EU Regulations and National Wine Laws
The reason why these regulations exist on the EU level is because of the common market inside the EU, which has led to a need to harmonise regulations for various products which traditionally have been regulated on a national level. The EU wine regulations form a framework for the wine laws of the European Union member states. Since national wine laws have a much longer history than the EU wine regulations, the EU regulations have been designed to accommodate existing regulations of several member states. In particular, the existing regulations concerning French wine, with its detailed appellation laws, formed a basis, while also making room for the very different German wine classification system. In general, the EU wine regulations provide for minimum standards across EU, while making it possible for individual member states to enact stricter standards in certain areas in their national wine laws.
An example comparing a French and two German wine types made from the same grape variety illustrate what the EU wine regulations stipulate, and how the individual countries have applied various stricter regulations than the minimum for these "quality wines".
| Regulated aspect | EU regulation (minimum standard) | France: Alsace AOC labelled "Riesling" | German: Riesling Qualitätswein ("QbA") | German: Riesling Prädikatswein (e.g. a Kabinett) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grape varieties | If the label indicates a single variety, minimum 85% of that variety | 100% Riesling required | Minimum 85% Riesling | Minimum 85% Riesling |
| Minimum grape maturity required | Depends on wine growing zone. For Zone A (most of Germany), 5% potential alcohol, for zone B (much of France including Alsace), 6% potential alcohol. | Minimum 8.5% potential alcohol | Minimum grape maturity depends on the wine region, but is at least 6% potential alcohol (50 °Oe) | Minimum grape maturity depends on the Prädikat and the wine region, but is at least 8.7% potential alcohol (67 °Oe) |
| Chaptalisation | Maximum amount of chaptalisation depends on wine growing zone. For Zone A, corresponding to 3% additional alcohol, for zone B, 2%. | Generally allowed up to 2%, but the regional committee may set a lower limit for a certain vintage | Chaptalisation allowed up to the maximum, up to 2% additional alcohol in Baden (zone B) and 3% in the other regions (zone A) | No chaptalisation allowed for any Prädikatswein |
In a sense, the EU wine regulations as such are rather invisible to the wine consumers and the wine trade, since the details of quality classifications and labelling practices are generally part of the national wine laws, which provide the visible front-end.
Read more about this topic: European Union Wine Regulations
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