German Wine Academy Hosts Successful Inaugural Wine in Moderation Members' Meeting

On Thursday 16 February 2023, the German Wine Academy held the first Wine in Moderation members' meeting at its Bodenheim location. More than 40 participants from different areas of the wine industry came together and, despite the carnival celebrations, gladly took advantage of the opportunity to gain further information and engage in interdisciplinary exchange. In the beginning, the head of the German Wine Academy, Dr. Claudia Hammer, presented basic information on the Wine in Moderation initiative. With her overview of the current alcohol policy situation in Germany and the European Union, she drew attention to the measures demanded by politicians, which can put the wine world in a difficult situation. She once again reminded the members present of the urgency to actively participate.

A sensible and important instrument for the prevention of alcohol abuse is information.

With its education and information campaign Wine in Moderation, the German Wine Academy, therefore, makes a valuable contribution to alcohol prevention in the economy by training people to deal responsibly with the subject of wine and by preparing and providing evidence-based information via two independent expert panels. Last but not least, the training courses in wine-related education and further education regularly inform and sensitize the junior staff of the wine sector by providing basic knowledge on health, legal and advertising-relevant topics.

Because if the government measures demanded by the WHO, the European Commission, and also the German government become reality,

• wine advertising will be massively restricted
• warnings on labels will be mandatory (see tobacco industry)
• the sale of wine and sparkling wine will be made more difficult
• it will not become easier to do business in the next few years.

What do we communicate at Wine in Moderation?

A digression on the health aspects of wine consumption led the head of the DWA from the benefits of moderate consumption to the risks that can arise from alcohol abuse. For a long time, scientific methods have been used to research the effects of moderate wine consumption. The scientifically supported benefits of a Mediterranean diet, which includes moderate wine consumption, have been communicated worldwide. Among the most notable findings is the J-curve (see also Fact Check), symbolizing the quantity-limited benefits of wine consumption or the exponentially growing potential dangers of excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages, including wine.

Advertising and labelling: a tandem

Another essential item on the agenda was the topic of wine advertising. Dr. C. Hammer referred by way of example to a current report from 27 January of this year from the TV station NTV, where the current drug commissioner Burkhard Blienert emphasised that he wanted to take action above all against addictive substance advertising and to take consistent steps against alcohol advertising. Furthermore, his goal is: ''Get out of social media, the internet, out of television and radio, preferably around the clock, but at least during prime time ...''. Europe's plan against cancer has the same tenor, proposing further restrictions in alcohol marketing, suspension of sales promotions, ingredient and nutrition declaration including warnings on labels.

An overview of some best practice examples of WiM members and a reference to the new brochure 'Guide to the implementation of the programme' should serve as an inspiration for the participants present to implement the programme. Our Wine in Moderation ambassador Cecilia Jost, farm manager of Hahnenhof Jost from Bacharach, also took the members on an excursion into the implementation of the initiative in her winery, providing valuable insights and practical tips on how to apply it, e.g. in one's own business.

After a short excursion to the WiM members' area on the international website www.wineinmoderation.eu by our colleague Chantal Krämers, which served in particular to inform the participants about innovations in the online entry of measures, we used the opportunity for interdisciplinary exchange and to find ideas for future measures that should help us to increase the awareness of the initiative and to unite as many participants in the sector as possible and to give them a voice. The following suggestions were made in bullet point form:

• More activity on social media
• Including the Wine in Moderation logo on members' wine labels
• Newsletter contributions by participants to the Wine in Moderation campaign
• Strengthening cooperation with associations and using synergies
• Addressing trade fair organisers of wine-related trade fairs and getting them on board
• Use the regional wine promotions as multipliers
• Integrate the trade more strongly into the measures
• Translate & share the social media posts of the Brussels main account
• Include a documentary about the Wine initiative in moderation

Networking opportunity

Over nibbles and wine, we ended the evening in a relaxed atmosphere and took the opportunity to network directly with our supporters. We are very pleased that our kick-off event was so well received and are very grateful for the great response we received after the event! A repeat is on the cards! The presentations of the event can be viewed on our website.