Wineries in Saxony focus on the mulled wine business

For Saxony's wine press houses, the production of mulled wine is playing an increasingly important role. The seasonal business with Christmas and winter products has grown in recent years and many have expanded their product range accordingly, says Andreas Mehlhorn, Chairman of the Saxony Fruit Juice Association in Langenbernsdorf (Zwickau district). 34 wine press houses are organized in the association, most of them very small businesses. All of them also produce mulled wine, says Mehlhorn.

In 2013, the sales of the wine press houses in the association in the mulled wine, hot drinks and children's punch segment amounted to around 120,000 euros, in 2023 it was around 500,000 euros. "The traditional Christmas markets are an important sales channel, but so is selling directly from the farm." While the wineries are mainly known for their juice production in the summer months, they produce mulled wines from their own fruit wines for the winter months. In contrast, wineries in Saxony tend to produce so-called vintner's mulled wines from classic red or white wines.