The Regulatory Council of the Bierzo Designation of Origin has obtained accreditation from the National Accreditation Entity (ENAC), which makes it the first Designation of Origin in Castilla León for wines with the capacity to certify the production of wines according to the international quality standard UNE-EN ISO 17065 for product certification.
This accreditation reinforces the quality guarantee commitment of the Designation of Origin and its wineries with the most demanding international quality systems, which means a guarantee of confidence for consumers and greater agility in marketing.
The Bierzo Designation of Origin began the process of obtaining accreditation in June 2018. One year later, both the Regulatory Council and the wineries had already adapted to the new quality system in a preliminary way. In order to carry out the process successfully, the Bierzo wine control body organised several workshops to inform the wineries about the changes they had to undertake. In addition, the Control Board, as well as its wineries, underwent an audit by ENAC, which was passed with flying colours.
According to the president of the Bierzo Designation of Origin, Misericordia Bello, "this accreditation generates security and will further strengthen our brand as a guarantee of high quality wines. It is a clear commitment to consolidate our wines in national and international markets".
THE NEW CERTIFICATION PROCESS
In order to carry out this new and rigorous certification process, it has been necessary to adapt the chapters and technical control instructions of the Control Board and the active involvement of the wineries. The wineries, in addition to the obligatory compliance with the Specifications, must carry out self-control of the product (sample analysis and records) and self-qualification of the batches of grapes and wine. For its part, the Bierzo Regulatory Council will verify compliance with this self-monitoring, take samples for verification, carry out the monitoring and grant the quality certificates. Finally, it is ENAC who endorses the Control System of the Control Board, provided that - as is the case - the Specifications have been previously approved by ITACYL.
By obtaining this accreditation, which makes the Bierzo Designation of Origin a certifying body, the Castilla y León Agricultural Technological Institute (ITACYL) delegates the control tasks that it carried out with this designation as the competent authority.
AN ADDED VALUE
According to ENAC, this accreditation is a tool increasingly used by companies "as they find added value in terms of efficiency and safety". Recognised and accepted in more than 100 countries, it "makes it possible to open up new markets and facilitates access to public procurement".
With this achievement, the Bierzo Designation of Origin complies with the requirements of the CMO which obliges all the control bodies of the European Regulatory Councils -responsible for certifying wines protected by designations of origin- to follow the requirements of the UNE-EN ISO/IEC 17065 Standard.
