The "Deutscher Weinbauverband e.V." (German Winegrowers' Association) with its headquarters in Bonn was founded as a professional organisation of German winegrowers in Trier in 1874 under the name "Deutscher Weinbauverein" (German Winegrowers' Association). The first president was Dr. Adolph Blankenhorn (1843-1906). In 1913, a streamlined organisational form was established under the present name. The first president was Franz Eberhard Buhl (1867-1921); owner of the Reichsrat von Buhl wine estate. Today, the DVW functions as the professional organisation of German winegrowers. The purpose of the association is to represent the overall interests of its members vis-à-vis international and national institutions and organisations at home and abroad, as well as to safeguard and promote the professional interests of the German winegrowers. The official organ is the magazine Der Deutsche Weinbau (German Viticulture ) with topics from viticulture and enology.
The member associations are advised and supported in all professional matters. The latest scientific findings in viticulture are communicated through constant contact with science and technology. The sale of German wine is promoted to the best of its ability. Through participation in international organisations of the wine industry, such as OIV (Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin), FIVS (International Federation of Wines and Spirits) and AREV (Assemblée des Regions Européennes Vitivinicoles), direct representation of interests is guaranteed internationally. Another main task of DWV is to represent the interests of its members in the European Union by maintaining regular contact with the EU institutions.
At the national level, the most important topics include vine breeding and refinement, the spread of plant diseases as a result of climate change, such as the migration of the disease flavescence dorée, plant protection, fertilisation, international standards work, wine and health, packaging, analysis of the consumer market and foreign trade, as well as wine law issues. However, the focus has shifted in recent years because more and more wine law issues are being regulated in Brussels. In the area of tax and social law, there is close cooperation with the German Farmers' Association and the German Raiffeisen Association. National tasks include cooperation with DWF (German Wine Fund), DWI (German Wine Institute), VDP (Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates) and the German Wine Academy.
Members as of June 2021 were the regional winegrowers' associations of the winegrowing regions in Germany, the three cooperative associations Verband der Regionen, Bayern and Baden-Württemberg Raiffeisen - Schulze-Delitzsch as well as the umbrella organisation Deutsche Raiffeisenverband (DRV). The Regional Associations of Cooperatives unite 148 winegrowers' and winegrowers' cooperatives. As of the end of June 2021, the German Raiffeisen Federation announced by press release that the umbrella organisation of the winegrowers' cooperatives as well as the three cooperative regional associations will leave the DWV at the end of 2021. The reason given was that in the discussions in the DWV the cooperative positions had "recently played almost no role in the orientation".
Before, there had been different positions between the representatives of the cooperatives with the other associations due to the reorientation of the wine designation law demanded by the EU. Especially in the discussions about the introduction of the Roman system with estate, local and site wines as well as the abolition of the Großlagen, the positions differed. In the opinion of the cooperatives, many of the regulations adopted by the DWV would have limited their marketing activities. The cooperatives are responsible for about one third of German wine production, the membership fees for the DWV amount to 19%. At the same time, the Franconian Winegrowers' Association (FMV) also declared its withdrawal. The reason given was that the introduction of protected designations of origin (PDO) had not been implemented enough, whereas the Franconian wine-growing region had already comprehensively realised the EU requirement.
Logo: Deuscher Weinbauverband e.V.
