It is an architectural gem, a Cologne institution with an exciting history, and the smallest retail brand in the REWE Group: the Kölner Weinkeller (also affectionately known as ‘KWK’) is one of the largest historic wine cellars in Germany. In June 2025, after 19 years as managing director of the Kölner Weinkeller, Andreas Brensing handed over the reins to Sven Reinbold.
In his new role, Andreas Brensing is on the road as Senior Wine Consultant & Wine Scout for REWE Group Buying. In this role, he will discover new wines and develop exciting, innovative wine projects. Sven Reinbold is also a familiar face in the REWE Group wine world. The former chief buyer for omnichannel retailer Weinfreunde.de talks in an interview about his first 100 days in the cellar, his ideas for realigning the sales line, and the current challenges in the wine trade.
Sven, you have been managing director of the Kölner Weinkeller for more than 100 days. Looking at your CV, it seems you have never done anything else but wine. How did you get into wine?
I was 16 years old when I first started working with wine. My parents had their own vineyards in Kaiserstuhl. After that, I studied wine economics in Heilbronn. My goal was always to take over a small winery when I turned 40. That never happened. Instead, at the age of 50, I became the managing director of one of the best wine merchants in Germany. I’m really proud of that!
Previously you were responsible for the purchase of Weinfreunde.de. What’s different now?
I loved my job as a wine buyer—especially at weinfreunde.de. Online retail is extremely fast-paced, constantly changing, constantly comparing prices, always keeping up with trends. At Weinfreunde, brick-and-mortar retail in REWE stores was also a core business, but now, in the Cologne wine cellar, I have direct contact with customers, experience shopping behavior firsthand, get to know customers, and can work directly with my team, whether it’s on new product launches, offers, tastings, or events.
Almost 4,000 different wines are stored in the Kölner Weinkeller.
This has a strong experiential character. What do you offer your customers at KWK in this regard?
That was one of the first issues I addressed. We established three new event series to bring our customers into the cellar, get to know them personally, and give them an individual sensory experience. Whether with renowned winemakers from all over Europe, tastings with different themes related to wine and related topics, or popular beginner seminars conducted by our sommeliers. I truly believe that the topic of “wine and events” — we have a unique location with our cellar — will be a major competitive advantage for us.
Your former employer, Weinfreunde.de, and Kölner Weinkeller are strategically structured within REWE Wein online GmbH. Do you see any synergies between the two sales channels?
Absolutely! Since the REWE Group’s Wine Competence Center was founded, there has been regular communication between REWE’s category management teams, wine enthusiasts, and the Kölner Weinkeller. Despite our different orientations, we have already developed products together and are selling them successfully in all units. In the future, we would like to work even more closely with Weinfreunde and the REWE full range and leverage the power we have together. For example, we are currently considering dropshipping. This would allow customers to order “fine wine,” i.e., very high-quality wines, from the Kölner Weinkeller’s range at Weinfreunde.de – without Weinfreunde having to go through the logistically complex listing process. This would be a win-win situation for both brands.
Climate change, crop failures, competitive pressure from abroad… Winegrowers, but also the wine trade itself, are currently experiencing a difficult phase. What are the biggest challenges in the wine trade at the moment – and how is Kölner Weinkeller positioning itself in this environment?
A major change is currently taking place. During the coronavirus pandemic, online wine sales boomed, but afterwards everyone was happy to go out again, enjoy life, and consume in restaurants and bars. Currently, the trend is declining again: healthy living and non-alcoholic drinks are in vogue. This affects both online retailers and our colleagues in the full-range sector. But it is precisely in times like these that you have to be innovative in order to appeal to all customers. There are so many exciting – and actually amazingly delicious – non-alcoholic wines and spirits that we as a team are testing and would like to add to our range for our customers. Despite all the current developments, there will still be people who appreciate a good glass of wine. That’s why it’s important to remain a strong premium retailer for customers. At the Wine Competence Center, we work closely with wine enthusiasts as a wine umbrella brand in the full-range segment, focusing intensively on this topic and placing greater emphasis on quality rather than quantity. With this strategy, we are currently doing very well, bucking the general downward trend in the wine market!
And finally: What can we expect from you and the Kölner Weinkeller in the next 100 days?
I am incredibly happy to be responsible for what is probably Cologne’s most beautiful vaulted cellar. With this unique location, this extraordinary range, and the concentrated wine expertise of the team, I want to ‘awaken the cellar from its slumber’. The next 100 days are the most important and highest-grossing days in the wine trade—we want to take advantage of this with many events, a few new customer promotions, and exciting offers for our existing customers. I am very optimistic and look forward to working with everyone—some old colleagues, some new—to take the cellar to new heights.
About:
Sven Reinbold
Managing director of the Kölner Weinkeller
REWE Group’s smallest but finest sales line
At a depth of 13 meters, the Kölner Weinkeller stores over 4,000 different bottles of wine from around 800 wineries worldwide in a space covering 2,500 square meters. Thanks to its exclusive range and highly qualified sommeliers, its customer base includes both local Cologne celebrities and international stars. The wide range, with prices between €8 and €8,000 per bottle, includes everything from crémant for all occasions and strong wines at entry-level prices to award-winning vintages. Behind it all is a strong team of around 30 people who have already won the Meininger Verlag’s “Wine Merchant of the Year” award for the Kölner Weinkeller several times, most recently at the beginning of 2025.
