Syrian refugee crowned wine queen in Germany

A Syrian woman has been crowned 'wine queen' in a region of Germany famed for its vineyards, the first asylum seeker to receive the honour.

Defying the stereotype of the blonde, dirndl-wearing wine queen, refugee Ninorta Bahno received the honour in Trier, representing the picturesque Moselle valley wine growing area near the border with Luxembourg.

The 26-year-old Aramaic Christian fled Syria as a refugee three years ago, and says she intends to use her role to campaign for the integration of refugees.

"I want to show that Germany is a welcoming country and that the Germans are very hospitable and work towards integrating refugees quickly and successfully," Bahno told Deutsche Welle. "As a refugee, it's very difficult to integrate into a new place at the beginning."

Bahno has taken a crash course in wine making in Trier, and said her favourite variety is the sweet Riesling, readily cultivated in the Moselle River region.

More than one million refugees entered Germany in 2015, many fleeing conflict in Syria.

The tradition of the wine queen dates back to the 1930s. Traditionally, wine queens were blonde and wore a traditional German dirndl dress.

The winners represent 13 German's wine growing regions, with an overall national wine queen selected in September.