The German Winegrowers' Association (DWV) has expressly welcomed the two drafts for the new wine law with changed classification presented by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture a few days ago. They are now to be discussed and adopted in the association's bodies.
DWV President Klaus Schneider and DWV Secretary General Christian Schwörer are "very pleased that with the publication, the next step has finally been taken on the way to establishing a quality-oriented system of origin". The new wine designation law will create "more clarity and orientation for the consumer". "For producers, this should create the legal possibility to distinguish themselves without having to resort to alternative systems. We hope for better marketing opportunities for our German vintners", writes the DWV in a press release.
With the drafts, the ministry has "complied with the efforts of the economy to orientate the wine law more towards the origin-oriented approach of the Union law". According to DWV, each origin should now stand for a "clear profile". For this purpose, a pyramid of origin is to be created in the regions according to the principle: "the smaller the origin, the higher the quality".
Accordingly, some restrictions will be lifted for wines with a protected geographical indication ("Landwein"). With the indication of smaller geographical indications, the drafts for wines with a protected designation of origin (PDO) now lay down specifications that set higher quality requirements with increasing origin level.
In the upper part of the pyramid, the minimum must weight and the marketing date of local and single vineyards as well as a restriction of grape varieties to be determined by the regions for single vineyard are envisaged as nationally uniform criteria. However, the wine communities of the areas are free to work out their area profiles independently, in which they define stricter criteria for cultivation and development in their specifications.
(uka)