Interview with Petra Neuber
Petra Neuber, ECOVIN Bundesverband Ökologischer Weinbau e.V.
What makes the subject of wine special for you? Where does your fascination for this subject come from?
Growing up in a wine region, but not on a vineyard, I was fascinated by the diversity of the wine world from an early age. That includes the winegrowers with their own personal stories and styles, the way the wines are marketed, the different bottle designs and, of course, the variety of wines. It never ceases to amaze me how multifaceted grape varieties are. As one grape variety can be vinified in different ways, the subject never gets boring.
What is your favourite European wine?
That’s a difficult question to answer. But I do like fruity, light white wines from Germany, especially the new aromatic PIWIs.
With so many European wine-growing regions - do you have a favourite?
No, but I do really like local wines from Germany.
You are the managing director of ECOVIN Bundesverband Ökologischer Weinbau. What are the issues that are of particular concern to you and your members at the moment?
Like the entire wine industry, our wineries are feeling the effects of climate change. Wine-growing years are always extreme, with sometimes months of drought, then wet and humid summers, late frosts, hail or heavy rain. So how can organic viticulture cope with this and be economically viable in the future? With new strategies and cultivation methods, we try to keep the consequences of climate change as minimal as possible. This includes, among other things, the cultivation of PIWIs.
Against the background of the current economic situation, we are of course also concerned with the marketing of our members' artisan wines. Therefore, we are really looking forward to EUROVINO.
What makes a sustainable wine?
For us, the basis of a sustainable wine is always its EU organic certification. Climate and resource protection go hand in hand with economic viability and social responsibility.
You are an advisor to EUROVINO, which will take place for the first time in 2024: Why is EUROVINO important/relevant as a new trade fair format?
Small wineries cannot cope financially with the big trade fair circus but, at the same time, are looking for new ways to market their artisan wines. With its reusable exhibition stands, EUROVINO offers a sustainable and cost-effective way for such businesses to present themselves.
What are you particularly looking forward to with regard to EUROVINO 2024?
I'm looking forward to welcoming "new" faces that haven’t yet been seen because the old fairs were too big for them. We guaranteee the discovery of quite a few exciting wineries at the fair.
