Évora, Portugal, July 29, 2024 (Lusa) - The Alentejo Regional Wine Commission (CVRA), which oversees the Portuguese demarcated area with the largest volume, has tightened the rules to be followed by producers during this year's harvest to protect the origin and integrity of Alentejo DOC and Alentejo Regional wines, it was announced on Monday.
In a statement, the CVRA said that this reinforcement of control "will be focussed on economic agents who, during the harvest, receive grapes, musts or wines of different origins at winemaking facilities located in the Alentejo".
The aim of the new rules, according to the wine commission, is to protect the origin and integrity of wines from the Alentejo Protected Designation of Origin (DOC) and the Alentejo Geographical Indication.
Quoted in the statement, the president of the wine commission, Francisco Mateus, emphasised that the new rules and procedures now adopted "contribute to more agile and effective control by the CVRA teams.
"The harvest period is the most critical time to carry out this control, because there is frequent movement of grapes, musts and wines, and therefore the possibility of products entering the cellars that do not originate in the region, which justifies rigorous intervention in defence of the Alentejo origin," he said.
As a result, producers in the Alentejo who receive grapes, musts or wines from different origins "now have the duty to notify the CVRA 48 hours in advance of the entry of those products into the winemaking facilities".
These agents, the CVRA stressed, also have to "comply with the timetable set for entering the facilities and follow the rules for identifying the place where the products are stored, which may lead to a label being affixed to the tanks.
"The CVRA has also defined what documentation must be presented in control situations and has instituted a "surveillance of origin" status, which can be imposed on the economic agent when there is faulty evidence as to the origin or traceability of wines destined for DOC Alentejo and Regional Alentejo," it emphasised.
According to the organisation, products in a state of "surveillance of origin" will have to be kept separate in warehouses inside the facility and will be subject to prior authorisation from the CVRA for any movement or transport to another facility.
"In cases of irregularity, the products will be classified as "not suitable for DO/IG" and reported to the competent authorities for the purposes of the general regime of offences applicable to the wine sector," he said.
The CVRA said that the conditions are described in the 2024 harvest notice sent to the region's producers.
The regional wine commissions "are making efforts to harmonise harvest control principles through more detailed conditions and joint action by the control plans that are approved and supervised by the Ministry of Agriculture's Vine and Wine Institute," it added.
Created in 1989, the CVRA is responsible for protecting and defending the DOC Alentejo and the Alentejo Geographical Indication, certifying and controlling origin and quality, and promoting and fostering sustainability.
The Alentejo is the national leader in certified wines, with around 40% of the total value of sales in a universe of 14 wine-growing regions in Portugal. With a vineyard area of 23,300 hectares, 30% of its production is exported to five main destinations, namely Brazil, Switzerland, the US, the UK and Poland.
SM/ARO // ARO.
Lusa
