Germany calls for aid following extreme floods

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 20 July, 2021

The German Wine Institute (DWI) is collating funds for the flood-impacted region of the Ahr Valley after devastating floods hit last week.

The flood disaster which has left over 180 dead and has destroyed countless homes and wineries has had a major impact in the winemaking region Ahrweiler, but also in the surrounding villages of Mayschoss and Dernau.

The deluge carried away barrels, wine bottles and machines, destroying entire wine-producing businesses and livelihoods after flash floods suddenly descended.

Monika Reule, MD of the DWI, which is currently gathering aid and donation offers on its website, said she was stunned by the images of the devastation and the fate of the people dealing with the aftermath.

“We immediately offered our help to the wine industry organisations in the Ahr region,” she said.

She added that the number of winegrowing businesses affected, the severity, and the extent to which the disaster will affect the Ahr region’s 563ha of vineyards, will probably take weeks to quantify.

The DWI said it has been very impressed and is also very grateful for the solidarity from the entire wine industry which has shown an “overwhelming willingness” to help.

Growers from different wine regions have since descended on vineyards with forklifts, vineyard tractors or pumps to save what can still be saved from the upcoming vintage. Numerous wine donations have also been made, the sales of which will benefit the affected wine producers of the Ahr.

The DWI is currently organising this relief effort on its website while also generating its own donations in collaboration with its agencies abroad. To collate all contributions, the DWI is using a donation account at the Farmers and Winegrowers’ Association of Rhineland-Nassau in which the Ahr Winegrowing Association is also based.

This way, the proceeds from the numerous aid campaigns can directly benefit the Ahr winegrowers, who urgently and unbureaucratically need money for the reconstruction of their businesses.

The DWI asks for donations to be made to the following (updated) account:

Beneficary (field 59)

Account: DE14 5519 0000 0619 7860 15

Beneficary: Deutsches Weininstitut GmbH

Beneficary Bank (field 57a)

BIC: GENO DE FF

Bank Name: DZ Bank AG, Frankfurt / Germany

Bank-to-Bank-Information (field 72)

/acc/ Mainzer Volksbank eG, Mainz / Germany

Purpose: Donation Ahr Flooding

The updated account will not include fees for foreign transactions.

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