Sylvia Benzinger

Sylvia Benzinger at the Neustadt winegrowers' parade in autumn 2005

Sylvia Benzinger , after marrying Sylvia Benzinger-Kugler (born August 16, 1978 in Grünstadt ), from the Pfalz wine-growing region ( Rhineland-Palatinate ) was the German Wine Queen in 2005/06. In the Bad Dürkheim district she was elected to two political bodies for the FDP in the 2009 local elections. Because she moved to her husband's homeland after her marriage, she gave back both mandates.

family

Sylvia Benzinger is the daughter of the vintner Volker Benzinger and his wife Inge, who run a winery with an attached restaurant in Kirchheim an der Weinstrasse . The father is a native of the Palatinate , the mother comes from the Moselle . The couple still have their younger daughter Julia.

In October 2009, Sylvia Benzinger married her fellow student Holger Kugler. The couple lives in the Württemberg community of Weissach im Tal .

education and profession

After graduation Sylvia Benzinger studied at the University of Heilbronn the oenological specialist wine business administration and graduated with the work "claims for retailers at the winery" as diploma from -Weinbetriebswirtin. From the beginning of 2004 to the end of 2009 she worked in her parents' company, and since her marriage she has been working in that of her in-laws. They operate a beverage trade with a distillery and barrel workshop in Weissach ; the daughter-in-law heads the wine department.

Wine Queen

choice

As early as 1997/98 Benzinger represented her home region as a wine countess , the historic Leiningerland , where the German Wine Route has its northern end. After Benzinger was elected the 66th Palatinate Wine Queen on October 1, 2004  and held this office for a year, she won the election of the 57th German Wine Queen on October 7, 2005 in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse against twelve competitors Successor to Petra Zimmermann from the Moselle . Katharina Jost ( Middle Rhine wine region ) and Nicole Kochan ( Mosel-Saar-Ruwer ) were chosen as wine princesses . The event was broadcast live by Südwestrundfunk and moderated by Alexander Mazza and Andreas Müller .

In the election for the German Wine Queen, the candidates had to master two blocks of tasks in a preliminary round. On the one hand, the almost 70-strong jury made up of representatives from the growing regions, the press and various institutions in the wine industry and politics were available to answer questions. For example, Benzinger had to explain in English to a wine prospect who would like to drink a Sauvignon Blanc that a wine of this variety was currently not available and what it would recommend to him instead. The second part of the preliminary round consisted of different role-plays in which celebrities such as Edmund Stoiber , Dieter Bohlen or Jürgen Klinsmann had to make wine suggestions that should be related to their professional activity.

Benzinger reached the final round of the five finalists, which was held in front of a small expert jury in which the former German wine queen and today's television presenter Ulrike Neradt sat. Benzinger won the competition there with their marketing knowledge of using the license rights acquired by the German Wine Institute (DWI) for the 2006 World Cup . Her motto was particularly well received: "For me, wine is pure joie de vivre."

representation

Benzinger had to attend over 200 appointments at home and abroad during her one-year tenure as German Wine Queen. The destination of her first official trip abroad was Japan , where she was accompanied by a business delegation from North Rhine-Westphalia , led by Prime Minister Jürgen Rüttgers . Benzinger, together with the international office of the German Wine Institute, held wine tastings , culinary wine tastings and an ice wine presentation.

politics

As a member of the FDP, Benzinger moved into the Bad Dürkheim district assembly and the council of the community of Grünstadt-Land in 2009 . In the district council she achieved the third-best vote of her party, in the association council she was elected from 3rd to 1st on the FDP list. Due to the move, she waived both mandates at the end of 2009.

Awards

• 1997/98: Wine Countess of the Leiningerland
• 2004/05: Palatine Wine Queen
• 2005/06: German Wine Queen

Web links

• German wine queen

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Benzinger winery in the Leiningerhof: Restaurant. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 21, 2011 ; Retrieved November 5, 2010 . 
2. ↑ Benzinger winery in the Leiningerhof: Benzinger family. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on June 25, 2010 ; Retrieved November 5, 2010 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b} special publication “Feminin”: What does Sylvia Benzinger actually do? In: Grünstadter Wochenblatt . Grünstadt November 4th 2010.

predecessor	Office	successor
Petra Zimmermann	German Wine Queen 2005/2006	Katja Schweder