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European Union wine regulations are common legislation related to wine existing within the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
(EU),UK Food Standards Agency: Guide to EC wine legislation
the member states of which account for almost two-thirds of the world's wine production.
/ref> These regulations form a part of the
Common Agricultural Policy The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the agricultural policy of the European Union. It implements a system of agricultural subsidies and other programmes. It was introduced in 1962 and has since then undergone several changes to reduce the ...
(CAP) of EU, and regulate such things as the maximum
vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyard ...
surface allowed to individual EU member states, allowed
winemaking Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. The science of wine and ...
practices and principles for
wine classification The classification of wine is based on various criteria including place of origin or appellation, vinification method and style, sweetness and vintage,J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 752 & 753 Oxford University ...
and
labelling Labelling or using a label is describing someone or something in a word or short phrase. For example, the label "criminal" may be used to describe someone who has broken a law. Labelling theory is a theory in sociology which ascribes labelling ...
. The wine regulations exist to regulate total production in order to combat overproduction of wine and to provide an underpinning to Protected designations of origin (PDOs), among other things. In a sense, the wine regulations therefore try to protect both the producer and the consumer. The EU wine regulations, as a part of CAP, do not include regulations on age limits for buying or drinking alcohol, regulations on wine advertising or retailing and other aspects of national
social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...
or
public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
policies of the individual EU member states.


History

While a large bulk of the text of the regulations is concerned with winemaking practices and the like, much of the history of the EU wine regulations has been linked to the issue of market imbalances and overproduction of wine. In the early days of the CAP, the wine sector of the then-
European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lis ...
(EEC) was in reasonable equilibrium for a rather short period of time. During this time, there were no regulations as to plantations and few interventions into the market, as this was not needed. However, the early post-World War II saw the introduction of many technological innovations within viticulture, which soon led to increased production, while the demand stayed constant. This resulted in a surplus of wine. The answer from EEC was to intervene in the market to make some guarantee as to sales, while still keeping the freedom to plant new vineyards, which aggravated rather than solved the problem of overproduction. While looking like a very illogical policy in hindsight, this was in keeping with the view that what the EEC was aiming to do was to balance variations in production from year to year. After the realisation that the surplus was a structural one rather than a temporary variation, the wine regulations were changed to be more interventionist in 1978, with a ban on additional vineyard plantations, which means that a system of planting rights was introduced to regulate replantations. Also, requirements to distill the surplus wine into industrial alcohol were introduced, a procedure often referred to as " emergency distillation", although it has remained in force for decades. At about the same time, domestic consumption of inexpensive wine started to drop within the larger wine producing countries of Europe, making it even harder to return to the previous state of market equilibrium. From the 1980s, this has meant a marked reduction in the total demand, in terms of quantity, despite the fact that the wine-importing countries of northern Europe have increased their consumption. Increasing wine exports from the
New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...
, often in a style arrived at by market research rather than long tradition, also meant increased competition and changing tastes among wine consumers. As a result, the reduced total demand also included a shift in the demand towards higher quality level. Since it was realised that the vineyards in some locations would be unlikely to yield wines of the necessary quality, increased financial incentives for giving up vineyards, so-called grubbing-up schemes or
vine pull schemes Vine pull schemes are programs whereby grape growers receive a financial incentive to pull up their grape vines, a process known as ''arrachage'' in French. A large program of this kind was initiated by the European Union ( EU) in 1988 to reduce t ...
, were introduced in the late 1980s. This led to reduced overproduction, but a complete balance has so far never been achieved. In the mid to late 1990s, much of CAP was overhauled and the legislation was simplified. A major revision was done in 1999, and it has been stated several times since then that the ambition is to phase out interventions such as emergency distillation, since they are "artificial outlets" for wine. However, this aim has proven difficult to achieve. The latest round of reforms was announced in 2006 and led to agreed legal documents in 2008. Some of the key points were: * The system of planting rights to be abolished by 2015, with the possibility to keep them on a national level until 2018 * Distillation measures to be phased out after four years (in 2012) with progressively less money allowed to be allocated to these measures for each year. * A three-year voluntary grubbing-up scheme for up to of vineyards. * Introduction of "national financial envelopes" whereby it becomes a national responsibility to choose the right balance of incentives. Many of the reforms were less sweeping than what had initially been proposed, and the implementation of several items delayed.


Documents

The central document of the EU wine regulations is entitled ''
Council Regulation A regulation is a legal act of the European Union that becomes immediately enforceable as law in all member states simultaneously. Regulations can be distinguished from directives which, at least in principle, need to be transposed into nation ...
on the common organisation of the market in wine''Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 of 29 April 2008 on the common organisation of the market in wine.
/ref> and it is supplemented by several Commission regulations. The former document has been adopted by the
Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...
through the member states' ministers of agriculture, while the Commission regulations are written by the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
in collaboration with the
Wine Management Committee Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are ...
, where the member states are represented.


Aspects regulated

The aspects regulated by EU fall mainly into the categories winemaking practices, classification and labelling, wine-production potential, documentation of wine industry activities, imports from non-EU countries, and duties of enforcement agencies.


Classification and labelling

The wines produced in the EU are divided into the two quality categories of
table wine Table wine (rarely abbreviated TW) is a wine term with two different meanings: a style of wine and a quality level within wine classification. In the United States, the term primarily designates a wine style: an ordinary wine which is not fortifi ...
s (TW) and
quality wines produced in specified regions Quality wines produced in specified regions (often abbreviated to quality wines psr, QWpsr or simply "quality wines") is a quality indicator used within European Union wine regulations. The QWpsr category identifies wines with protected geograph ...
(QWpsr), of which QWpsr is the higher category. Rules for winemaking practices and labelling are different for TW and QWpsr. Similar categories also exist for
sparkling wine Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While the phrase commonly refers to champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that term for products exclusively produced in the Champagne regi ...
. The TW and QWpsr categories are applied to different national wine classifications in each EU member state. Thus, some member states may have more than two levels of classification, but all national levels correspond to either TW or QWpsr and are subject to the common minimum standards set out in the EU wine regulations. As an example, France uses four levels of classification. ''
vin de table Table wine (rarely abbreviated TW) is a wine term with two different meanings: a style of wine and a quality level within wine classification. In the United States, the term primarily designates a wine style: an ordinary wine which is not forti ...
'' and ''
vin de pays ''Vin de pays'' (, "country wine") was a French wine classification that was above the '' vin de table'' classification, but below the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) classification and below the former ''vin délimité de qualité s ...
'' are both EU table wines, while ''
vin délimité de qualité supérieure Vin délimité de qualité supérieure ("delimited wine of superior quality"), usually abbreviated as VDQS, was the second highest category of French wine, below '' appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) in rank, but above ''vin de pays'' (coun ...
'' (VDQS) and ''
appellation d'origine contrôlée An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bo ...
'' (AOC) wines are QWpsr. * Labelling information is divided into compulsory and optional information. Information not listed as part of either of these two categories may not be displayed on the bottle. To some extent, this information varies with the quality category. * The labelling regulations include requirements for how grape varieties and vintage may be mentioned on the label. * Requirements and procedures for protected designations of origin for wine. * Label indications of
sweetness Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketone ...
– from dry to sweet – are regulated in terms of which
residual sugar The subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness, whi ...
levels they correspond to. * Certain traditional bottle types may only be used for wines of certain origins; these are the
bocksbeutel The Bocksbeutel is a type of wine bottle with the form of a flattened ellipsoid. It is commonly used for wines from Franconia in Germany, but is also used for some Portuguese wines, in particular rosés, where the bottle is called cantil, and i ...
and the clavelin, as well as the flûte d'Alsace, the use of which is only regulated within France.


Winemaking practices

Perhaps most importantly, the regulations define wine as "the product obtained exclusively from the total or partial alcoholic fermentation of fresh grapes, whether or not crushed, or of grape must". Furthermore, wine can only be made from grape varieties listed as allowed, and only those vine varieties may be planted for commercial purposes. Each EU member state draws up such lists of varieties, which may only contain purebred ''
Vitis vinifera ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. There are cur ...
'' varieties, and certain crosses between ''V. vinifera'' and other species of the ''
Vitis ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, ...
''
genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
.Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 of 29 April 2008, Article 24, Paragraph 1. Thus, uncrossed so-called American vines, such as '' Vitis labrusca'', may not be used for wine and are not allowed in EU vineyards. Many winemaking practices depend on the classification of the wine – TW or QWpsr. Some practices also depend on where within EU the grapes are grown, since typical challenges to winemakers in colder or hotter climates are somewhat different. The defined
European Union wine growing zones European Union wine growing zones are used in the common European Union wine regulations to regulate certain aspects of winemaking. The zones differ in terms of climate and examples of what is regulated by wine growing zone are required grape matur ...
are used to regulate these practices, but some leeway is given for authorising deviations in vintages of exceptional climatic conditions. * Minimum ripeness of grapes to be used for wine. * Minimum alcohol content for wine, and maximum alcohol content of non-fortified wine. * Chaptalisation and related forms of enrichment, the term used by the regulations. An upper limit is set, dependent on the wine growing zone, both on the extent of chaptalisation and the maximum alcohol level that may be achieved by chaptalisation. * Deacidification, dependent on the wine growing zone. * The use of
sweet reserve The subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness, while ...
(often referred to by its German name, ''Süßreserve''), which is more restricted if the wine is also chaptalised. * The amount of sulphur dioxide in the wine, the allowable amount of which depends on the colour and sweetness of wine.


EU regulations and national wine laws

The reason why these regulations exist on the EU level is because of the
common market The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
inside the EU, which has led to a need to harmonise regulations for various products which traditionally have been regulated on a national level. The EU wine regulations form a framework for the
wine law Wine laws are legislation regulating various aspects of production and sales of wine. The purpose of wine laws includes combating wine fraud, by means of regulated protected designations of origin, labelling practices and classification of wine ...
s of the European Union member states. Since national wine laws have a much longer history than the EU wine regulations, the EU regulations have been designed to accommodate existing regulations of several member states. In particular, the existing regulations concerning
French wine French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world, along with Italian, Spanish, and Ameri ...
, with its detailed appellation laws, formed a basis, while also making room for the very different
German wine classification The German wine classification system puts a strong emphasis on standardization and factual completeness, and was first implemented by the German Wine Law of 1971. Nearly all of Germany's vineyards are delineated and registered as one of approxi ...
system. In general, the EU wine regulations provide for minimum standards across EU, while making it possible for individual member states to enact stricter standards in certain areas in their national wine laws. An example comparing a French and two German wine types made from the same grape variety illustrate what the EU wine regulations stipulate, and how the individual countries have applied various stricter regulations than the minimum for these "quality wines". In a sense, the EU wine regulations as such are rather invisible to the wine consumers and the wine trade, since the details of quality classifications and labelling practices are generally part of the national wine laws, which provide the visible front-end.


See also

*
Irrigation in viticulture Irrigation in viticulture is the process of applying extra water in the cultivation of grapevines. It is considered both controversial and essential to wine production. In the physiology of the grapevine, the amount of available water affects phot ...


References


External links


EUR-Lex: Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine
the old version of the regulations valid until 31 July 2008 and now superseded by the 2008 version.

24 August 2009 * [https://www.academia.edu/34873116/From_paper_to_soil_the_impact_of_new_EU_alcoholic_drinks_labeling_regulations_for_wine_regions?auto=download&campaign=weekly_digest Discussion of new EU regulations requiring labelling ingredients in wine] Alcohol law in Europe European Union laws European Union and agriculture Wine classification Alcohol in Europe {{geographical indications