I usually receive inquisitive looks when I mention wine law, but nothing excites me more than discussing the legal vocation I aspire to expand. Wine law entails more than representing vineyards and wineries or regulating the composition of specific wines; essentially, understanding wine law requires a comprehensive understanding of the domestic and international history of wine and alcoholic beverage regulations, but also practical business law knowledge. For a general background and synopsis, this page has been established.
General Background on Wine and the Law in America
Wine law requires a broad legal perspective in a very specialized industry. For attorneys (or scholars) with an interest in wine law, the following legal disciplines have encompassed legal issues in the wine industry:
Appellation-Based Regulations (i.e. structure and composition of specific wine bouquets, grape varieties)
Business Law (i.e. corporate structure, succession, tax structure)
Contractual Relations
E-commerce and Internet Law (i.e. conducting business online, interstate distribution and shipping regulations)
Employment Law (i.e. appropriate hiring/firing practices, Title VII claims)
Environmental Law (i.e. general land use, and water and soil issues)
Intellectual Property (specifically on an international level, including EU geographical indicators)
Finance (i.e. general financing but also federal tax issues concerning wineries)
Licensing (federal, state, and local alcoholic beverage regulations in production, manufacturing, selling, etc.)
Property and Real Estate Law
Trademarks and Copyrights
Note: Wine law is not to be confused with wine laws (plural). Wine laws (or, specifically, a wine law) in America are federal, state, or local regulations that cover the sale, regulation, composition, classification, labelling, licensing, and procedural aspects of wine production.
Regional Appellation-Based Regulations
Generally, an appellation is distinctly defined and protected by law of the country in which the wine is produced. It is a geographical indication (“GI”) that specifies where grapes are grown to produce a specific type of wine. (A GI is a name or a sign that is placed on certain products that correlates to the region in which the product was produced. A GI may indicate a certain level of quality or reputation due to its location.) An appellation may entail restrictions on what types of grapes may be grown, maximum grape yields, alcohol content, and factors denoting levels of quality before a wine can be legally labeled as a particular bouquet.
Examples of appellations include:
France –France has four classifications of wine. The classifications (in increasing level of quality) are:
Vin de Tableis a basic French table wine.
Vin de Payscarries a specific region of production, but entitled to less legal restrictions than AOC wines.
Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure (VDQS) is wine from areas that are not as predominant as AOC wines, but still entitled to higher legal regulations than Vin de Pays.
Appellation d’origine Contrôlée(AOC) is wine from a particular region with the highest legal regulations, such as grape composition and wine production.
Italy — Italy has four classifications of wine. The classifications (in increasing level of quality) are:
Vino da Tavola (VDT) or basic wine produced in Italy, such as a table wine.
Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) indicates wine that is from a particular area of Italy. Higher quality than table wine.
Denominazione di Origine Controllata(DOC) are wines with grapes that are more specific than those found in IGT wines.
Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) are wines that endure very strict legal regulations, such as grape and alcohol compositions, and must pass a blind taste test for quality.
The former two classifications in both France and Italy fall under the European Union’s Table Wine category whereas the latter two classifications fall under the Quality Wine Produced in a Specific Region (QWPSR) designations of the European Union.
In the United States, the American Viticultural Area (“AVA”) is the appellation control for America. To use the AVA seal on a wine bottle, a wine must be composed 85% of grapes grown within the AVA geographical region.
