Member of the European Parliament have given their backing to legislation to enhance protection and support for Europe’s wine producers and address the challenges they currently face.
In approving the provisional agreement reached with EU member states on 4 December last year, MEPs voted for clearer labels for alcohol free and reduced alcohol wines.
On de-alcoholised wines, the term ‘alcohol-free’ accompanied by the expression ‘0.0%’ will be able to be used if the strength of the product does not exceed 0.05% alcohol-by-volume. Products the strength of which is above 0.5% volume but at the same time are already at least 30% lower than the standard alcoholic strength of the category of wine before de-alcoholisation, should be labelled as ‘alcohol reduced’.
In response to severe natural disasters, extreme weather conditions or plant disease outbreaks, winegrowers will receive additional support. The text also foresees the use of EU funds for so-called “grubbing up”. The national payment ceiling for wine distillation and green harvesting will be set at 25% of the global available funds per member state.
And producers will receive additional support to promote wine tourism. Measures to incentivise economic growth in rural areas and promote quality European wines in third countries would be eligible for up to 60% EU financing, while member states could add up to 30% for small and medium enterprises and 20% for bigger companies. eligible activities could include information and promotional initiatives such as advertising, events, exhibitions and studies. They could be financed for three years, renewable twice to cover a total of nine years.
