GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Current Swiss regulations governing names of wines and spirits are now covered by the bilateral treaty with the European Union. Amendments to annexes 7 and 8, which list all legal names for products in the two categories, were revised with effect from 4 May.

The main change, but it is a significant one, is that a name is now protected whether or not its location of origin is mentioned.

Bern offers the example of what would in the past have required registration as Damassine d’Ajoie but which under the new rules may be registered simply in the list of spirits, annex 8, as Damassine, which provides broader protection.

Switzerland recently revamped its list of protected AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) wines and the new list of 80 products is now included in the annex 7 list of European wines. These include the new regional designations such as Lavaux and La Côte.

The two parties signed the agreement 3 May and it entered into force the next day.

The news comes just as canton Vaud, after 15 years of discussion, including two years of preparation, unveiled its first Premiers Grands Crus wines Tuesday evening 8 May, to media and then to Vaud legislators and officials.

Complete list of European wines, Annex 8 of the Swiss-EU agricultural agreement (pdf), with Swiss list at the end