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See under wine law.

Even in ancient times, attempts were made to prevent the misuse and adulteration of wine quality through appropriate laws and regulations. There is written evidence of this from many authors in the relevant literature. The oldest wine law in this regard, with strict penalties for non-compliance, was passed by the Babylonian ruler Hammurabi (1728-1686 BC), whose empire at the time covered almost the whole of Mesopotamia. The law of the Roman Republic also regulated the sale (especially the wholesale trade) of wine and defined in the individual laws what guarantee of quality the buyer could expect and how the wine could be marketed. In the "Lex Salica"(Salic Law) issued by the Merovingian King Clovis I (466-511), viticultural matters were also regulated, as viticulture was already widespread in what is now Germany at this time. Quality criteria and classes were already introduced in the individual countries in the early Middle Ages. Emperor Charlemagne (742-814) issued corresponding laws.

Weingesetz - Waage - Weingläser mit Traube und Fass

Wine laws in Europe

In the 17th century, there were the following four wine quality levels in Burgenland(Austria): Vinum Nobile (noble wine, wine made from dried grapes), Vinum Bonum (quality wine made from the varieties Furmint, Weißer Augster, Blauer Augster and Muskateller), Vinum Mediocre (wine of medium quality) and Vinum Cibale (food wine or table wine). In the Austrian capital of Vienna in the 18th century, there were the quality levels Herrschaftswein (only for the court table), Offizierswein and Soldatenwein. At that time, starting in Spain (Rioja), Portugal (port wine) and Italy (Chianti), wines were divided into two quality classes, namely higher quality wines with and lower quality wines without a clearly defined geographical origin. This subsequently gave rise to the concept of Romanesque wine law.

Origin of the wine laws

From the end of the 19th century, strict laws were introduced in all wine-growing countries, particularly in Europe, in order to ensure or improve wine quality and protect against wine adulteration. At that time, however, there were of course still major differences in the individual countries. Finally, from the 1930s onwards, the origin-orientated appellation system was established in France as a model for most European countries. A comprehensive body of laws and regulations was created within the European Union on the basis of these provisions. The laws of the member states are based on this, although there are country-specific deviations in detail.

Standard works

The standard work in Germany is "Weinrecht" (Walhalla-Verlag, Wilhelm Schevardo and Josef Koy), which comprises 4,570 pages plus CD-ROM in the edition published in December 2019. It covers the wine law of the EU, the Federal Republic and the federal states. Another work is the "Wine Law" online platform published by the German Wine Institute (DWI) (digital successor to the "Wine Law Commentary" by Prof Dr Hans-Jörg Koch). The standard work in Austria is the "Weingesetz" (Manz-Verlag, Hannes Mraz and Hans Valentin), which comprises 816 pages in the 5th edition published in 2018. It offers a comprehensive presentation of the entire wine law, including all regulations and EU provisions. There is also the electronic database RIS (Legal Information System), which contains, among other things, wine law issues.

Wine-growing zones

Depending on the climatic conditions and therefore different scenarios, Europe is divided into three main zones A, B and (with subzones) C. There are different requirements or exemptions for certain winemaking processes in each wine-growing zone. Each EU member state can authorise certain oenological processes or treatments for experimental purposes. The restriction for such wines is that the entire "trial" within a member state may not last longer than three years (a one-off extension to a further three years is permitted). However, the wine treated in this way may not be sold in other EU member states.

Country-specific provisions

In addition to the EU regulations, there are additional or often even stricter country-specific regulations, which usually vary from region to region, growing area to individual vineyards or even specific wines. In addition to those mentioned above, these regulations also govern points such as certain forms of cultivation, regulations regarding winemaking, special bottle shapes (such as the Bocksbeutel), minimum ageing periods for wines (barrel and/or bottle), wine designations and the earliest time of marketing. The inspection of these rules by official bodies is also defined. The exact regulations are listed under the respective countries.

Wine laws in the New World

In the New World, on the other hand, wine laws are usually far less strictly...

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Egon Mark

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Diplom-Sommelier, Weinakademiker und Weinberater, Volders (Österreich)

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