Sussex wine to join "family of special products" after obtaining Protected Designation of Origin status

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) announced on July 5 that it recognised Sussex wine as a PDO.

A PDO is the name of a geographical region or specific area that is recognized by official rules to produce certain foods with special characteristics related to location.

Lewes MP, Maria Caulfield, praised Sussex vineyards for the receiving the designation.

Ms Caulfield said: “We have some fantastic local vineyards in the Lewes constituency including Rathfinny, Breaky Bottom, Plumpton, and Ridgeview along with many others across Sussex, who make beautiful wines.

"Sussex wines having become extremely popular in recent years and this PDO designation will only help spread awareness of Sussex as a wine producing region and increase demand for these brilliant products. Sussex wine would be joining the family of special products which includes Scotch Whisky, Welsh Lamb and Herefordshire Cider.”

Still and sparkling wines can only be called ‘Sussex’ if they are grown in the region – which encompasses the counties of West Sussex and East Sussex – and meet a strict set of conditions.

These include being made in the traditional method, predominantly from classic sparkling wine grape varieties grown within the region.

It must also have a minimum abv of 11%, a minimum of 6 grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid, a maximum of 0.5 grams per litre expressed as acetic acid and a maximum of 150mg per litre of sulphur dioxide.

In a letter to Maria Caulfield MP, DEFRA Minister Victoria Prentis wrote: “The move, possible thanks to our departure from the European Union, will encompass Sussex sparkling, still and origin wines.

"GI status provides a guarantee to consumers that the product they are buying is the real thing and prevents imitation products.

"The recognition means Sussex wine joins the family of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) registered products from across the UK and beyond, and will help Sussex PDO wine producers communicate the excellence of their product to consumers.

"This news will further boost jobs, skills and the local economy”

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