11 - Wine and the Law Flashcards
legislation relating to wine is concerned with 3 important issues
- ensuring it is safe for human consumption
- checking the information on the label accurately describes what is in the bottle
- providing the necessary regulations to reduce the harm it can cause to individuals and societies (toxic & addictive)
food & beverage legislation
1. primary concern of the authorities
2. concerns
3. on labels?
- to ensure that what is being sold is safe and fit for human consumption
- concerns the many processing agents & chemicals that are used by grape growers and winemakers
- hardly ever feature on wine labels
Example that can illustrate the importance of food & beverage legislation
SO2
- almost universally used in winemaking
- can be toxic if consumed in very high doses
- potentially harmfull effect –> use in wm is very tightly regulated
- in most countries: ‘contains sulfites’ must appear on the label if above a certain level
–> likely to be required even if no SO2 is added in the wm process (produced naturally during fermentation)
Label integrity
Responsibility of the person or company that puts a product on sale that…
the description of the product and any claims made on the packaging are accurate
the labelling information need to be
clear & able to be checked
GI
Geographical Indications
- a product’s region or place of origin
- a designated vy area within a country
- can be large and cover an entire region, or very small covering a single vineyard
why is GI a common feature on wine labels?
- the area where grapes are grown can have a defining influence on the style & quality of the wine
The use of GIs is tightly controlled to ..
ensure a wine is genuinely the product of the grapes grown in the location stated on the label
(fraud is a real risk for wines that sell at a premium price)
- relatively easy to control within the boundaries of a single country because only one legal jurisdiction is involved
- less straightforward if a producer in one country decides to label their wine with a GI from another country
what is World Trade Organization
the global body that manages international trade agreements
- the World Trade Organization has developed …
- that is now used by …
- relies on …
- ensures that …
- easier for …
- a system for GIs
- all major wine-producing countries.
- defined boundaries and regional names
- everyone uses the same approach
- individual countries or groups of countries to reach agreements that recognise & respect each other’s GIs
2 important points of interest for the rules & regulations made by the World Trade Organization
- if a GI is stated on the label then typically at least 85% of the liquid in the bottle must come from the stated GI
–> does not apply universally
–> standard from which there is some deviation (local laws can be less/more strict)
–> similar rules can also apply to vintage dates and grape varieties - there are significant variations between the way that GI legislation is written in the EU and non-EU countries
GI in EU,
2 quality categories
- Protected Designation of Origin (PDO): smaller areas with more tightly defined regulations
- Protected Geographical Indication (PGI): larger & have fewer regulations
PDO and PGI on labels in EU?
- permitted label terms, but rarely appear on the label
- producers tend to use long-established traditional labelling terms
why are European GIs unique?
Typically local laws will also specify
- what grape varieties can be grown
- what grape growing & wm techniques can be used
Identifying the grape varieties & processes that were used to produce a region’s best wines
- system designed to protect what was seen as the unique identity of local wines, promoting quality & preventing fraud
- in theory each PDO produces wines with a unique flavour that cannot be copied by another wine
- reinforced by the fact that according to PDO regulations 100% of the grapes must come from the stated region of origin for these wines
NB
- many PDO wines do not state the grape variety on the label
why do many producers prefer to make wines in the PGI category?
- the PDO system is very restrictive
- allows the use of non-traditional varieties in the blend
- the rules governing production are less strict
however:
- local laws are still likely to regulate vine yield & limit production volumes