Even in antiquity, attempts were made to increase the quality of wine through appropriate laws and regulations and to prevent abuse. There is a lot of written evidence about this from many authors (see under the keyword literature). The oldest wine law comes from the Babylonian ruler Hammurabi (1728-1686 BC), whose empire at that time encompassed almost all of Mesopotamia. The law of the Roman Republic also regulated the sale (especially wholesale) of wine and defined in the individual laws what quality guarantee the buyer could expect and how the wine could be marketed. In the individual countries, quality criteria and classes were already introduced in the early Middle Ages. Emperor Charlemagne (742-814) enacted corresponding laws.
![]()
The wein.plus encyclopaedia is a comprehensive, well-researched reference work. Available anytime and anywhere, it has become an indispensable part of teaching, used by students and myself alike. Highly recommended!
Dominik Trick
Technischer Lehrer, staatl. geprüfter Sommelier, Hotelfachschule Heidelberg