The Assembly of European Wine Regions (AREV) has expressed the belief that winemakers operating vineyards in hilly zones deserve compensation for their work.
The gist of AREV's argument is that because wine estates on steep gradients possesses less of a scope for machine-aided work (and thus are more labour-intensive), the European Union should compensate those running them for the additional manpower needed.
Somewhere between 20 and 30 wine regions in the EU would qualify if the AREV were to achieve its ambition. In order to be eligible, hypothetically, a gradient of 30 per cent of steeper would be required.
The joint secretary-general of AREV, Dominique Janin, told Decanter, "There are huge price differentials between this type of vineyard and those on flatter land, and we are concerned it will become even more difficult to persuade winemakers to continue to protect the vineyards after planting rights [in the Union] are relaxed in 2016," explained Janin.
"We are looking for the European Commission and European Parliament to provide a safeguard within the Common Agricultural Policy, allowing winemakers to apply for direct grants or other aid measures, and to consider other actions such as an indication on the wine label to mark out the special character of the wines."
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article written by Peter Donnelly.
