Swiss canton relaxes wine quality requirements

The extraordinary measure protects the income of Valais winegrowers. Keystone

The wet weather has resulted in canton Valais in southwest Switzerland taking the extraordinary step of relaxing the requirements for the AOC seal of quality.

In order to produce more expensive and exclusive AOC wines, the grapes must contain a minimum amount of sugar. However, due to the poor weather this year, they barely reach the required sugar content for AOC wine.

Valais is therefore lowering the sugar limit. This means that winegrowers can produce AOC wine despite the wet weather. But is this even legitimate? Or is a wine of inferior quality being sold as a quality product?

One thing is clear: canton Valais is doing nothing wrong. The authorities may reduce the minimum amount of sugar that a grape must contain in order to produce AOC wine.

Winegrowers receive a higher price

However, Claude Crittin, president of the Valais Wine Buyers’ Association, says this has never happened in the 25 years that he has been working in the wine industry.

“The fact that grapes with a lower sugar content than usual can now be processed does not mean that inferior fruit becomes a bottle of high-quality AOC wine,” he stresses. The bad weather ensures that the wine is less powerful, but more flavoursome, he says.

The extraordinary measure taken by the canton to adjust the requirements for the AOC seal of quality protects the income of Valais winegrowers.

“As the winegrowers are not responsible for the bad weather, they do not suffer any consequences in terms of price.” The winegrower therefore receives the higher price for AOC grapes despite the lower sugar content because canton Valais has relaxed the requirements.

Thurgau and Schaffhausen act differently

What Valais is doing, the cantons of Thurgau and Schaffhausen in northeastern Switzerland would never do, even if they could, says Hansueli Pfenninger, head of the viticulture department of both cantons.

“The quality of the wines has top priority.” The winegrowers know this, says Pfenninger. He would have concerns about the quality of the wine if the sugar content of the grapes was too low.

In Thurgau and Schaffhausen, the wine would be downgraded accordingly, says Pfenninger. “The wine would be sold as table wine and would no longer be marketed with the AOC-Schaffhausen seal of quality.”

All wine cantons have their own rules for their AOC wine. In Valais, the conditions are to be revised next year, says Crittin. Probably to the effect that the sugar content will generally be set lower.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts