{"id":26639,"date":"2025-10-21T15:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/?p=26639"},"modified":"2026-03-04T16:53:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T15:53:01","slug":"100-days-in-the-cellar-sven-reinbold-wants-to-bring-colognes-wine-cellar-to-new-heights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/press-and-media\/newsroom\/stories\/100-days-in-the-cellar-sven-reinbold-wants-to-bring-colognes-wine-cellar-to-new-heights\/","title":{"rendered":"100 days in the cellar: Sven Reinbold wants to bring Cologne’s wine cellar “to new heights”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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It is an architectural gem, a Cologne institution with an exciting history, and the smallest retail brand in the REWE Group: the K\u00f6lner Weinkeller (also affectionately known as \u2018KWK\u2019) is one of the largest historic wine cellars in Germany. In June 2025, after 19 years as managing director of the K\u00f6lner Weinkeller, Andreas Brensing handed over the reins to Sven Reinbold.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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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.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Sven, you have been managing director of the K\u00f6lner 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?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Previously<\/span> you were responsible for the purchase of Weinfreunde.de. What’s different now? <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I loved my job as a wine buyer\u2014especially 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Almost 4,000 different wines are stored in the K\u00f6lner Weinkeller.<\/p>\n<\/div> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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This has a strong experiential character. What do you offer your customers at KWK in this regard?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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 \u201cwine and events\u201d \u2014 we have a unique location with our cellar \u2014 will be a major competitive advantage for us.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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