Abstract: This paper systematically reviews the application of agricultural unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for plant protection spraying in European vineyards, examines the evolution of the EU plant protection regulatory framework, and discusses the applicability potential and existing limitations of UAVs within European vineyard plant protection systems from economic and application perspectives. The development background and technological evolution of agricultural UAV-based plant protection in European vineyards are further reviewed, along with the upgrade of UAV spraying technologies enabled by precision agricultural aviation and artificial intelligence. The regulatory frameworks, technical pathways, and industrial development of UAV-based plant protection are compared in three major grape-producing regions of China, Europe and the United States. From five perspectives, including canopy deposition uniformity, spray drift management, operator protection, mitigation of agricultural environmental pollution, and control of pesticide residues in fruit, the review demonstrates that ground-based and UAV spraying represent two parallel technical pathways within vineyard plant protection systems rather than mutually substitutive approaches. These findings provide theoretical and practical references for promoting UAV spraying in vineyards of China, advancing green and pesticide-reduction-oriented pest management, and improving relevant industry standards.