DESIGNATIONS OF ORIGIN WITHIN THE EU: LEGAL CHALLENGES 41 Regarding the horizontal Regulation, it is possible to identify several dissimilarities in this definition of the designation of origin for wine, most of which boiling down to shades of meaning: 1) the system seeks to focus, in terms of its scope, specifically on wine (including varieties such as liquor sparkling and others), which is the core difference; 2) the wording of 2013 brings in, unlike those of 2008 and the horizontal Regulation, the fact that a designation of origin being the name of a country should be duly justified. In effect, we should understand that any exception, whatever the case might be, should be justified; 3) the grapes having to be grown in the geographical area – which does not make it stand out from the rest of the DOs – is coupled with the protection being confined to a specific vine variety as a guarantee of quality; 4) the connection between quality and the environment is vigorously and more sharply drawn, however, they appear to resist calibration: it appeals to its “quality and characteristics” as opposed to the “quality or characteristics” in Regulation No 1151/2012; this, it would appear, seeks to impose an unspecific requirement of “quality”, steering away from specific – and maybe more dispassionate – “characteristics” of the product; 5) these quality and characteristics are to be attributed “essentially or exclusively” due to the environment, rather than “fundamentally or exclusively”: the contrast between “essential” and “fundamental” may suggest a greater reliance on the environment of the former; and 6) the new Regulation makes use of “particular geographical environment” as a determining factor of quality and characteristics, instead of “geographical location” as used in the 2012 Regulation. This should be understood as an interest in placing greater emphasis on human intervention in wine production. It is then appropriate to assess the peculiarities identified in Regulation No 1308/2013 for wine designations against general regulations. They seem to do a disservice in bringing in nuances of very little relevance for the winemaking industry. It could well have limited itself to referencing the notion established by the 2012 Regulation – which would then become a truly horizontal regulation – simply alluding to the relevant peculiarities that might be confined to the
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