Text: Brigitte Müller

The negotiations have lasted almost two decades and finally only Germany opposed the move but to no avail. On 10th March 2006, the wine agreement between the EU and the US that was ratified by the European Commission back in December was signed in London. Under the agreement, Europeans accept current US wine manufacturing regulations and lift import barriers. In exchange, the North Americans will no longer export their wines under old continent denominations such as Chianti, Sherry or Champagne and will additionally withdraw a highly complex customs regime for European wine imports.

In agreement with other countries, there is a list of products and procedures authorised for imported wines. For the US, the principle of mutual recognition of winemaking is valid for the first time, whereby what is permitted in the US is also permitted in Europe and vice versa. This is a very generous norm, not least because the US is also a great wine importer. For this reason, France and Italy were promoters of the agreement. In just 2004, wine exports from the EU to the US were worth approximately 2,000 million euros. Therefore, it’s not surprising that EU Agriculture Minister, Mariann Fischer-Boel, should express herself in these enthusiastic terms:

“This agreement will facilitate access for EU wines to the lucrative US market, whose consumers know how to appreciate in full the quality and history of our wines. In today’s evermore competitive market, it is vital to remove unnecessary obstacles for our winemakers, who I consider to be the world’s best.”

But this comes at a price: in the US, the winemaking industry has long accepted manufacturing methods that here are officially dismissed. Thus, the special flavour achieved by storing wine in expensive barrels is obtained in the New Continent by adding wood shavings. Oak shards are introduced into the wine like tea-bags; the bags weigh between 5 and 10 kilos and can be added discretionally before, during or after fermentation. Approximately 3 or 4 grams of this flavour enhancer are needed per litre. Using this method, the cost per litre is less than 3 centimes whereas storage in oak barrels carries a cost of at least 15 to 20 cents per litre, and this does not take into account the long time period for which the wine must be stored. Another variation on simulating oak barrel storage involves using oak boards dipped inside the wine following fermentation. These boards take longer to add flavour but maintain it for longer. If small bubbles of oxygen are subsequently added as if the oak wood was genuinely breathing, the deception is almost perfect. “It is very difficult for the end consumer to tell the difference in relation to an oak barrelled wine”, assures Emilio Castro, director of the Spanish Wine Culture Foundation.

Another more controversial issue than the pseudo barrel is the “spinning cone column” procedure whereby wines are fractioned and subsequently recomposed individually to manufacture a tailor-made wine. This method also makes it possible to reduce the alcohol content, which in the case of Californian wines for example can reach a high level due to the region’s inherent weather conditions. This is also a costly procedure that not any US wine manufacturer can afford.

However, in California they fiercely contest US wines’ artificial reputation: “Californian wines are not watered down, they do not contain artificial aromatic substances and are not fractioned, in other words their components are not divided nor are they remixed with aromatic additives”, clarifies Robert P. Koch, President of the Californian Wine Institute, before going on to speak in relative terms. A maximum of 1% water is allowed and the “Spinning Cone Column”, in other words fractioning, is allowed to reduce alcohol content. However, according to US legislation no artificial aromatic substances or other wines’ aromas may be added. And obviously, there are also many US wines that follow the European tradition of slow maturation in oak barrels.

Already in the past wines were imported from the US that only fulfilled that country’s regulations, although the practice was unofficial. The fact that attention is now drawn to these methods also allows European winemakers to clearly distinguish themselves from artificial wines manufactured on an industrial scale to promote a product whose prime feature is quality authenticity. But this requires a publicity campaign that goes far beyond simple wine labelling. The Bavarian Consumer Protection Ministry criticises the fact that in many cases not even labelling to indicate a traditional manufacturing method has been authorised because it would represent “advertising of an unauthorised nature.”

In the south of Europe, in Spain and Italy, the consequences of the agreement are being analysed from a much more pragmatic point of view. Whereas German winemakers are confident that true wine lovers also appreciate the tradition of maturing good wine in dark cellars and authentic oak barrels, Italy has also asked for the US manufacturing techniques to be recognised in the European Union. The prospects are good, with the possibility of being granted the “most favoured nation” status awarded by the UN’s World Trade Organisation. To summarise: what is valid for the contracting party cannot be prohibited to us. In Spain, Castilla-La Mancha demands “the same right for all”, and the Spanish Wine Federation, which represents 750 winemaking estates, also wishes to remain competitive through the use of wood shavings. In the winemaking regions with the Navarre and La Rioja denominations of origin, prejudice is being contained through pre-emptive compliance: oak shavings will only be allowed for simple table wines and the label must specify how the wine has acquired its oak character. But at present, in Europe the current laws for winemaking remain in force. And by the time oak shavings have become commonplace here in Europe, perhaps wine standards will have long changed and instead of oak and tannin experts start once again to appreciate more subtle and refined wines that do not conceal their origin.