The 20th century wine industry

The major growing regions on the left bank of the Rhine were occupied by France until 1930. In the pfalz region, moreover, the activities of separatist groups severely disrupted civilian life up to 1924, which hit the wine industry in particular. A series of bad vintages from 1922 until 1932 in combination with the raging inflation and the economic hardship of the Weimar period ruined many wine merchants and growers, especially the smaller proprietors. A flood of imports from France and Luxembourg, as specified by the Versailles Treaty, undercut the prices which German producers could charge; many growers faced bankruptcy, and by 1928 exports had collapsed to no more than 39,000 hl/1 million gal per annum.