The World Cup has given German wines a ‘significant boost’ in sales.
Some 2m bottles of wine with the World Cup logo were sold during the tournament, according to the German Wine Institute.
Wine Institute members collectively coughed up €750,000 for the license for the logo. Wines sold at supermarkets and other venues leading up to and during the World Cup ranged from €3.50 to €7 per bottle, with many sales for Riesling but also for more obscure varietals including Lemberger and Trollinger.
‘We have never seen anything like this for a football event,’ Wine Institute spokesman Ernst Büscher told decanter.com.
‘We are a country better known for beer and sausage, but 55 of our members were very happy with the license allowing them to use the FIFA logo.’
World Cup logo wines also sold in international markets: including 70,000 bottles sold to an international supermarket chain in Switzerland, as well as other sales in Holland, Scandinavia and in Eastern Europe.
An additional 100,000 other higher-end bottles without the logo were sold at stadia in all 64 games to VIP guests.
‘A FIFA official told us that the wines were very popular, so I am certain that German wine contributed to the fans’good feelings during the tournament,’ Büscher said.
Written by Panos Kakaviatos
