2025 Germany & Mosel Riesling Vintage

The season opened vigorously. Vines came out of dormancy quickly and, critically for the Mosel, the devastating late frost of 2024 did not repeat. VDP Mosel-Saar-Ruwer regional chairman Dr. Carl von Schubert put that down to fog rising off the rivers, which shielded the valley at the vulnerable moment. Saar and Ruwer growers in particular needed the reprieve after the previous year's losses. Flowering went well and set up what von Schubert called a quantitatively normal vintage. A warm summer with sunny spells pushed development forward, with heat spells, locally wet weeks in July and long dry stretches afterwards. Localised rain gave growth impulses but demanded careful canopy work and very close watching of grape health. Ripening arrived early and fast. Most Mosel estates started picking in the second or third week of September and took in ripe, very aromatic fruit. Heavy rain in mid-September accelerated the picking nationwide, and in the Mosel it turned the autumn into what growers described as a turbo harvest, with many Moselle producers finished and the crop in store by early October. On the finished-crop numbers, the Mosel took in 743,000 hectolitres of must, 45 per cent more than 2024's 513,000 hectolitres and 6 per cent above the ten-year average of 702,000 hectolitres. The regional picture inside that total was uneven: parcels hit by the 2024 frost gave good yields, while elsewhere Riesling yields ran low, in places 10 to 20 per cent below average, with selection on the steep slopes reaching up to 75 per cent.

• No repeat of the 2024 late frost; fog off the Mosel, Saar and Ruwer is credited with protecting the region
• Good flowering and a warm summer with sunny spells, heat spells and locally wet weeks in July, then long dry periods
• Harvest start: second to third week of September for most Mosel estates; many Moselle growers had finished by early October
• Mid-September rain sped up picking across Germany and forced strict selection on the steepest Riesling sites, up to 75 per cent in places
• Yield: 743,000 hectolitres of must, 45 per cent above 2024 and 6 per cent above the ten-year average of 702,000 hectolitres

Two Mosel figures circulated for 2025 and both are worth knowing. At the close of harvest, the Moselwein association in Trier put total production between Perl and Koblenz at roughly 780,000 hectolitres, around 11 per cent above the ten-year average and a sharp recovery from 2024's 510,000 hectolitres, which had been the region's lowest yield in fifty years. When the Federal Statistical Office published final figures on 30 March 2026, the Mosel came in at 743,000 hectolitres. Slightly below the harvest-time estimate, still a clear rebound, and still above the ten-year average. Germany as a whole moved the other way against expectations: the national total of 7,664,000 hectolitres came in above the end-of-harvest estimate of 7.3 million, but was 2 per cent down on 2024 and 12 per cent below the ten-year average, the smallest German crop since 2017.

• Harvest-time estimate (Moselwein association, Trier): approximately 780,000 hectolitres, about 11 per cent above the ten-year average
• Final figure (Federal Statistical Office, 30 March 2026): 743,000 hectolitres, 6 per cent above the ten-year average
• 2024 comparison: 513,000 hectolitres in the official series, reported as roughly 510,000 hectolitres by Moselwein and the lowest Mosel yield in fifty years
• National context: 7,664,000 hectolitres for Germany, the smallest crop since 2017, when 7.5 million hectolitres were produced

These are young-wine impressions, not settled verdicts. The Mosel reports optimal must weights, intense aroma and particularly strong lots off old vines, from the barren slate sites of the Middle Mosel and the steep vineyards of the Saar and Ruwer. Von Schubert's summary for the region is aromatic, deep, extract-rich Rieslings with fine acidity and excellent balance, and he expects great aging potential. Nationally the German Wine Institute credits unusually high grape ripeness for what it calls exceptionally good wine qualities, with berries often smaller than usual and therefore more aromatic, giving very concentrated and fruity wines. VDP president Steffen Christmann's line on the year was that he could hardly recall another that gave such excellent grapes: little, but wonderful. A dry start likely held down fruit set, then timely rain and drying weather let the grapes ripen fully with fine fruit acidity.

• Mosel reports: optimal must weights, intense aroma, particularly strong lots from old vines on Middle Mosel slate and the Saar and Ruwer steeps
• Regional profile per VDP Mosel-Saar-Ruwer: aromatic, deep, extract-rich Riesling with fine acidity, excellent balance and great aging potential
• DWI spokesperson Ernst Buescher credits unusually high ripeness and smaller-than-usual berries for concentrated, fruity wines
• Treat all 2025 notes as preliminary; the wines were still revealing their contours as the cellar work began

One of the more cheering features of 2025 on the Mosel is breadth. Where 2024 stopped short for many estates, 2025 delivered across the quality range, from VDP.GROSSE LAGE and dry top-quality wines through Praedikatsweine to Beerenauslesen. The Saarburger Laurentiusberg was picked for the first time in 2025, a small marker of how much of the region got back to work after the frost year. Elsewhere in Germany the same pattern showed up: the Rheingau recorded Auslese and Trockenbeerenauslese readings well over 200 degrees Oechsle, and the Nahe brought in everything from crisp sparkling base material through golden GG fruit to raisined grapes for Auslese, Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese.

• Mosel-Saar-Ruwer produced a rich quality spectrum in 2025, from VDP.GROSSE LAGE dry wines to Praedikatsweine and Beerenauslesen
• The Saarburger Laurentiusberg was harvested for the first time in 2025
• Nahe growers reported the full ladder in one year, from sparkling base through GG to Trockenbeerenauslese
• Rheingau recorded Auslese and Trockenbeerenauslese well above 200 degrees Oechsle in pleasing quantities

2025 was a good year to be in a region that had been frosted in 2024, and a harder one to be in the big volume regions. Ninety per cent of Germany's shortfall against the long-term average came from the four largest regions. The Pfalz alone was 17 per cent or around 378,000 hectolitres below its ten-year average, driven by smaller berries, below-average must yields and intensive selection after the mid-September rain. Rheinhessen came in 207,000 hectolitres light, Baden 183,000 hectolitres light, and Wuerttemberg 179,000 hectolitres below average. The Rheingau was down 22 per cent and the Hessische Bergstrasse 16 per cent. Running the other way were the regions that had been hammered by frost in 2024: Sachsen, Saale-Unstrut and the Ahr all posted triple-digit percentage volume increases, with the Mosel, Mittelrhein and Franken recovering at a more moderate level.

• Pfalz: 17 per cent or approximately 378,000 hectolitres below the ten-year average, the single largest shortfall
• Rheinhessen minus 207,000 hectolitres, Baden minus 183,000 hectolitres, Wuerttemberg minus 179,000 hectolitres against the ten-year average
• Rheingau down 22 per cent and Hessische Bergstrasse down 16 per cent on the ten-year average
• Frost-hit regions rebounded hardest: Sachsen, Saale-Unstrut and the Ahr all up by triple-digit percentages on 2024