Description

A rare and striking 1968 pictorial advertising map of Germany’s wine-producing regions, published in Mainz by the Stabilisierungsfonds für Wein as part of the Fund’s first nationwide promotional campaign to modernize and market German wine under the slogan “Wein aus Deutschen Landen” (“Wine from German Lands”).

The map was produced in the immediate aftermath of the 1967 reorganization of the Stabilisierungsfonds and the introduction of a new national trade levy, which for the first time gave the Fund both the financial resources and statutory authority to mount an ambitious, consumer-oriented publicity campaign. This initiative employed leading graphic artists and marketing experts, producing a series of colorful posters and maps designed to promote German viticulture as both a cultural heritage and a modern industry.

Visually, the map is both informative and celebratory. It depicts the major German wine regions, from Mosel and Rheingau to Franken and Baden, through whimsical illustrations of vineyards, presses, barrels, and historic landmarks. Instead of marking political boundaries, the map focuses on regional identities tied to rivers and terroir, emphasizing the long continuity of German winemaking. In the Franken vignette, for instance, the 1726 Würzburg wine press recalls the decree of the Prince-Bishop mandating the distinctive Bocksbeutel bottle, an enduring emblem of regional quality.

The Wein aus Deutschen Landen campaign marked a turning point in the presentation of German wine, blending graphic design, national policy, and agricultural modernization into a unified message of renewal and pride. Though the Stabilisierungsfonds went on to publish other promotional materials in the 1970s and 1980s, this 1968 map represents its earliest and most iconic effort—a foundational work in the visual culture of postwar German wine.

Rarity

Very few examples of this poster map have survived, and none are recorded in institutional collections, making it an important and highly collectible artifact of mid-20th-century European design and the modernization of German viticulture.