Insurance for winegrowers, wine estates and wineries in Germany
One frosty night in April or ten minutes of hail in July, and the vintage is lost. Meanwhile the cellar holds the wine of recent years in tanks, barrels and bottles, often worth more than the building. This page shows how winegrowers in Germany protect vines, cellar and sales, and where the federal state helps with the premium.
In winegrowing, frost is now a bigger risk than hail, and hail insurance on its own does not pay for frost. Combined hail and frost insurance costs more, but Rhineland-Palatinate and other federal states subsidise it with up to 50 percent of the premium. For sites in hollows or with early budburst it almost always pays off. We compare the quotes and keep an eye on the subsidy deadline.
What goes wrong in this trade
01
Late frost
After budburst, one night below minus two degrees is enough to freeze the young shoots. Whole sites are lost for the vintage.
02
Hail
Hail damages grapes and wood, the yield drops and the fruit rots. Often the following vintage is affected too.
03
Wine in the cellar
An open valve, a cracked tank, a forklift against a pallet of bottles: vintages are stored in a small space and are expensive.
04
Spraying on steep slopes
Drift onto housing, gardens or neighbours' organic vineyards leads to complaints and claims for damages.
05
Guests at the estate
Wine tastings, a seasonal wine tavern (Straußwirtschaft), a harvest festival: falls on stairs and in the cellar are classic liability cases.
06
Tractors on steep slopes
Rollovers with narrow track tractors and winch accidents are among the most serious accidents in winegrowing.
Adds to the SVLFG for family and seasonal workers who work on steep slopes.
What it costs: example prices
In winegrowing, crop insurance is priced per hectare and site, while cellar and liability depend on stock and turnover. An estate with a tasting room and wine tavern also needs the building blocks of hospitality.
Insurance
Example
Typical range
Natural hazard cover
Hail insurance for vineyards, per hectare
around €60 to €120 a year
Natural hazard cover
Combined hail and frost insurance, per hectare, before subsidy
around €200 to €500 a year
Business liability
Wine estate with 10 hectares, direct sales and tastings
around €200 to €600 a year
Business contents
Wine stock and cellar equipment worth €400,000, including tank rupture
around €700 to €1,800 a year
Machinery breakdown
Grape harvester with a new value of €250,000
around €1,200 to €3,000 a year
For comparison: Hail insurance for one hectare of vines costs about as much a year as ten to twenty bottles of estate wine bought at the cellar door.
Guide figures excluding German insurance tax, as of September 2026.
The hail range comes from published market examples; frost,
cellar and machinery are guide figures from our own quoting.
Rhineland-Palatinate subsidises combined hail and frost insurance with 50 percent of the premium
Six things that really happen to winegrowers, squeezed into one single day between budburst and harvest. Tap through and see who pays.
Damage so far€177,200
After a frosty night the young shoots in the valley site have frozen. 4 hectares are largely lost for the vintage.
€52,000 · Paid by: Natural hazard cover
During pumping over, a valve is left open. 6,000 litres of Riesling run into the cellar drain.
€30,000 · Paid by: Business contents
The sprayer catches the washing and garden pond in the new housing estate below.
€3,200 · Paid by: Business liability
A guest at a tasting falls down the cellar stairs and breaks an arm.
€9,000 · Paid by: Business liability
The afternoon hailstorm smashes grapes on 6 hectares just before harvest.
€45,000 · Paid by: Natural hazard cover
The grape harvester tips over on the slope, and hydraulics and cab are badly damaged.
€38,000 · Paid by: Machinery breakdown
Which package would you have had?
Paid by insurance: €0
Out of your own pocket: €177,200
Illustrative amounts before any excess.
What is paid depends on the policy terms.
Practical tips from your broker
Insure hail and frost together, because subsidy schemes usually require both perils in one combined policy.
Watch the application deadline for the subsidy in your federal state; in Rhineland-Palatinate the application goes through the district administration and must be made again every year.
Include wine running out of tanks and barrels expressly and adjust the sum after every harvest.
Have tastings, the wine tavern and harvest festivals named in your general liability; they are not always included.
For wine, check product liability for broken glass and foreign bodies, especially if you have sparkling wine made for you or bottle yourself.
Protect your ability to work as well: SVLFG benefits are rarely enough after a rollover on a steep slope.
Why NAMMERT for your business
We calculate frost, hail and subsidy
Which site is worth insuring depends on budburst, hollows and grape variety. As a broker we obtain quotes from several insurers and factor in the subsidy.
We know liquid damage
In boat insurance we handle claims ourselves. We know how to prove quantities and values properly after a tank rupture.
Vineyard, cellar and tasting room
We look after harvest, buildings, guests, vehicles and your private cover with one contact, and can do it in English.
A family business since 1989
Wine estates are often family affairs, and so are we. Our work is free for you; the insurer pays our commission.
Frequently asked questions
Questions and answers
What does hail insurance cost in winegrowing?
According to published market examples, around €60 to €120 per hectare a year.
With frost it becomes considerably more expensive, but several federal states offer a subsidy.
Is frost insurance subsidised?
Yes, for example in Rhineland-Palatinate with 50 percent of the premium up to a maximum per
hectare, if hail and frost are insured in one policy.
Bavaria and other states also offer subsidies.
Is wine that has run out in the cellar covered?
Only with an extension for escaping liquids or tank rupture.
Burst pipe cover does not include it.
Do I need separate insurance for a wine tavern?
It must be included in your general liability.
An extension to the farm policy is often enough; for larger hospitality you need a separate block.
Are harvest helpers insured?
At work they are covered by the SVLFG accident insurance as soon as they work for you.
Register seasonal workers correctly.
What about wine that breaks at the customer's end?
Breakage in shipping is paid by transport insurance or by the parcel service within its liability.
If someone is injured by a bursting bottle, product liability pays.
NAMMERT insurance broker
Request quotes for Vineyard and winery
The recommended covers are ticked.
Change what does not fit; we compare quotes, in English.
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We will be in touch within one working day. If it is urgent: +49 3375 29 12 77.
