Germany's 2026 wine harvest to drop 20% after summer drought
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By Isabella Jacobsen
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After a hot and dry summer, Germany faces a smaller-than-average wine harvest. The conditions mean less wine but more concentrated flavour.
Smaller harvest, but top quality expected
In 2026, Germany's wine grape harvest is expected to be around 20 percent below the 10-year average of 8,7 million hectolitres (hl), as stated by the German Wine Institute (Deutsches Weininstitut, or DWI). For reference, 8,7 million hl would fill 348 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
According to the DWI forecast, this year's harvest will be smaller than in 2025 (7,7 million hl) and 2024 (7,8 million hl). The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), however, estimates a greater harvest yield of 8,0 million hl.
Destatis' estimate is only 4 percent below the 2020 to 2025 average (a different baseline from the DWI’s 10-year average). However, the forecast dates from September 20, before the harvest finished, whereas the DWI published its forecast on October 12.
Hot weather and drought are cited as the main reasons for the smaller harvest in Germany. According to the German Weather Service (DWD), "summer 2026 [was] number 12 in the series of driest summer seasons in Germany since 1881."
Without enough water, the grapes cannot grow to size and therefore contain less juice. Although juice volume is lower, the grapes' flavour is likely more concentrated, producing a high-quality vintage.
Not all German grape harvests are hit
The impact on grapevines varies by region. Older vines coped best, as their deep roots helped them through recent dry summers. Younger vines and those growing in light soil were hit hardest by the drought.
Destatis expects about 5,6 million hl of white wine and 2,4 million hl of red. The amount of riesling grapes harvested is expected to rise by 8 percent compared with 2025, to 1,8 million hl, and the amount of the red dornfelder by 9 percent.
Harvests of other grape varieties are expected to fall compared with 2025, such as the white silvaner by 5 percent and the red portugieser by 3 percent.
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Isabella Jacobsen is an assistant editor intern balancing her time between the IamExpat office and the lecture halls at the University of Amsterdam, where she is pursuing a Master’s in political journalism. Growing up moving between Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Dubai, Cyprus, Denmark, and the Netherlands shaped a lifelong curiosity about how stories are told across different cultures. Before settling in Amsterdam, she earned her bachelor’s in media and communication from Erasmus University Rotterdam, which included an exchange semester studying journalism and broadcasting at National Chengchi University in Taiwan. Driven by a constant desire to learn and take on new challenges, she is always looking for the next angle to explore. Read more