Sherry, Madeira, and Port are experiencing a true comeback – a trending topic not only in top-tier gastronomy and bars, but also in the kitchen and modern wine pairing.

Are you curious which spirits are trending? Stay up to date to achieve the best possible design of your spirits department.

The Path to Professionalism in Beverage Retail “Beverage Specialist in the Beverage Market” This interactive workshop aims to provide employees with a confident overview and understanding of the beverage assortment.

“Certified Consultant for German Wine” – focusing on the retail trade A practice-oriented seminar offer in cooperation with the German Wine Institute (DWI)

Intensive, practice-oriented training for all executives who want to manage or improve their inventory processes.

To prepare apprentices for the written (Part 2) and oral sections of the final examination.

The ABCs of Competence for Your Cashier Staff: Proactive Customer Focus, Attention to Inventory Security, and Corporate Identity.

In-depth review of vocational school material including preparation for the final examination, along with basic food product knowledge (depending on the elective qualification)

Deepening of vocational school material and preparation of apprentices for the written intermediate examination, Part 2

In-depth vocational school curriculum and preparation of apprentices for the written intermediate examination, Part 1

To prepare trainees for the intermediate exam in the written section, Part 1.

To prepare trainees for Part 1 of the written section of the interim examination.

Rosé wines have been the winners of recent years. No other wine colour has gained such popularity, which is now also reflected in the depth of your range. Even more successful in terms of growth rates are alcohol-free wines and wine-based beverages. Customer interest in “pleasure without regret” is increasing significantly.

Improving the assortment structure in the wine department and on the wine shelf for successful sales.

Nowadays, every supermarket offers value for money, good products, and a pleasant shopping atmosphere. Differentiation from the competition happens through your employees. With a “work-to-rule” mentality, no customer experiences a special shopping journey or feels genuine rapport and appreciation. Success is not just about expertise and skill. “Soft factors” play a decisive role in interpersonal encounters and, consequently, in economic success. Michael Kugel takes new approaches and transforms sales staff into hosts. He places your employees in the “sales role” of their lives. He sensitizes them to the nuances of dealing with customers and brings hidden potential—regarding personality and skills—to light. Ultimately, the HOW is more important than the WHAT in what your employees do and say. They become “caretakers” and generate positive emotions and customer reviews. This makes consultation and sales more successful.

German wines occupy the largest shelf space in your market. Their market share—compared to international sales—is 45% in volume and 47% in value. Customers often reach for uncomplicated brand-name wines. Anyone wishing to generate higher sales and contribution margins with better wine qualities needs sound specialist knowledge to be able to explain what origin and vineyard site have to do with wine stylistics. Furthermore, the wine world is changing: new labeling requirements apply, and new Landwein regions will be added in 2026. Young winemakers have new ideas, and climatic changes are giving rise to new wine styles in Germany.

The image transfer from good wine advice to other product categories is desirable. But who really knows what’s on the shelf? With this interactive workshop, we want to provide confident insight and a clear overview of the wine department. Many employees have no clear idea of what is actually on offer at the point of sale. This doesn’t refer to the products themselves, but to what exactly is in the bottle. A sleek, cool package catches our eye, but what does a wine connoisseur see behind the glittering “bottle facade”? How can the wide variety of different products be meaningfully and expertly distinguished? Does it all sound complicated? No – we’ll locate the “beacons” on our shelves and learn plenty of new things, such as: What does VDP mean, who is behind ECOvin, what do the many labels for organic, Fair Trade, Fair Choice, and more actually mean?

This practice-oriented module sets very specific, target-group-focused priorities for the trade. Guided by the key question “What makes a good salesperson?”, participants practise in short training units how to use a wine cheat sheet to conduct successful sales and expert discussions with ease, how to apply “power briefing” techniques, and how additional wine-related sales can be generated elsewhere in the store. The focus is on the fundamentals of wine selection, shelf maintenance, and organisational aspects of a wine event with customers in-store.

Wine experts have developed the FuW Wine Connoisseur Diploma® for the retail sector. The aim is to counteract the glaring shortage of skilled workers in food retail and beverage markets, as this further training is understood as adaptive continuing education. The target groups are temporary staff, unskilled workers, school dropouts, career changers, and re-entrants. In short, employees who are already doing a good job in the market but need to be strengthened in their workplace with regard to wine. Retail companies where wine plays a role can thus retain employees and offer their customers well-founded wine advice.