DO Bierzo has achieved a partial victory in its protest against the planned addition of Godello to DO Rueda’s grape catalog. The issue at hand is the inclusion of Godello as a “secondary variety” in the Rueda region. In early October, the Bierzo Regulatory Council formally submitted a complaint to the Castile and León Regional Government’s department responsible for approvals. On October 28, the government suspended authorization for Godello in Rueda until the dispute is resolved.
Godello is primarily grown in Valdeorras and Bierzo, with smaller plantings found in other Galician regions and northern Portugal. In Rueda, however, the grape has played a minimal role to date. DO Bierzo cited this limited regional connection as the basis of its complaint, arguing that DO Rueda’s regulatory council had failed to prove that Godello is rooted in the area—an essential requirement for a protected designation of origin. According to Bierzo representatives, this lack of regional linkage renders the approval legally questionable. They further argued that introducing non-native varieties threatens the tradition and typicity of regions where these grapes are indigenous.
In response to the complaint, DO Rueda noted that Godello has been cultivated in the region since 1996, though it provided no volume data. The council emphasized that it does not intend to infringe on the identity of other regions and remains committed to Verdejo as Rueda’s flagship grape. Verdejo accounted for about 90% of the total 2023 grape harvest in Rueda. Reacting to the suspension, DO Rueda expressed confidence that the final decision will “reflect the realities of the viticulture sector without considering extraneous factors unrelated to the world of wine.” MS
