Germany's largest wine-growing region raises glass to first wine king

A man has been crowned king of Germany's largest wine-growing region for the first time ever, upending the long tradition of anointing wine queens.

Levin McKenzie came out on top in the vote on Saturday evening to become the wine king of Rheinhessen, a landscape of gentle rolling hills west of Frankfurt on the banks of the Rhine river.

This was the first time a man was able to take part in the election in Rheinhessen. McKenzie beat two female competitors in the vote held in the town of Ingelheim.

This mean McKenzie is also the first man to qualify for next year's election for German Wine Queen. In theory, others could follow in his footsteps: Rheinhessen is just one of 13 German wine-growing regions, all of which choose wine sovereigns to represent them.

Monika Reule, managing director of the German Wine Institute, congratulated the winner on his success.

Reule told dpa she is looking forward to welcoming him to the election of the 77th German Wine Queen in 2025.

In the meantime McKenzie, a business administration student and passionate footballer, will now represent winegrowers from Rheinhessen at around 200 events over the course of a year.

In the mostly male-dominated wine industry, wine queens have long represented wine at festivals and political meetings in a bid to boost sales.

A wine queen has been elected in Rheinhessen since 1951.