Long live the sparkling wine, in the shining glasses, so sings Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana, so it was appreciated once again at Vinitaly 2024, the very important wine fair held every year in my city, Verona.

To protect the authenticity and goodness of wine, whose production chain is of great importance in Italy as well as in other European countries, there are both European and national regulations.

Prominent among the national ones is Law 238 of 2016, which sanctions 'anyone who, ....., in wine-making or wine-handling operations, uses all or part of unauthorised products, such as alcohol, sugars, or sugary or fermented materials other than those derived from fresh grapes, even if slightly dried'. But also of considerable relevance is Article 516 of the Criminal Code, which punishes 'anyone who offers for sale or otherwise markets as genuine non-genuine foodstuffs'.

I report this today, because it happened that a fraudulent organisation bought low-quality wines, increased the alcohol content by adding alcohol, and put it on sale at a higher price.

It should be added that it did not limit itself to this, but falsified the bands and gave false indications to consumers on Doc and Docg.

Italian judges are fortunately strict against these dishonest operators, and the Court of Cassation in a judgment of 4 April 2024 stated - among other things - that they can be punished under both general and special regulations.

Infact if the person engages in an overall conduct that violates, on the one hand, the rules of the special discipline and, on the other hand, different and additional rules deriving from Articles of the Criminal Code, then the application of both disciplines in relation to the individual conducts carried out could not be excluded, also because the two regulations are 'one relating to the previous phase of adulteration and, the other, to the subsequent phase of marketing'.

In this case, the Court of Cassation confirmed both the first and second instance decisions, continuing with a constant jurisprudential line. This is a good thing because this protects "the interest in the regularity of commerce and industry and, more generally, the national economy, according to a shareable trend, aimed at ensuring the effectiveness of constitutional principles on economic initiative and private property."

Above all, we consumers can rely on the quality of the l wine, which to quote, Cavalleria Rusticana 'like the dream of the lover, infuses joy’!

last update May 2024