Simon was very kind to have welcomed my input, and I have considerable sympathy with his arguments. But I want to register my disagreement on a point that, while not specifically relevant to those arguments, is I think hugely important, and about which I would like readers who have not carefully followed Austrian wine law and labeling practice (you lucky folks! ;- ) to be aware.
Simon writes of Austrian DACs (officially designating ““regionally typical wine styles from specific quality wine regions”) that “The idea was compelling.” Not in my opinion. In fact, I agreed from the onset with eloquent wine commentator and at the time major Austrian wine importer Terry Theise when he stated that the chosen anagram should be taken to stand for “Dumb Ass Concept.” Why? Well, consider the case of DAC number one chronologically, Weinviertel. Before 2003, a wine grown in the (geographically huge) Weinviertel would indicate Weinviertel as its place of origin, and the overwhelming majority of Weinviertel wine was mono-varietal so also indicated a grape variety. After the establishment of Weinviertel DAC, only Grüner Veltliner wines from the Weinviertel – having been judged, correctly, the most prevalent wines of the region – could qualify for labeling with the place of origin “Weinviertel,” and due to the additional price and yield stipulations imposed by the regulations, even most Grüner Veltliner from the Weinviertel was no longer labeled “Weinviertel” and most estates picked a single bottling to so-label, treating “DAC” as a sort of award designation. What did this accomplish for the consumer?
Move ahead a few years and take another example: Kamptal DAC. In the Kamptal, as in the Kremstal, Traisental, and Wachau, the overwhelmingly dominant grapes and hence most typical wines were Riesling and Grüner Veltliner. Kamptal DAC still differentiated between these two; after all, they make for radically different sorts of wine, and it would have been marketing suicide to have stipulated: “Henceforth, wines labeled ‘DAC Kamptal’ may not specify which of the two regionally typical grape varieties informs the bottle.” So, before there was a Kamptal DAC the majority of wines were labeled for their region, Kamptal, and for one of those two grape varieties. And afterward? Afterward the majority of wines were still labeled “Kamptal” as well as for one of those two grape varieties, plus carried the capital letters “DAC.” What was gained? Meanwhile, wines from the Kamptal rendered from grapes other than Riesling or Grüner Veltliner could no longer be labeled “Kamptal.” And this was, as proclaimed, not just an invaluable aid to the consumer but an epochal advancement?
Sixteen of Austria’s 18 DACs apply to a surface area coextensive with one of Austria’s growing regions as delimited already pre-DAC; and twelve of the 18 DACs are eponymous with one of those growing regions. So it’s easy to see how the rhetorical questions I posed above apply again and again.
That the “implementation [of DAC] proved clumsy from the outset” I completely agree with Simon.
Simon was very kind to have welcomed my input, and I have considerable sympathy with his arguments. But I want to register my disagreement on a point that, while not specifically relevant to those arguments, is I think hugely important, and about which I would like readers who have not carefully followed Austrian wine law and labeling practice (you lucky folks! ;- ) to be aware.
Simon writes of Austrian DACs (officially designating ““regionally typical wine styles from specific quality wine regions”) that “The idea was compelling.” Not in my opinion. In fact, I agreed from the onset with eloquent wine commentator and at the time major Austrian wine importer Terry Theise when he stated that the chosen anagram should be taken to stand for “Dumb Ass Concept.” Why? Well, consider the case of DAC number one chronologically, Weinviertel. Before 2003, a wine grown in the (geographically huge) Weinviertel would indicate Weinviertel as its place of origin, and the overwhelming majority of Weinviertel wine was mono-varietal so also indicated a grape variety. After the establishment of Weinviertel DAC, only Grüner Veltliner wines from the Weinviertel – having been judged, correctly, the most prevalent wines of the region – could qualify for labeling with the place of origin “Weinviertel,” and due to the additional price and yield stipulations imposed by the regulations, even most Grüner Veltliner from the Weinviertel was no longer labeled “Weinviertel” and most estates picked a single bottling to so-label, treating “DAC” as a sort of award designation. What did this accomplish for the consumer?
Move ahead a few years and take another example: Kamptal DAC. In the Kamptal, as in the Kremstal, Traisental, and Wachau, the overwhelmingly dominant grapes and hence most typical wines were Riesling and Grüner Veltliner. Kamptal DAC still differentiated between these two; after all, they make for radically different sorts of wine, and it would have been marketing suicide to have stipulated: “Henceforth, wines labeled ‘DAC Kamptal’ may not specify which of the two regionally typical grape varieties informs the bottle.” So, before there was a Kamptal DAC the majority of wines were labeled for their region, Kamptal, and for one of those two grape varieties. And afterward? Afterward the majority of wines were still labeled “Kamptal” as well as for one of those two grape varieties, plus carried the capital letters “DAC.” What was gained? Meanwhile, wines from the Kamptal rendered from grapes other than Riesling or Grüner Veltliner could no longer be labeled “Kamptal.” And this was, as proclaimed, not just an invaluable aid to the consumer but an epochal advancement?
Sixteen of Austria’s 18 DACs apply to a surface area coextensive with one of Austria’s growing regions as delimited already pre-DAC; and twelve of the 18 DACs are eponymous with one of those growing regions. So it’s easy to see how the rhetorical questions I posed above apply again and again.
That the “implementation [of DAC] proved clumsy from the outset” I completely agree with Simon.