Brussels, 08/11/2007 (Agence Europe) - Following a meeting on 5 November with the German agriculture minister, Horst Seehofer, the European Commission is reported to have given guarantees that there is no danger of not being allowed to use the name 'wine' for alcoholic beverages made from fruit. Since the October Agriculture Council, Germany and other member states have been concerned about the initial reform plans for the EU's wine industry, which defined 'wine' only as a product made from grapes, thereby ruling out wine made from other fruit, like Apfelwein (apple wine) which is produced in large quantities near Frankfurt-am-Main in Germany (see EUROPE 9537).
At her meeting with Seehofer, EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel is reported to have assured him that a solution would be found to allow Apfelwein and other wine made from fruit and berries to continue to be legally sold as wine. Fischer Boel also phoned the minister-president of the Land of Hesse in Germany, assuring him that the term Apfelwein was not under threat. Apfelwein is made out of nothing but apples with no added sugar. It has 5.5% alcohol, less than traditional wine made out of grapes.
A spokesperson for Fischer Boel confirmed that at the moment, the text under discussion does not include wine made from fruit and berries in the definition of the word 'wine', but added that the Commission was aware of the concerns of various member states and would do all it could to find a pragmatic solution in December to suit everyone. (L.C.)