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So similar to what is happening here in Champagne - innovators pushing the boundaries are being bombarded with checks and/or having their (often still wines) wines refused for sale... And just like for your natural winemakers, these wines are actually presold... Mad world we are living in!

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Sorry to hear that there are similar problems in Champagne. I guess it has even more strict rules than Austria, also being the only region in France where there is no option to declassify.

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There are other options (eg putting the wine in circulation again, appealing, ...) , and if the declassification issue was taken to court, the grower wanting to declassify would win. EU and French law applies to everyone., even if te Champenois like to make their own laws.. But it would be a costly and long process

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Wow, this is a scary piece. I was under impression Austria is way ahead of us in this regard and we were hoping to seek inspiration for our institutions in creating the functioning framework in Slovakia, as the problems are of similar character, but this is kind of depressing reading :(

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Yes, you and me both. That's why I felt it was important to publish this piece.

I don't want to give the impression that it's all doom and gloom though. As I wrote, the Austrian Wine Marketing Board is a very open minded organisation, and very aware of how the wine world is developing, both domestically and on their export markets.

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