- Continued dispute over the tradition of the Palatine Queen of Wine
Dispute over the Tradition of the Palatine Wine Queen
A meeting of around 50 representatives from viticulture and politics failed to resolve the dispute over the tradition of the Palatine Wine Queen. Mayor Marc Weigel (FWG) from Neustadt an der Weinstraße described the nearly two-hour debate as "somewhat aimless and without result." However, the association Pfalzwein was understood to want to engage in direct dialogue with the municipality for the first time. "The city is open to such a conversation."
Nevertheless, the city did not rule out holding its own event in the future if no agreement is reached. To this end, the municipality recently applied to the German Patent and Trademark Office for the rights to the trademark "Palatine Wine Queen."
"Preserve Tradition"
Mayor Weigel will seek further opinions from the Neustadter politics and potential partners in the wine industry over the next few weeks, it was announced. Depending on the outcome, he will approach potential partners to clarify how it could be achieved - also with regional support - to preserve the tradition of the Palatine Wine Queen. "Whether this succeeds is open - but in the view of the mayor, it's worth a try," the municipality said.
Neustadt is the traditional crowning place of the Palatine Wine Queen, the oldest title of a wine monarch in Germany. The city, where the German Wine Queen is also crowned, opposes the abolition of the title.
Overdue Renewal
The association Pfalzwein, on the other hand, aims for a long-overdue renewal in Germany's second-largest wine-growing region. The title is to be changed to PfalzWeinBotschafterin or PfalzWeinBotschafter in the future. Instead of crowns, there will be badges. The competition is also open to men. The position is to be awarded in October - originally in Neustadt an der Weinstraße.
Pfalzwein stated that it does not see itself "in a position to comment further on the office of the Palatine Wine Heads at this time." After a "controversial discussion," all parties involved agreed that further discussions between Neustadt and Pfalzwein, as well as further discussions within the Pfalzwein board, are necessary. "As soon as a solution is available, it will be published with maximum transparency."
Germany's 13 Wine Regions
Pfalzwein is the official regional wine promotion of the wine region Pfalz and represents both the wine region and the Palatine winemakers externally. It has also been responsible for the office of the wine queens in the Pfalz for many years.
Germany has 13 wine-growing regions. The largest is Rheinhessen. So far, no other region has followed the Pfalz's step of abolishing the regional wine queen.
The German Wine Institute stated that in the event of two potentially competing elections in the Pfalz, each wine-growing region can only nominate one candidate for the election of the German Wine Queen at the end of September. This is done by the institution that represents the entire region. In this case, it would be Pfalzwein.
The disagreement over the Palatine Wine Queen tradition has sparked conversations among various people in viticulture and politics. The city of Neustadt an der Weinstraße, being the traditional crowning place, strongly advocates for preserving the tradition.
