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VDP President Steffen Christmann has opened a debate on German wine labelling law. He told the German Press Agency (dpa) that a barrel of wine in Germany could be "bottled with 15 to 20 different designations. This is too complicated for customers".
The "ramified wine law and the resulting variety of terms" was one of the reasons "why people abroad often avoid wine from Germany", criticised Christmann. Since 2008, German producers have lost about half of their exports. The VDP top wines, on the other hand, which now use a four-level pyramid for classification, have grown strongly abroad. "Our concept is understood, also internationally," emphasised Christmann in an interview with the dpa.
According to the agency report, the German Winegrowers' Association also considers a revision of the labels to be necessary. This year, a proposal is to be worked out on how the European Union's specifications can be implemented at national level, Secretary General Rudolf Nickenig told dpa. Previously, this had not been possible due to ambiguities in the EU regulations - but now there was a perspective. There would be "a bouquet of questions which we want to tackle with our member associations".
In other wine-growing countries, the designations are much simpler, Christmann stressed: "With Chianti, the consumer only has to remember one word. And the next time he buys a Chianti, it will taste the same" The Austrian winegrowers had established the DAC regions of origin, such as the Kamptal. In Germany, on the other hand, the VDP president criticizes, there are "a thousand different variants of the Pfalzwein".
(uka / Photo: VDP)