Government calls on the government to repeal the exclusivity rule for La Rioja grapes
- The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture approved the statutory modification of the Rioja Designation of Origin, and the Government has sent an order to Madrid because it considers it inappropriate from the point of view of market and competition.
The Spanish Government approved the status of exclusivity last June. The Designation of Origin of the Rioja Wines introduced in its regulations the statutory change that the grape producers sold their grapes to the wineries that leave the name of Rioja to create their own brand, for a year they could not sell grapes to the Riojanos and vice versa. Thus, he placed in a narrow port the Alavese wineries leaving the Rioja Designation of Origin to create his own brand Vineyards of Álava.
As it fully affects the market and competition, the Ministry of Agriculture needed to monitor the proper implementation of this measure. It did so, gave the approval and established a cover for the action of the Rioja Designation of Origin. The Basque Government has now requested explanations from the Ministry and has suggested that the statutory resolution be annulled, understanding that these are "restrictions on competition". The Government considers that "the use of grapes for the production and marketing of other wines outside the Rioja Designation is hampered".
Besides exclusivity, the Sor brand is standing
The regulatory council of the name of Rioja launched two ways to make it difficult to reach the wineries that intended to leave the brand of the wines of the Rioja: on the one hand, the creation of their own name to the courts and, on the other, the establishment of the condition of exclusivity and the questioning of the viability of the new project in case of the creation and departure of the Rioja.
On 14 April the High Court of Justice of the Basque Country agreed to the provisional suspension of the creation of the brand Vineyards of Álava. Two are the important reasons for not creating your own home brand: Baga, which causes "great confusion" for the consumer, "because two wines from the same geographical area could be offered with two protected brands of origin", and Biga, which "damages the prestige" of La Rioja, which would also be "irreversible" according to the court, or at least "difficult to resolve".
The court argued, inter alia, that the name of Rioja is almost 100 years old. At the request of the promoters of Viña Alavesa, the Basque Government did not appeal.
