Wine Law

16 (DOCa) in Spain. According to the same principle, Germany has retained its rather complicated system concerning QmP (Qualitätswein mit Prädikat) wines, with additional potential confusion coming from regional classifications such as Großes Gewächs or Erste Lage. Moreover, Member States apply very different standards to award comparable indications of origin. Italy has 74 DOCGs, compared to Spain’s 2 DOCas. The obvious conclusion here is that the harmonisation of legislation cannot, in itself, provide a successful level of information and understanding among consumers. Unlike most food products, wine poses complex communication problems that cannot be solved by a legislator simply establishing common rules on labels. Inevitably, expert consumers will either understand that compulsory and optional particulars may only be minimally informative or seek wines where producers wisely use additional information on labels to provide specific details that may be appealing to them. Conversely, non-expert consumers will be more likely to believe that some of the information shown on a label (e.g. denomination of origin, productionmethod, suggested food pairing) is a significant indicator of quality level. Although, the below-average knowledgeable consumer is theoretically the specific target of informative protection provided for by the legislator, the rules set forth in Regulations 33/2019 and 1308/2013 are only partially satisfactory in providing the level of insight and awareness, which is the ultimate purpose of a conscious and virtuous legislator.