More than two thirds of the wines imported into the EU via the port of Hamburg fail food inspections.
Petra Grauer, wine expert at the Institute for Hygiene and the Environment, said on Monday that 71 percent of the 208 controls carried out by customs and the consumer protection agency last year were objected to.
Far from all wines are checked upon import.
However, the number of complaints has increased continuously since 2018.
According to Grauer, up to 5,000 wines from non-EU countries are registered for import in Hamburg every year.
This makes Hamburg the most important wine import city in Germany.
"Many of these imports come not only from classic wine countries such as South Africa, Chile or Argentina, but also from special wine-growing regions such as Japan, Brazil or Turkey." The wines reached the EU internal market when they arrived in Hamburg.
"The Hanseatic city therefore has an important guardian function to control the importability of the wines."
Ingredients, composition and labeling are checked according to EU specifications.
Food chemists and wine experts would also taste the wines as part of a sensory analysis.
"For example, a Sauvignon blanc should taste like one," the authority said.
The most common reasons for a complaint are inadequate labeling of the wines or incorrect information in the import documents.
There is only rarely a health risk when consuming faulty wines.