|
|
The number of serious wine law violations remains low. The State Investigation Office (LUA) for wine monitoring in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate announced its balance sheet for the year 2022. The LUA made inspections at 4,150 wineries and took 3,900 samples for laboratory testing. 52 samples of domestic and foreign wines (1.3 per cent) were classified as serious deceptions. They were found to be in violation of limit values or to have undergone inadmissible wine treatments, such as the addition of flavourings foreign to wine.
The vast majority of complaints concerned incorrect labelling such as false indications of alcohol content, taste (dry or semi-dry) or grape varieties. Defects were also found due to improper storage in wholesale and retail. Here, piccolo bottles of sparkling and semi-sparkling wines were particularly affected, which were left in the sun for too long and were classified as sensory overstored. Further complaints were made for the keeping of cellar books and inadmissible use of terms on the label as well as "unlawful use of awards and medals for non-award-winning vintages". The limits for heavy metals and allergens were not exceeded in a single sample.
A total of 277 out of 3,700 samples were objected to, which corresponds to 7.1 percent. Rhineland-Palatinate is the largest wine-producing German state with six of the 13 wine-growing regions. These are Rheinhessen, Pfalz, Mittelrhein, Nahe, Ahr and Mosel. Altogether, the vineyards and wineries produce around 600 million litres of wine and must per year, which is two-thirds of Germany's wine.
(al / Source: LUA Rhineland-Palatinate)