This year’s OIV world conference took place from November 19 to 23 in Punta del Este/Uruguay. The conference started with a panel discussion with international experts, moderated by Peter Richards MW. The organizers invited six experts from different countries and professional backgrounds to talk about future challenges in production and marketing in wine business. Next to guests from Italy, France, Belgium, Uruguay and Australia, Prof. Dr. Gergely represented Geisenheim in the panel discussion. The discussion mainly focused on climate change and its consequences for global wine business. All six experts described climate change as one of the most pressing challenges for the future and demanded closer cooperation and more research on the topic. Other topics on the agenda were an anti-alcohol campaign by the WHO, ecological wine and sustainability, changes in wine markets and the growing significance of wine tourism.