„Pioneers of Wine”

The most sustainable of all wine competitions.

In times of climate change, fungus-resistant and stress-tolerant grape varieties are sustainable alternatives for winegrowers. Piwis have great potential. We want to promote the diversity of enjoyment offered by new varieties. The new ‘Pioneers of Wine’ competition promotes sustainable breeding developments in viticulture and helps to increase the awareness and popularity of new grape varieties – among experts and wine lovers alike.

Award-winning wines 2025

Honours 2025

Participants who perform particularly well overall may be awarded an honour at the end of the year. The honours are awarded in three categories:

Category	Company	Location	Growing region
Wine cooperatives / Wineries	Weinwelt Herrenberg-Honigsäckel eG	Bad Dürkheim	www.wg-ungstein.de
Producers with a vineyard area of 10 hectares or more	Weingut Bungert-Mauer	Ockenheim	www.bungert-mauer.de
Producers with a vineyard area of less than 10 hectares	Weingut Maximilian Bohnert	Oberachernwww.wg-ungstein.de	www.weinvommax.de

Participation

Participation in this competition is no longer possible in its current form. From November 2025, the ‘Pioneers of Wine’ competition will be replaced by the ‘German PIWI Wine Award’, which will be organised by the DLG in cooperation with PIWI Deutschland e.V. More information
All wines, sparkling wines and semi-sparkling wines made from fungus-resistant grape varieties were eligible to participate. All products registered for the Federal Wine Awards automatically participate in the competition in parallel, provided they meet the specified criteria.
The wines, sparkling wines and semi-sparkling wines had to consist of at least 85% (excluding sweet reserve) of new grape varieties with high resistance to diseases, pests or climatic stress factors and have been approved for seed production since 1992.

Jury and criteria

All products are evaluated sensorily according to the DLG 5-point scheme®.
At least four experts for these grape varieties evaluate the products. The examiners come from the wine industry and related fields and have in-depth knowledge and experience with wines and sparkling wines from the new varieties.