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Wine Act Implementation

• Introduction
• Objectives
• Wine Standards Management Plans
• Implementation of the Wine Act
• Information for Fruit Wine, Vegetable Wine and Mead Makers
• Information for Grape Wine Makers
• Information for Verifiers
• Wine Sector Council
• Consultation

Introduction

The New Zealand grape wine industry has developed dramatically in recent decades, building a strong international reputation for the quality and integrity of its wines. As production continues to surge and the international environment becomes ever more competitive, the existing regulatory regime for grape wine is increasingly outdated. For other types of wine as well, changes in the operating commercial environment make an updated regulatory approach desirable.

A new Wine Act was passed into law on 22 October 2003 and came into force on 1 January 2004. The Wine Act replaces the existing regulatory regime for wine provided by the Wine Makers Levy Act 1976 and the Wine Makers Act 1981.It covers all types of wine, including grape wine, fruit and vegetable wine, cider and mead.

The Wine Act provides for a new approach to the regulation of wine. It is an enabling, rather than a prescriptive, regime. It provides a "toolbox" of regulatory mechanisms that can be tailored to particular situations, as well as robust consultation provisions. The flexibility of this approach ensures that the new wine legislation will endure as the commercial environment in which industry operates continues to change.

Objectives

The Act has six objectives:

• to set standards for identity, truth in labelling, and the safety of wine;
• to minimise and manage the risks to human health arising from the making of wine and to ensure compliance with wine standards;
• to facilitate the entry of wine into overseas markets by providing the controls and mechanisms needed to give and safeguard official assurances issued for the purpose of enabling entry into those markets;
• to enable the setting of export eligibility requirements to safeguard the reputation of New Zealand wine in overseas markets;
• to promote consultation with industry organisations on the regulation of the industry, as an aid to fostering efficiency and growth;
• to enable levies to be imposed on winemakers for payment to entities representing their interests for the funding of industry-good activities.

Wine Standards Management Plans

At the heart of the Wine Act is the concept of the Wine Standards Management Plan (WSMP). WSMPs provide a single, comprehensive and verifiable regime for compliance with food safety, wine composition and labelling and overseas market access requirements. WSMPs are developed by industry and approved by the NZFSA. It is envisaged that WSMPs may be developed on a template basis across a particular wine industry, incorporating existing systems and codes of practice within that industry.

The WSMP concept is supported in the Wine Act by provisions for the creation of wine standards, and a flexible set of enforcement provisions. An improved system of wine export controls is provided in the Wine Act, as is an improved mechanism for funding industry-good activities. The Wine Act also introduces cost recovery for services provided to industry by the government.

NZFSA is the principal regulator under the Wine Act, with responsibility for its implementation. NZFSA is committed to working together with industry to ensure that the right tools are selected from the "toolbox" provided by the legislation.

Statement of Policy: Wine Act 2003 Registration of Wine Standards Management Plans, has been moved under the NZFSA Wine site. Should you have this statement as a favourite you will require to change the link.

Click here to access a copy of the Wine Act.