Co-Operatives: Germany

Germany in germany, co-operatives (known as Winzergenossenschaft, Winzerverein, Winzervereinigung, Weingärtnergenossenschaft, or Weinbauernverband) have played an increasingly significant role since 1868, when the first German wine co-operative was formally established in the ahr. As outlined in german history, co-operatives offered smallholders the chance to compete in the newly quality-conscious German wine market of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Nearly two in every three German vine-growers today belong to the local co-operative, although their vineyards are often a small, part-time activity which therefore, cumulatively, represent almost a third of the total German area under vine. Many of the 13 wine regions of Germany have a central co-operative cellar, or zentralkellerei, which is fed grapes, wine, or must by more localized co-operatives. By 2014, the number of co-operatives in Germany had fallen to 179, of which 114 made wine on the premises.