Wine

Like other foods, wine and wine products must not present any risk to health. They must not contain any harmful substances. To protect human health the import of wine is subject to strict regulations under food and wine legislation. Within the framework of the supervision of transnational wine imports, the Customs administration cooperates with the competent authorities of the German Laender when performing wine inspections.

What are the legal foundations?

There is a great deal of legislation concerning wine and wine products at both the European and the national levels.

Within the framework of national legislation there are, in addition to the generally applicable provisions of the food and feedingstuff code, the specific wine and wine product regulations such as the Wine Act and the Wine Control Ordinance.

As far as European legislation is concerned, special mention must be made of the provisions of the market organisation ruless for wine and wine products such as Regulation (EC) No 1308/2013, Regulation (EC) No 2019/33 and 2018/237 and Regulation (EC) No 555/2008.

Definition of wine

Wine is defined as being a beverage having an alcohol content of between 1.2 % and 15 %, produced by the alcoholic fermentation of fresh grapes or grape must.

What are the responsibilities of the Customs administration relating to wine?

The Customs administration is involved in the supervision of imports and exports of wine and wine products from and into countries that are not members of the European Union, through its cooperation with the competent supervisory authorities as part of its general scope of competence.
Customs declarations for wine and wine products can only be submitted at authorised customs offices. These offices are identified in column 2 of the Federal Finance Administration Directory of customs services with the note "Einfuhr von Erzeugnissen nach § 32 Absatz 1 Weinüberwachungs-Verordnung" (Import of products pursuant to Section 32(1) of Wine Control Regulations).

Directory of customs services (in German)

What must be borne in mind when importing wine?

Wine may only be imported from a non-EU country if its import has been authorised. The competent customs office determine whether this is the case. Authorisations are granted if all the required conditions have been complied with. In particular, the wine or wine product must be a safe product and be suitable for human consumption.

Current European Union regulations also require the submission of an accompanying V I 1 import document, and specific labelling and presentation of the imported wine or wine product. This specific labelling and presentation include, for example, details of the geographic origin and category of wine or wine product, and particulars of the importer.

Who is responsible for the wine control?

In principle, the producer or the person who imports the wine or wine products, or who puts them on the market, is responsible for complying with the provisions of general food legislation and the specific provisions of wine legislation. Apart from this, the federal states’ food control authorities are responsible for ensuring the observance of these provisions in Germany.

Where imports from a non-EU country are concerned, the appropriately authorised customs offices supervise and monitor whether the wine or wine products comply with the conditions for import into the European Union, and whether the import documents containing the required information have been submitted.