With all of the economic problems that the EU is having lately, I was surprised to learn that Italy, Spain and Greece are being penalized for planting too many vineyards. According to an article, “EU fines Italy, Spain Greece of Illegal Vine Plantings,” in Harpers Wine & Spirit by Chris Mercer, “Spain must hand back €131.3m (US$164m) of funding handed out by the European Commission, while Italy must repay €98.9m.” Greece needs to repay €21.3m.

Okay, it makes sense that the EU does not want an overproduction of grapes, which could lead to too much wine production. The EU is having difficulties and three of the countries in the news are Greece, Spain and Italy. Exactly where are they going to come up with the funds to pay the fine?

There must be other solutions to the problem of overproduction of vineyards. Create wines that can be aged for years. Not every year is phenomenal and eventually supplies will moderate. Use the grapes to produce things other than wine. Rather than creating wine during years of production why not produce 100 percent juice from the varietals. In our travels we have come across wineries that do produce juice and we have found it to be delicious. It’s also a great way to taste particular varietal grapes.

It seems easy to say let’s fine them but it’s harder to think outside of the box. Maybe the EU should think outside the box.

Cheers,
Kathy