"The wine village is unique in Germany"

Siegfried Ade

The popular Chemnitz wine village is celebrating its 30th edition this year. Siegfried Ade, the organiser, laid the foundations for today's success in 1990 with five winegrowers. Until 18 August, 30 winegrowers will be serving their wines to Chemnitz residents and guests from all over Germany. The wine village is one of the most popular in Germany, much to Siegfried Ade's delight.

How did you come up with the idea of organising a wine festival in Chemnitz?
Siegfried Ade: Back then, we often travelled to such events in Baden-Württemberg and the idea came up to organise a small event with wine here. It wasn't comparable to the one we organise today, but it still went down well. We then started to think about what a continuation might look like. The wine village has developed very well over the past ten to twelve years. The guests have increasingly honoured the offer and ambience. It went down better and better with the people.

Siegfried Ade organised his first wine festival in Stuttgart in 1977, and later also internationally in France, Italy and Japan. Trading is in his blood, says the 74-year-old. His ancestors were already traders - that goes back to the 19th century. In addition to the Chemnitz wine village, the native of Baden-Württemberg, who has called Saxony his home since 1994, also organises a wine festival in Leipzig.

How many visitors are you expecting this year?
It's difficult to make a forecast. We have between 1,200 and 1,300 seats here. When we are well attended, we have an estimated 1,500 visitors on an evening, with a changing clientele.

It is estimated that up to 50,000 visitors stayed in the wine village over the 16 days last year. In the anniversary year, it will go on for a week longer. A total of over 30 winegrowers and traders turn Neumarkt into a place for connoisseurs.

Is there an explanation for the success of the wine village?
Wine has always had a history of communication and socialising. The social factor of socialising with friends, family or even strangers is our main focus. This is the only way to take people on a journey. A wide variety of people come together at the wine festival. They should be communicative, tolerant and decent to each other. This is extremely important in today's world.

What has changed in 29 years of the wine village?
The development over the past 20 years is particularly remarkable. Nowadays, people are more communicative than they used to be. Young and old sit together, which means that communication also takes place across generations. A different attitude to life has also developed in the town over the past ten years.

Best experience in 29 years of Weindorf?
My favourite experience was last year, when I could slowly see that all the work had not been in vain but had been consolidated. The visitors were consistently satisfied, they were happy and gave us positive feedback. Added to this was the positive feedback we received from outside. You have to realise that we are organising a wine festival over three weeks in the city of Chemnitz, which is not a wine region. That is unique in Germany. If the weather is good, you have to be lucky to find a place. A wine festival on this scale is unbelievable for me.

Last weekend beer festival, now wine village - is Chemnitz more of a beer or wine city?
You can't say for sure. We have a certain clientele that likes wine. Of course, beer is also very popular, but what we have achieved in recent years points to a shift towards wine.

Three weeks of wine village - that sounds like a lot of work.
That's true. We need five to six days to set everything up properly. So that it looks smart and appealing. We need three to four weeks to prepare, for example for decorations.

Do you organise events like this elsewhere in Germany?
We also work together with the city of Leipzig and organise a wine festival there, which has also developed well in recent years.

Wine is a cultural asset and Chemnitz wants to be European Capital of Culture in 2025. What do you think about the topic of Capital of Culture?
Firstly, I would like to say that I think the city's developments in recent years have been positive. Leaving aside the events of summer 2018. The title "European Capital of Culture" would bring something to Chemnitz. A lot of work goes into such a project. Someone has to do it. If it works, it will certainly be a great success. And of course I hope that this goal is achieved.