Activity and production norms in wine industry aligned with European standards

The Government approved the technical regulations concerning the organization of the winegrowing and winemaking sector and tracking of wine products, Info-Prim Neo reports. The document substitutes the Code on Winemaker’s Work and lays down essential requirements for wines, products from unfermented wine and wine, secondary wine products, raw material and equipment used to produce wine, technological methods used, packing and labeling, procedures for assessing the compliance of the products, rules of using the national trademark, requirements regarding the supervision of the market, tracking of the wine products and towards the producers’ organizations. “In practical terms, the fixed requirements, which meet the European standards, enable to control the entire winemaking and selling process, from grapes to the wines that reach the consumers’ table,” said Nicolae Taran, vice director of Moldova-Vin Agency. “The fulfillment of these requirements implies a switch to the voluntary standardization of all the entities involved in the production of raw material and wine and in the sale of wine products.” Taran stressed that the “Tracking of Wine Products” chapter includes the quality wine records registers (such registers were used in Moldova several years ago) and stipulates the form and method of keeping these registers by every producer and the method of submitting statements regarding the fulfillment of the requirements provided in the technical regulations. The “legalization of the production of home-made wine” is a novelty in the technical regulations. The farmers that own at least 15 ares of vineyard and make wine will be able to freely sell it on the local market after obtaining authorization from the local public authorities. Taran also said that the adjustment of the national legislation on winemaking and winegrowing to the European standards and the tracking of the wine products will allow increasing wine exports to the EU and other countries without raising doubts about the quality of these products.