Last call for German schnaps?

Inside Europe | 19.12.2009 | 22:05

Last call for German schnaps?

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: There is a large variety of schnaps

One of the preferred methods of washing down a belly full of food in Germany is a small glass of schnapps.

Farmers in south-west Germany have a long and rich tradition of making schnapps from fruit grown in their orchards. However, many of these small-scale fruit growers can only survive thanks to a government subsidy for agricultural alcohol - a subsidy the EU has ruled is illegal and has to be phased out. Germany has decided to fight the ruling, arguing that the end of subsidies will not only spell the end for one the country's cultural practices, it will also further endanger traditional orchards tended by the farmers.

Report: Kate Hairsine, Karlsruhe