German wine consumption rose by 3% in the first half of 2002, with sales of German wines representing 45.5% of total sales worth €1.7 billion ($1.68 billion). German wine exports were 4.6% up in the first half of 2002 at 2.3m hls.
GERMANY: 2002 wine production tipped to rise by 17%
The German Wine Institute and The German Association of Wine Producers has said that wine production in 2002 is expected to reach 10.5m hectolitres, up 16.6% from the 2001 total of 9.0m hls. The 2001 figure was some 1m hls down on 2000 so 2002 represents something of a recovery.