Between snowflakes and free trade agreements

Nobody expected this anymore: An ice-cold, long-lasting frost with lots of snow at the beginning of the year! The children in the village are sledding from Weyher over the gently rolling hills straight to the next village – and we can only drive backward up Borngasse with our rear-wheel drive car. But for us farmers, even with snowdrifts, there's always a solution: we just drive the tractor to do our shopping. A little slow, a little cumbersome, but we get to our destination – and that's what matters in the end!

For the new year, we wish all of you to reach your goals, whether tractor-slow or sled-fast, it doesn't matter! We are happy about the cold weather, because with it we have already reached one goal for the new year: less pesticides. Long-lasting frost ensures that pests do not spread too much, while a mild winter lays the foundation for an onslaught on our grapes in autumn. So nature helps us out, and we are grateful for that – even if we get quite cold during winter pruning!

For us, it's high season in the cellar now: the new vintages are being "tapped".

you can find more about this murderous event here

The count's seasonal clock is clearly timed: by the end of February at the latest, the new vintage should be bottled.

Part of it is already done and freshly bottled: Our Muscatel, the Pinot Gris, and the popular Portugieser Weißherbst are ready for you! If you want to taste the sensational 2025 vintage, you should strike now. We are more than thrilled with this year's quality – nature really spoiled us in 2025.

But our grape juices are also booming now in "Dry January". The red grape juice is particularly sought after this year, with only a few bottles left from the 2025 vintage. Since it is produced completely "cold sterile" (such a terrible name!), it has sensational, very fruity aromas. Anyone who has only known supermarket grape juice should definitely get a grape juice package.

0 % alcohol with enjoyment - click here

So everything is going well in our small world, unlike in the wider world events. The EU-Mercosur agreement particularly concerns us. After more than 25 years of negotiations, it is now intended to create the world's largest free trade zone. The Mercosur bloc includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The EU wants to export machinery, cars, and also wine to these countries at lower tariffs than before, thereby strengthening the German economy, which is suffering from global turbulent developments (we have already talked about this). In return, South American beef, poultry, sugar, ethanol, and wine, among other things, are to be imported.

The problem with this? The South American products are produced under much lower environmental, animal welfare, and social standards. We certainly understand that the EU farmers are literally up in arms in Berlin and Brussels – even though, incomprehensibly for us, the press hardly reports on it. (Just as a side note: Not only in agriculture, but also in trade, e.g., Chinese importers Temu and Shein have real advantages: they sell their products, which do not meet any EU standards, cheaply and in millions.)

Overall, it sounds like a farce that we, as producers within the EU, have to comply with the strictest laws under heavily burdensome bureaucratic regulations, while at the same time allowing importers to sell their products, which do not have to meet any requirements, cheaply locally. Often, end consumers don't even know what they are holding in their hands at such a ridiculous price.

The consequence: European agriculture is giving up. Because we also have to make a living, and under these conditions, we are no longer competitive.

Everyone understands that this will lead to high dependency in the long run... only politicians somehow don't. Don't get us wrong: We also believe that nature must be protected. We also believe that ethical principles must be adhered to. But in our opinion, this also includes the consistent adherence to the same standards for all market participants. Isn't it strange that this logical consequence of unequal treatment is not seen?

Your Counts, deep in thought and snow