Quality control plays an important role in viticulture. This applies to the entire production process, from vineyard care to technical measures in the cellar, as well as the control of the end product through appropriate measures. The term "controlled" refers to compliance with guidelines that are regularly checked by state-licensed and/or private institutions or associations.
Quality management
Quality management (QM) refers to all organised measures that serve to improve products, processes or services of any kind. This includes the definition of quality requirements and testing procedures. Quality control is the ongoing monitoring of product quality during production as part of quality assurance. In accordance with the ISO 9000 quality management standards, the aim is not to optimise the quality of a product, but to maintain a specified and clearly defined quality level.
This may also mean ensuring a low level of quality. The product can be both material and a service provided or a process used. Quality control measures have also been common in viticulture for a long time, which requires corresponding standards. In Spanish Rioja, a document from 1650 already refers to quality control.
The six factors for wine quality are climate (micro-, macro-, meso-, topoclimate), grape variety (with regard to climate, soil type), soil type(water balance, minerality, terroir), topography(altitude, slope, proximity to water, exposure), vintage(weather conditions in the vegetation cycle) and the vinification (signature of the winemaker).
Production process (vineyard to cellar)
Winemaking is not just about obvious requirements such as hygiene, but also about clearly defined, measurable criteria. Quality control begins in the vineyard. A...
