Apply for new vineyards for wine

Source: BUS Rheinland-Pfalz

If you are a winegrower, new vineyards must generally be approved. To do this, you must submit an application to the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (BLE).

Before submitting the application, you must check whether you are allowed to grow wine on the area or whether there are other legal restrictions, for example due to nature conservation.

Depending on the federal state, it is possible that the cultivation area for new plantings is restricted in certain areas. Preference is then given to steep slopes (slopes of 15 percent or more) for approval. You must submit a certificate from the responsible state authority.

Further proof may be required if vineyards are to be used for agricultural or quality wine with a designation of origin (protected designation of origin, PDO or protected geographical indication, PGI).

Please note that you must plant the vineyards within three years if you have a permit. If you do not plant or only plant incompletely, the competent state authority can impose a fine of up to EUR 20,000 per hectare.

In some cases, you do not need a permit for new plantings. This only applies under certain conditions, for example if you grow house wine as a hobby.

You must apply for approval in writing:

Download the "Application for approval of new plantings for vines" from the website of the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (BLE).
For certain areas, you must also apply for a "Geographical Indication Certificate" from the competent state authority in addition to the application (this also applies to those states in which restrictions are imposed by state ordinances on the granting of permits for areas outside the cultivation areas).
Complete the application in full, enclose the required documents and send the application to the BLE.
The BLE will then check your application.
Once the examination has been completed, you will receive a notification from the BLE.

Proof that you own the area applied for (extract from the land register, purchase/lease agreement or current extract from the EU vineyard register)
for certain areas: Certificate from the competent state authority regarding the usable geographical indication (protected designation of origin, PDO/protected geographical indication, PGI) for federal states in which state regulations with cultivation restrictions for areas outside the cultivation areas exist
for steep slopes: certificate from the competent state authority stating the respective slope gradient

Apply for new vineyards for wine

Process flow

Requirements

Which documents are required?

What are the fees?

What deadlines do I have to pay attention to?

Processing duration

Legal basis

Appeal

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