Our Charter of Commitments
1. Operators of the VOLCANIC ORIGIN brand are members of VINORA and are subject to an authorization check for the use of the Volcanic Origin guarantee brand.
2. A minimum 85% of the grapes sourced (all origins: PDO, PGI, Vin de France table wine, etc.) to make a wine claiming “Volcanic Origin” must provenance from a volcanic-soil terroir.
3. A terroir is qualified as ‘volcanic’ if it contains volcanic rock formed by effusive eruption (e.g. basalt) or allied pyroclastic deposits (e.g. pozzolan, pumice, peperite) or broken and weathered volcanic material.
4. It is not authorized to make any substantial change to the morphology of the relief and the natural pattern of soil horizons in vineyard plots intended as provenance for Guarantee Mark wines.
5. These volcanic-soil vineyard plots are identifiable on established geological survey maps (produced by the BRGM in France and equivalent agencies in other countries). Soil-test results, issued by accredited soil testing laboratories and proving evidence of established volcanic rock or allied pyroclastic deposits or broken and weathered volcanic material, are to be furnished for counter-verification.
6. The “Volcanic Origin” label is awarded every year, cuvée by cuvée, following internal assessment by VINORA and on the basis of a sworn statement signed by the member. An external assessment by a conformity assessment body will be carried out every year on a handful of certified cuvées selected randomly or purposely, and working to a percentage determined by VINORA.
7. The member winemakers warrant to be fully paid-up (membership fees, right to use the guarantee mark and VOLCANIC ORIGIN stick-on badges optional) before they can start commercializing volcanic-certified cuvées*.
8. Use of the Volcanic Origin logo per our graphic charter (as a sticker/badge or on the cuvée’s back label) compels adherence to our wider charter governing use of the guarantee mark.
9. The member winemakers warrant to inform VINORA of any and all changes in their structure (legal status, vineyard plots purchased/repurposed, etc.).
10. The member winemakers make these commitments in their own name and, where applicable, in the name of their legal entity.
*Each cuvée declared as on-label by the member and validated as on-label by VINORA will be invoiced to the member per the arrangements below:
– 0.05 € per bottle for the first 20,000 bottles
– 0.03 € for subsequent bottles
Where an estate declares one or more cuvées, the estate will need to pay up a single one-time annual VINORA membership fee of €300 inclusive of taxes.
Users of the VOLCANIC ORIGIN label can ask VINORA to send them their quota of VOLCAN ORIGIN stick-on badges, which is calculated on the basis of on-label volume declared.
