The impact of regulation and traceability on the quality wine industry: a step towards transparency and territorial embeddedness of production

The paper first discusses the context of economic problems that should be regulated by wine institutions. Secondly, the recent evolution of regulation is discussed. The historical development of the idea of traceability is then presented as a solution for the weakening of the territorial embeddedness of winemaking. This concept was originated to grant food safety, to control the whole process of production as a means of assuring a rapid intervention in case of problems of contamination or low quality. Recently, this idea has acquired a different meaning in relation to sophisticated patterns of consumption. In fact, it helps the collection and formalisation of information on the history of products, allowing communication of a specific quality related to a place of origin and to the techniques of production. Traceability is therefore used to produce value for the consumer, particularly in superior goods.