Review on Legal Supervision System of the Chinese Wine Industry

Abstract

After more than 40 years of development, China’s wine regulatory system has been constantly improved, from half-base wine standards to pure-juice fermented wine standards, and then to the establishment of a relatively complete and mature industry-standard system with product and manufacturing standards as the core and other relevant industry standards as accessories. This advancement supports that the Chinese wine industry has emerged from New World wine countries. Nowadays, according to statistics from the International Organization of Vine and Wine, China is one of the top grape producers, wine consumers, and importers globally. Still, wine production has fallen in recent years, and the balance of wine import and export trade also shows a growing trade deficit. Faced with this problem, it is worth thinking about how to improve the regulatory system to help domestic wines overcome the difficulties. In this article, we first review the development process of China’s wine legal supervision system and summarize the situation of Chinese wine production, consumption, and trade in the past 20 years. Then we elaborate on China’s current legal framework for the wine industry consisting of a series of laws, regulations, and standards, and introduce domestic wine geographical indications. Finally, some suggestions are put forward on brand building, wine testing standards, and taxation of domestic wine. This review will help someone interested in Chinese wine to have a deeper understanding of the wine from a legal supervision system perspective and promote international cooperation and communication in the wine industry. In addition, it will also provide references for the establishment of wine regulations and standards in New World wine countries or regions.