Wine moves across more borders, and more regulatory systems, than almost any other agricultural product. The rules governing its production, composition and labelling are largely written before most producers ever see them.
FIVS is the only wine-sector organisation with direct observer access to Codex Alimentarius, the Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin (OIV), and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) — the bodies where many future national wine rules originate.
We use that access to make the case for workable, fair rules of production: standards that support a competitive operating environment, encourage innovation, and promote quality, while minimising the number of divergent national requirements the industry must manage.
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FIVS as an official observer at Codex Alimentarius
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international organisations: FIVS represents wine at Codex Alimentarius, OIV & WIPO
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of global wine production represented through FIVS membership
FIVS is the only alcohol body with official observer status at Codex, a position held for over 40 years. We engage to ensure Codex standards support international wine trade rather than inadvertently creating barriers to it — advocating for international recognition of wine additives, appropriate labelling, and support for e-labelling.
FIVS represents the industry's voice at the OIV thanks to our observer status, working to build consensus and keep the organisation focused on issues that matter to the wine sector. Our aim is unified rules and standards, not a patchwork of divergent national requirements.
Our advocacy is grounded in sound science. FIVS convenes one of the most significant gatherings of industry technical expertise at international level, and produces scientific papers that support the appropriate regulation of wine in countries around the world.
In 2013, FIVS members endorsed (by consensus) a set of Good Regulatory Principles for wine, a ground-breaking framework that has since informed government positions and continues to be developed through technical implementation papers.
Wine additive regulation varies enormously from one market to the next — APACE brings it together in one place.
This comprehensive online database catalogues winemaking additives and processing aids approved around the world. It gives regulators the technological justifications and scientific evaluations required to assess new additives and processing aids with confidence.
As wildfires become a fact of life for wine regions worldwide, the industry needs a shared, reliable way to measure their effect on wine.
FIVS is leading efforts to modernise and standardise fire-impact testing, and ran a proficiency-testing programme comparing laboratory practices worldwide for fire-impact markers in wine — building the consistency the sector will need as fire risk continues to rise.
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Rules & Standards
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Press
16 April 2026
