Felix Weyer is showing courage. When his father retires, he will take over the family-run wine estate in Grevenmacher. In doing so, he will join the small group of young people on Luxembourg’s Moselle who are still choosing this path. For 60 per cent of winegrowers over the age of 50, succession is not secured. “A young winegrower today faces rising costs, a great deal of physical work, weather-related risks and a market that has become more difficult. For many, the question is: can I really make a good living from this?” explains Felix Weyer.
The consequences are visible in the vineyards. More and more plots are being left untended. Where vines were once carefully maintained, scrub and wild vegetation are now gaining ground. This is precisely where the “Wéngertsbourse” comes in: a digital platform that provides owners of vineyard plots and interested buyers or tenants with a central point of contact for purchasing or leasing land. Anyone wishing to give up a plot can post an advert in just a few clicks. Anyone looking for one can get in touch directly. The platform is the cornerstone of the LEADER project “Vineyard Plot Exchange & Management of Abandoned Land”, coordinated by Felix Weyer alongside his work on the family wine estate.
Professionally, the 26-year-old is extremely well equipped: after completing his training as a horticultural technician at the Agricultural College in Ettelbrück, he opted for a dual degree programme in viticulture and oenology at the Neustadt Wine Campus. Intensive internships have taken him to nearby Nittel, as well as to Deidesheim in the Palatinate and the Champagne region: wine-growing regions which, like the Luxembourg Moselle, rely on tourism.
Anyone wishing to let a plot of land can create an advert in just a few clicks.
The Vineyard Exchange brings SUPPLIERS and prospective buyers or tenants together in a straightforward way
If you’re looking for one, you can get in touch directly.
„The main aim of the LEADER project is to preserve the landscape,“ says Felix Weyer. “After all, abandoned vineyards are more than just an aesthetic problem. A patchwork of cultivated and overgrown plots can pose a threat to the entire region.” Overgrown vineyards, known as ‘Drieschen’, can become a breeding ground for disease and pests: the vines continue to sprout and overgrow large areas. If they are diseased or infested with pests, this can spread to neighbouring vineyards. Furthermore, the lack of cultivation encourages seed dispersal and weed growth in the surrounding area.
„This is particularly sensitive in the case of diseases such as the Flavescence dorée, a dangerous vine disease transmitted by the American grapevine leafhopper. “Such overgrown areas often provide good hiding places for the vectors,” explains Felix Weyer.
However, the fact that the „Wéngertsbourse“ is being used so actively gives him cause for optimism. The digital matchmaking service clearly works across generations: „The other day, an 81-year-old winegrower told me how easy it was to fill in his advert online. The platform seems to have passed the user-friendliness test,“ he says with a laugh.
However, not every plot finds a new manager straight away. The platform offers help with this too: information on government grants for sanitary grubbing-up, contacts for contractors who can maintain the vineyards, and advice on sheep grazing and biodiversity programmes.
To gain a better overview, Felix Weyer is currently compiling an inventory of fallow plots. In future, he intends to focus more on raising awareness and organising information evenings in the local communities.
And because LEADER has always stood for innovation, he is already considering alternative crops, such as nuts and almonds. Plants that thrive in sunny, dry and often stony locations are well suited to this. Farms wishing to implement such a pilot project are welcome to do so.
