King Philippe and Queen Mathilde concluded the first day of their official visit to Rhineland-Palatinate state in Germany by touring a wine estate in Deidesheim.
This was no coincidence. The state is Germany's largest wine-growing region, home to almost two-thirds of the total wine-growing area in the country. Mainly white grape varieties (70%) are grown there, such as Riesling, Müller-Thurgau and Pinot Gris.
Rhineland-Palatinate produces about 6.0 to 6.5 million hectolitres of wine every year, exporting almost 1 million hectolitres of it.
Most domains are still family-owned, with an average surface area of 10 hectares and a harvest of 100,000 litres. In addition to wine sales, people often run a hotel or restaurant.
There are also many growers who do not make their own wine but sell their grapes to cooperatives.
Viticulture is very important for tourism in the state. The largest wine festival, 'Wurstmarkt' in Bad Dürkheim, attracts more than 600,000 visitors each year.
