Uncorked

Producers rally round to rebuild after Ahr flood damage

Winemakers in Germany’s Ahr Valley have begun rebuilding alongside local communities after terrifying floods that led to deaths and also destroyed wine cellars and property. Floods led to more than 180 deaths in Germany and Belgium in July, and the Ahr Valley was one of the worst-hit areas, with flood waters also destroying property, bridges and roads.

‘It’s a disaster,’ said Marc Adeneuer, of JJ Adeneuer winery in Ahrweiler and head of the local branch of Germany’s VDP wine association. ‘You had to run for your life,’ he said of the sudden rise of the Ahr river. In some cases, flood waters were moving so fast they carried away wine barrels and equipment.

Weingut Kreuzberg, which won a Best in Show medal for its Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) 2018 at this year’s Decanter World Wine Awards (see accompanying results supplement with this issue), said its team and their families survived but the winery was badly affected. Expressing a determination to rebuild in an emailed statement, the producer said ‘the winery will definitely continue to exist’.

Martin Sermann, of Weingut Sermann, told that everyone in his family