Brussels, 08/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - New European rules for “organic wine” were agreed in the Standing Committee on Organic Farming (SCOF) on Wednesday 8 February and will be published in the Official Journal in the next few weeks. In 2010, the overall organic grape production area in the EU was estimated at more than 75,000 hectares (ha), compared with a total wine area of nearly 3.5 million ha. The biggest organic grape areas were in Italy (30,341 ha), France (21,403 ha) and Spain (17,665 ha).
Under the terms of the new regulation, which will apply from the 2012 harvest, organic wine producers will be allowed to use the term “organic wine” on their labels. Labels will also have to display the EU organic logo and the code number of the certifier, and also comply with other wine labelling rules. While rules already exist for “wine made from organic grapes”, these do not cover wine-making practices, that is, the whole process from grape to wine. Wine is the only remaining sector not covered by EU rules on organic farming standards under Regulation 834/2007.
Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos welcomed the agreement, as it was, he said, “important to establish harmonised rules guaranteeing a clear offer to consumers who are more and more interested in organic products”. The new rules make a clear distinction between traditional and organic wines, as is the case with other organic products, he noted, giving assurances that consumers can be sure that any wine they buy as an “organic wine” will have been produced using stricter production rules.
The new rules will not only facilitate the operation of the internal market, but will also strengthen the position of EU organic wines internationally, since many other wine producing countries, such as USA, Chile, Australia, South Africa, have already established standards for organic wines.
The new regulation establishes a subset of oenological (wine-making) practices and substances for organic wines defined in the Wine Common Market Organisation (CMO) Regulation 606/2009. For example, sorbic acid and desulfurication will not be allowed and the level of sulphites in organic wine must be at least 30-50 mg per litre lower than their conventional equivalent (depending on the residual sugar content). The regulation identifies oenological techniques and substances to be authorised for organic wine. These include: maximum sulphite content set at 100 mg per litre for red wine (150 mg/l for conventional) and 150mg/l for white/rosé (200 mg/l for conventional), with a 30mg/l differential where the residual sugar content is more than 2g per litre. (LC/transl.rt)