised. Michael Prinz zu Salm-Salm became president.
VDP Manifesto and VDP Classification
In 1994, it was decided to abandon the regulation on large vineyards and to introduce regular company inspections. The VDP Manifesto was adopted in 1996 to safeguard the wine cultural heritage for the future. Uniform classification principles for Gewächse Deutscher Herkunft were introduced in 1998. As the name proved to be too long and cumbersome for use in marketing, it was changed to "Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter e.V." in 2000. In press relations and advertising materials, the word mark is "VDP - Die Prädikatsweingüter". In 2002, a three-tier and in 2012 an extended four-tier VDP-KlassifikationVDP...
