The global market for sparkling wine continues to grow. With a market size of US$41.6 billion in 2024, the sector is expected to reach US$69.1 billion by 2033. Prosecco and Champagne still dominate, as emerging cool-climate sparkling regions such as England and Tasmania garner early excitement for the potential of their traditional method wines. One category that should not be overlooked is German Sekt. Germany’s best bubbles are back, and it’s time to pay attention.

Sekt has several reputational hurdles to overcome. The industry is massive, with Germany producing around 350 million bottles of Sekt annually. Only a small portion, however, is fermented from base wines harvested in Germany, rather than imported in bulk and made effervescent locally; merely 12 million bottles come from the country’s quality winegrowing regions. Despite Sekt’s illustrious early history, the name has been tainted by the cheap supermarket fizz that defined German sparkling wine throughout the 20^th century.

But German bubbles are popping anew. An initial push toward quality that started in the 1980s is now being followed by a surge of energy, which began only in the past several years. The latest examples of German Sekt of the highest quality have very recently reached the public. The potential is ready for today’s crop of Sektmachers to harness. What will they do to meet the moment?

Since the advent of the modern Champagne industry, in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries, Germans have been critical to the advancement of sparkling wine. At the houses of Reims and Épernay, German employees often managed the books, sales, and administrative work. After learning the business and developing an international trade network, several of these German-born tradesmen eventually built brands that remain at the forefront of Champagne’s grandes marques. Florenz-Ludwig Heidsieck, Joseph-Jacob-Placide Bollinger, and Johann-Josef Krug are