Rules, rules, rules… | New Brief #241

Rules are helpful, but some of them are unnecessary.

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Sometimes, we are asked if there is a lot of cheating among winegrowers. Our answer is no. Besides the fact that most of them are honest people, they are also bound by strict rules. There are a plethora of regulations governing wine production – EU rules, national rules, appellation rules and more – and compliance with them is carefully checked.

The rules exist to protect an area, an appellation, a style of wine, etc. The quality must be kept at a certain level so that the reputation of a particular area is not destroyed; there must (ideally) be a common denominator in the wines (made from the same grape, aged in a certain way, etc.). Regulations make it easier for the consumer to choose a wine. And the producers want rules.

Sometimes, people rave about wines “made the way wine was made in the old days”. But you should remember that “in the old days”, there were many different products, methods, and additives used that we do not want in our wine today. One of the driving forces behind the introduction of regulations, which began in the early 20th century, were growers. They protested against the “cheating” with wines made with things they believed should not be in a wine. Therefore, they wanted rules that determined how wine could be made.

In France, the rules are mainly drawn up by the winegrowers themselves and then approved by the Ministry of Agriculture via the INAO (Institut national de l’origine et de la qualité). They are not carved in stone; they are changed and adjusted, albeit not fast enough for some who now think climate change requires quick decisions on changes to permitted grape varieties, planting density, irrigation and more.

Some rules are easy to understand. You must have reached a certain minimum sugar content before you can harvest; not chaptalise too much, not add whatever you want to the wine. These are reasonable demands.

Some rules are more difficult to accept. Lately, we have been frustrated with the Italians, who, in all probability, are behind the rule that the grape name “vermentino” is no longer allowed to be mentioned on French (or any other country’s) wine bottles. The reason is that the name Vermentino is part of two Italian appellations, Vermentino di Gallura and Vermentino di Sardegna, and these, therefore, have exclusive rights to the grape name. How can someone claim exclusive rights to a grape name? (And then manage to get that rule accepted? Of course, they had already practised on the grape name prosecco, so they knew it worked.)

Winegrowers in southern France, including Corsica, are not happy. They have grown the grape for a long time and put the name on the label. Vermentino is becoming famous in France. Now they must instead use the grape’s French name, rolle, a less attractive name, they think. But a producer in Roussillon had a stroke of genius and called his wine, perhaps made on really rocky soil, Rock n’ Rolle.

However, Italians are not the only ones you can get tired of. A change in the rules in Alsace that also concerns a grape name has caused us to raise our eyebrows. Apparently, the producer’s association in Alsace voted for it already last year and now, since August 1^st this year, this new rule applies in Alsace (those who feel thus compelled have two months to raise objections):

In order to be allowed to write “riesling” on the label, the wine must be dry. Dry means that the sugar content is a maximum of 4 grams per litre or a maximum of 9 grams, but then the acidity per litre must not be more than 2 grams lower than the sugar content.

This change to the rules is even stranger when you consider that it is now mandatory in Alsace to mention on the label whether the riesling wine is dry, semi-dry or sweet or mark the degree of dryness/sweetness on a scale. It is a good help for the consumer. One can wonder who does not understand that indication.

So why then force all riesling wines to be dry? Why do some (quite a few apparently) Alsatian producers want this rule? Traditionally, riesling has been allowed to exist in different degrees of sweetness; this is in the nature of the grape. In some years, a winemaker may believe that the wine is better with 10 grams of sugar. Yes, he can still make such a wine, but he cannot put “riesling” on the label, which – some believe – will confuse consumers who have been used to seeing the Alsace grapes on the label for many years. To complicate matters further, the new rule does not apply to the very sweet sélection de grains nobles (SGN) or the vendange tardive.

No riesling lover would deny the grape’s versatility. Putting a straitjacket like this on a grape like riesling feels very stupid.

Rules are good to have, but they should be good rules. Maybe there should be a rule against stupid rules?

The travel season is in full swing, that is one immutable rule at this time of the year.

We have, so far, done, among other things, Austria, Champagne, Bordeaux Veneto and some others. Lovely tours in beautiful autumn scenery and still so far with almost summer temperatures in most cases.

But it is often when you have the most to do that other “problems” arise. So the other week we were hit with a computer problem. (Who hasn’t been affected by that at least once?) When we were in Austria, all of a sudden all the “special characters (including Swedish letters) on BKWine Magazine disappeared. Instead it shows strange combinations of characters. We are working to sort it out, but just so you know, the content is still the same and in most articles, only the headline has been affected. So you can safely read on and discover more of the wonderful world of wine.

And now, on to wine tours:

Important about the wine tours to South Africa, February 8-18, and to New Zealand, March 12-27.

Last chance:

• South Africa in February – book before 15 October (!)
• New Zealand in March – book before 15 November

These are tours with unique and magnificent experiences.

Wine travel in harvest time

Plan a wine tour in the harvest season:

• Champagne
• Champagne and Bordeaux
• Bordeaux

New dates coming soon.

More info on our wine tours here. “World’s Top Wine Tours“. Tours with the people who know wine and who have an unrivalled experience of wine and tours.

Travel in wine regions with someone you trust.

Enjoy the Brief!

Britt & Per

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