Comparative analysis — Ordinance No. 314/2024/1 vs Ordinance No. 312/2022 (amendments to Ordinance No. 26/2017)

Main changes introduced by Ordinance No. 314/2024/1

The first major development concerns the indication of provenance. The Ordinance now requires an express reference to the Member State in which the grapes were harvested and transformed into wine, using closed formulas such as “wine of …”, “produced in …” or “product of …”.

Where a wine is made from a blend originating in several Member States, the wording is also closed: the label must use the formula “Blend of wines produced in … and …”, followed by the names of the Member States involved.

The 2024 amendment also introduces minimum type sizes for the provenance indication, except for wines protected by PDO or PGI: 3 mm for containers up to 200 ml, 5 mm for containers above 200 ml and up to 1000 ml, and 10 mm for containers above 1000 ml.

• The anti-misleading clause is reinforced, prohibiting trade marks, images or terms capable of misleading the consumer as to provenance.
• The competences of the Regional Autonomous authorities are expressly clarified, replacing IVV where regional law so requires.
• Article 12 now expressly admits additional traditional designations such as “clarete”, “jeropiga”, “palhete”, “sparkling still wine” and “mass wine”, where legally applicable.
• The mention “late harvest / late picking” is admitted only for PDO/PGI wines satisfying technical overripeness conditions and a minimum natural alcoholic strength of 15% vol.

What did not change

The notification regime through SIVV remains in place, as do the obligations concerning the public availability of labels introduced in 2022.

The rules on partially dealcoholised and dealcoholised wine products remain in force, as does the requirement to identify the national operator where bottling of a Portuguese PDO/PGI wine takes place outside Portugal.

Practical compliance checklist

In practice, operators should verify provenance statements before design approval, rather than treating them as a last-minute labelling detail.

The 2024 Ordinance also changes the transitional regime. The new rules apply immediately upon entry into force, but existing stocks may only be marketed until the end of the current wine campaign.

• For wine made from grapes and vinification in another Member State, include the exact provenance formula and comply with the mandatory type size.
• For blends of wines from different Member States, use only the closed formula provided by law.
• For Portuguese wines, assess whether an additional traditional designation under Article 12 is lawful and commercially appropriate.
• For “late harvest”, confirm the PDO/PGI status and the technical thresholds before using the mention on the label.