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Rioja decision over single vineyard and regional labelling expected this autumn

Published:  07 October, 2016

A decision on proposed new rules that will allow Rioja producers to feature village names and specific vineyards prominently on labels may be taken as early as late October or early November this year.

A decision on proposed new rules that will allow Rioja producers to feature village names and specific vineyards prominently on labels may be taken as early as late October or early November this year.

A source close to the Consejo Regulador has told Harpers there are indications that the changes will likely be approved by the governing body, allowing producers much greater freedom to promote the site specific or local terroir-driven nature of their wines.

This move, if approved, follows a period of well-publicised and increasingly intense debate among producers in the region (and elsewhere in Spain) over the implications for a region that has carved out a strong global reputation on the back of wines blended from across Rioja's sub-regions.

Proponents of change argue that it is only by focusing on more site specific wines that Rioja can further lift its reputation for quality, allowing its producers to promote a mix of both traditional and modern-leaning wines from the region, while being able to flag up the best sites and soils.

Harpers understands that part of the discussion centres on how prominent or otherwise this information would be allowed to be in relation to the word Rioja on the label, which is currently required to be the dominant piece of information, with letters of 4mm high or greater.

One of the consideration for the Consejo in making such changes is how to enforce any new rules, to ensure that fruit for a wine with a given village name does come from within the designated boundaries of that village area.

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