EU & US Wine Accord
Today is a historic one for wine. The EU and the USA signed a wine accord following 20 years of negotiation. Here are the key parts of the agreement:
- Some European wine names, e.g. Port, Sherry, and Champagne, will be restricted to European wines in the US.
- Anything not in the agreement stands as-is.
- Semi-generic wines such as American Port, Sherry, and Champagne will only be exported to the EU after the status of these names has been changed.
- EU wines are exempted from 2004 US certification requirements.
- The EU and US will use informal consultations rather than formal mechanisms to settle disputes.
- There’s going to be a second phase to the agreement.
