The wine industry has unexpectedly lost a voice of authority and perspective.
By Jeff Siegel
Meininger’s International, perhaps the premier wine trade publication of the past decade, has closed. Its German publisher, Meininger Verlag, announced Wednesday that it was shuttering the English-language website and newsletter immediately, citing a need to “focus on strengthening its core media brands.” It said it hoped to offer selected digital content from its German consumer and wine trade publications in English by early 2026.
In this, Meininger’s, as it was known to the trade, is apparently another victim of the wine business slump, which has seen global wine consumption drop to its lowest level since 1961, according to the OIV trade group — and, in the United States, the worst downturn in 30 years.
“[This] really, really hurts,” says Sonoma wine marketer Paul Tincknell. “Meininger’s was important in being a venue for real information and clear-eyed opinion – something we don’t see enough of these days. Meininger’s was unflinching in the way it looked at the wine business.”
A variety of voices and topics
Each issue of Meininger’s was an eclectic mix from almost any of the world’s wine regions, including some many readers probably hadn’t thought about. Its stories could (and did) include everything from a look at hybrid grapes in Poland, the challenges of ‘wine farming’ in South Africa, analyses of business conditions in China and listing the most important people in the wine business in Amsterdam.
In this, it did something few other wine trades had ever tried; its focus was on the hard business of wine as it was practiced around the world — who mattered, what companies were important and why business was the way it was in that part of the globe. It usually accomplished this broad spectrum of reporting with a minimum of the cheerleading common to trades in most industries.
A who’s-who of journalism
Since its formation in 2006, its editors and writers have included some of the most respected names in wine journalism from around the world. The first editor-in-chief was Joel Payne, an American who was previously editor of the Gault Millaut wine guide and one of Germany’s leading critics. Robert Joseph, the long-time editor-at-large, was an acknowledged expert in French wine who has written a variety of books about the subject.
The second editor-in-chief, Felicity Carter, has established herself as one of the world’s leading journalists writing about wine business and wine and health. Among the contributors were Adam Lechmere, a former editor at Decanter; Wojciech Bońkowski MW from Poland; Rebecca Gibb MW, an editor at Vinous; Jim Boyce from China; Subhash Arora from India; Jeni Port from Australia; and Michael Fridjhon from South Africa. (Full disclosure, this writer has been a contributor to Meininger’s since 2014.)
In an e-mail to Wine Industry Advisor, Dr. Anja Zimmer, the third and final editor-in chief, said: “It was a great privilege to work on such an important publication, with a group of talented journalists. Because it offered a window into the international world of wine, it let producers from one country see that their peers elsewhere were facing the same decisions and challenges — and we also showed what some of the solutions are. I have been overwhelmed with messages from people telling me how important and useful they found it.”
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Jeff Siegel
Jeff Siegel is an award-winning wine writer, as well as the co-founder and former president of Drink Local Wine, the first locavore wine movement. He has taught wine, beer, spirits, and beverage management at El Centro College and the Cordon Bleu in Dallas. He has written seven books, including “The Wine Curmudgeon’s Guide to Cheap Wine.”
