From March 16 to 18, 2025, the Weincampus Neustadt will once again be exhibiting at ProWein in Düsseldorf. The world's largest wine trade fair is a platform for national and international wine producers to establish and expand trade relations and pick up on new trends. The training opportunities at the Weincampus were of particular interest to the international trade fair audience.
Discussions and tastings were held in front of an international audience in several Talk & Taste sessions at the Weincampus stand. Juliane Schäfer, Weincampus alumna, and Prof. Dr. Ulrich Fischer presented low- and no-alcohol wines from the Staatsweingut mit Johannitergutes Neustadt. The attendance of numerous guests spoke for the growing interest in the topic. In the Sparkling wines session, Weincampus alumnus Nico Brandner, operations manager at Griesel & Compagnie in Bensheim, presented the uniqueness of sparkling wines from Germany. On the topic of Innovative Wines for a sustainable future, alumna Nadine Poss presented new wine styles together with doctoral student Katharina Kleiner and convinced the audience that sustainability can also be tasted. As usual, the Weincampus was innovative and open to trends. Alumna Anna Plorin presented new methods of producing gin together with Prof. Dr. Laura Ehm.
Studying at the Weincampus means experiencing wine with maximum practical relevance. The portfolio of the Weincampus includes three degree programs with a focus on wine. The Master's degree course in Viticulture and Enology, which has been revised to reflect current developments in the wine industry and offers scientific and international skills, was presented to the trade fair audience. In the new Master's course, students focus in particular on the topics of climate change, environmental protection and resource conservation in the field of tension with technological development, digitalization and artificial intelligence.
On Tuesday morning, the last of the three days of the fair, Fair'n Green e.V. presented the Carlo Thesis Awards to two Weincampus alumni. Outstanding research work on the topic of sustainability in viticulture was honoured. The theses were selected by a jury of eleven experts from the wine industry. MBA graduate Sonja Behrens impressed the jury with her master's thesis entitled "How architecture can contribute to a sustainable wine cellar: Competitive advantages and economic benefits - a multiple case study of five wineries in Southwest Germany". Maurice Prehn, a graduate of the Bachelor's degree course in Viticulture and Oenology, was recognized for his Bachelor's thesis entitled "State of affairs in 2023 on the use of photovoltaic systems in the German wine industry".
The Neustadt Wine Campus is a joint scientific institution of the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society, theBingen University of Applied Sciencesand theUniversity of Kaiserslauternin cooperation with the Service Center for Rural Areas (DLR) Rheinpfalz. The Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society is in charge of the project.
