The wine producers on the other side of the Channel are coming under pressure.

They have escaped having to face market realism the rest of the agricultural industry has faced since the introduction of the new-look market oriented CAP. They have ignored market signals. They have lost market share to New World wines. They have over-produced regardless of quality.

They have produced the proverbial wine lake. And turning the wine lake into commercial alcohol costs taxpayers billions.

But EU agricultural commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel has said enough is enough.

Her objective is to create a wine regime that operates through clear, simple and effective rules to balance supply and demand, strengthen the reputation of EU quality wines, recover old markets and win new ones, while preserving the best of the European wine traditions.

The payback for the current support mechanism is that wine producers have to abide by a raft of restrictive measures.

There are controls on the methods used to produce the wine, restrictions on labelling and a ban on new plantings.

The restrictions create a closed shop; stifle initiative, innovation, restructuring and competitiveness and do nothing to improve overall quality.

But how will these changes affect English and Welsh wine producers?

Jonty Daniels, of Astley Vineyards, said: "In the past, much of wine produced here has not been able to compete on quality, but with improved knowledge, skills and changes to the climate, they are now able to compete with the best wines from anywhere around the world, especially English sparkling, now regarded as a world leader, with the demand for English wine exceeding supply."

But he was apprehensive about the threat of English and Welsh producers becoming trapped by EU bureaucracy.

Each EU region is allocated a threshold below which they do not have to comply with the restrictive legislation.

Fortunately, the amount of wine produced in England and Wales has not breached the threshold and has allowed growers to increase their area of vines and be free to use production methods and labelling not allowed on the Continent.

However, the area covered by English vineyards has increased dramatically. Many established and new growers are taking the opportunity to plant more vines before the threatened planting ban is imposed.

Even French growers who cannot expand at home are establishing vineyards in south east England to avoid the planting ban across the Channel.

The increased area of vines will have a dramatic impact when it comes on stream in two years time.

The extra wine produced will breach the English/Welsh threshold and our growers will then become subjected to the restrictions imposed by the Commission if Mariann Fisher Boel's plan to loosen up planting rights and other anomalies, which is fully supported by English growers, is not accepted by Continental producers.

There are 16 registered vineyards in Herefordshire and the outcome of the Brussels wine regime deliberations could have serious repercussions on their future.

Currently, they produce some 150,000 to 160,000 bottles of wine annually, worth around £1.2 million, with the county's producers increasing production to meet the expanding market for their high quality wines.

Mark James, from Broad Field Court, one of the largest wine producers in the county, said: "The status quo, favoured by producers on the Continent, inhibits competitiveness and innovation, while encouraging overproduction of poor quality wines.

"Disposing of the surpluses is an unacceptable burden on the EU budget and is unsustainable. There is a need for a fresh approach to encourage the industry to become more competitive by producing world quality wines, unencumbered by unjustified restrictive EU legislation.

"To safeguard the future for English and Welsh wine production, it is essential the EU wine regime is reformed."