Stopping subsidies?

Broad alliance for wine in Brussels

Will winegrowers soon be banned from advertising their fine wines? Will public funds no longer be made available? On Burgenland's initiative, regions such as Bordeaux, Piedmont, Rioja and Rhineland-Palatinate are moving closer together in the service of the good cause.

Unimaginable for true connoisseurs of fine wines: similar to tobacco, a lobby in Brussels is mobilizing against wine. If the anti-vinophile tacticians have their way, advertising and public funding could soon no longer be permitted. "A horror scenario for our winegrowers! Simply unthinkable", a murmur goes through the industry.

Burgenland is taking the initiative in Brussels to raise the profile and importance of wine at European level. Winegrower Andreas Liegenfeld and Wein-Burgenland chairman Herbert Oschep "felt their way" to Belgium's capital a few weeks ago.

Economic and health aspects
Now the SPÖ regional councillor responsible for the Committee of the Regions (CoR), Heinrich Dorner, is following suit. He has brought the formation of a CoR interregional group on viticulture and wine culture into play. "Initial talks have been very positive," says Dorner. Not only the economy is a core topic in the program, but also health. "It's about responsible use of a natural product that brings pleasure and well-being in different situations. And it's about the conscious enjoyment and cultivation of wine culture," emphasizes the Provincial Councillor.

In this context, the long-term prospects of wine as a cultural asset in Europe must also be defined. Other questions that need to be discussed arise for Dorner: "How can the wine industry, which consists of more than 90 percent small and medium-sized enterprises, survive on the EU internal market and internationally?" "How can EU legislation provide support?"

The Burgenland initiative has met with a positive response from the President of the European Committee of the Regions, Vasco Alves Cordeiro - including top wine-growing regions such as Bordeaux, Piedmont, Rioja and Rhineland-Palatinate: "Everyone has the same interests."