News on the grapevine

The Wine Standards Branch information on the Agency website www.food.gov.uk/wine is more easily accessible to enforcement as well as industry stakeholders. The aim of this information is to encourage growers and traders to comply with laws on wine by offering advice and education, carry out a programme of inspections using risk analysis to deliver a targeted and cost-effective and service, identify breaches of the law and gather evidence for legal action in serious cases, and work closely with other regulatory bodies The Wine Standards Branch has also published revised details of the Regional Wine Scheme, as well as updating the information on the Quality Wine scheme. These schemes give English and Welsh wine producers the opportunity to market their wines as 'Regional Wine' or 'Quality Wine' provided each application passes a tasting and analytical assessment.