Wine Law

Brief Notes on Venezuelan Wine Law Claudia Madrid Martínez * Cada encuentro nos protege de la memoria. Entre nosotros ningún momento es rey. Todos nacen, resuenan y desaparecen. Eres tú la que le dice a la inmovilidad: detente. Escoges el mejor vino, el que transporta la intensidad, el vino de los atentos ** . Rafael Cadenas, Recuento, 1977 Introduction; I. Wine in Venezuela; II. The First Regulations: Tariffs and Taxes; III. Wine in the World of Trademark Law; IV. Wine Consumer Protection; A Short Conclusion. Introduction In Venezuela, the production of quality wines is relatively recent. The wine consumption, however, began early: “It is known that Francisco de Miranda was fond of wine and it is said that Simón Bolívar –who drank champagne daily and was lover of clarets from Bordeaux and liquor wines from Madeira– gave Marshal Antonio José de Sucre several boxes of champagne rosé, to celebrate in Quito the victory of Ayacucho. More recently, when in 1953 the government of Marcos Pérez * Lawyer (Central University of Venezuela, 1997). Magister Scientiarum in Private International Law and Comparative Law (Central University of Venezuela, 2001). PhD in Law (Central University of Venezuela, 2009). Postdoctoral researcher at University of Cologne with a Georg Forster Research Fellowship for Postdoctoral Researchers, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, (September 2012-August 2014). Titular Professor (5/5) at Central University of Venezuela and Andrés Bello Catholic University. Professor at Latin American Autonomous University; Part of the research group Globalisation and Private Law (GLOPRI). ** Each encounter protects us from memory. No moment is king between us. All the moments are born, resonate and disappear. You are the one who tells immobility: stop. You choose the best wine, the one that conveys intensity, the wine of the attentive.