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Federal Minister of Agriculture Julia Klöckner (CDU) wants to present the draft of the new wine law to the federal cabinet this week. This is the first time in Germany that the Romanesque quality system has been adopted, which follows the principle: The smaller the origin, the higher the quality. This is the basis for the new classification by estate, local and single vineyards for wines with a protected designation of origin (PDO) introduced by the VDP years ago. The draft was preceded by fierce and long discussions in the winegrowers' association, which almost led to the dissolution of the discussion body.
Still under discussion, according to the German Press Agency (dpa), is the continued use of the Großlagen, which have been controversial for years. The previous category terms such as Kabinett, Spät- and Auslese are also to continue to exist in the new system under the EU exemption for "traditional terms". To this end, the cooperative representatives in particular have negotiated very long transition periods of up to five years.
All details of the new law on this will be regulated in a revised wine regulation. After the conclusion of the procedure, both could come into force before the end of December.
(uka / Photo: German Wine Institute)