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The Federal Ministry of Agriculture has published a first key points paper on the planned reform of the German wine law. It has already been agreed with the representatives of the federal states and the winegrowers' associations. It is intended to anchor an origin-based quality system with categories such as Grand Cru and local wine in Germany. For future protected designations of origin, the ministry still wants to define quality criteria such as yields per hectare or alcohol content.
With the new system, which is modelled on France, geographical indications are to define the qualities. The smaller a unit is, the higher the wine quality must be. However, the winegrowers' associations can decide for themselves which criteria play a role in their growing region and with which values they are to be included in the specifications of the region. The rules on yields per hectare are also to be made more flexible.
Still unclear is the future role of the large vineyards, which have long been criticised as misleading. The Ministry of Agriculture has only issued a test order on "which designation law adjustments could be made to the use of the names of smaller geographical units in the interest of simplification and more transparent regulation from the consumer's point of view."
(uka / Photo: German Wine Institute)