The Joint Declaration to Protect Wine Place Names & Origin was first signed in Napa Valley, California, on July 26, 2005. It is a set of principles aimed at educating consumers and policymakers about the importance of location to winemaking. Texas Wine Growers was accepted as a member of Wine Origins in February of 2017.
The Declaration states:
WHEREAS,
it is generally acknowledged that there are a handful of truly extraordinary places on earth from which great wine is consistently produced.
WHEREAS,
the names of these places are printed on labels side-by-side with the names of the producers to identify the origin of the wine.
WHEREAS,
wine, more than any other beverage, is valued based on its association to its place of origin – and with good reason.
WHEREAS,
even before modern technology allowed us to tie specific definitions to the soils, terrain, and climates of noted wine regions, winemakers were drawn to these special places.
WHEREAS,
the names of these places are familiar, and synonymous with quality.
WHEREAS,
we respectfully submit that the place where wine is grown plays a very important role in a consumer’s selection process.
WHEREAS,
we are furthermore united in our belief that the geographic place names of wine regions are the sole birthright of the grapes that are grown there, and when these names appear on wines that do not contain fruit from that region, they lose their integrity and their relevance, becoming merely words.
THEREFORE,
be it resolved that we, as some of the world’s leading wine regions, join together in supporting efforts to maintain and protect the integrity of these place names, which are fundamental tools for consumer identification of great winegrowing regions and the wines they produce.
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