How many calories do wine and sparkling wine have? What ingredients are in it? All of this should be on the label in the future. It should also be possible to refer to more detailed information on the Internet.
Ingredients, calories, fat, saturated fatty acids, carbohydrates, sugar, protein and salt – these information should also appear on wine and champagne bottles in the future. The corresponding EU regulation will apply from December 8, 2023. But the new labels will not have to be found on all wine and sparkling wine bottles, as winemakers and sparkling wine producers had initially feared.
The timing of production is important
There is a transitional provision in the EU regulation. After that, wine products that were produced before this deadline can still be sold indefinitely without the new labels, as a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Agriculture explained in Berlin.
“So it doesn’t matter whether the products are already labeled on December 8th or are already on the shelf,” emphasized the spokesman. “What is relevant is whether the products were already manufactured before December 8, 2023.”
Different Rules for wine and sparkling wine
But when is a wine considered “made”? Only when it reaches the required minimum alcohol content after fermentation and has the required acidity. “This only applies to the 2024 vintage,” said Ernst Büscher from the German Wine Institute. “An exception would be ice wine, if there is still some.”
The situation is different with sparkling wine, sparkling wine and sparkling wine. “Sparkling wine is produced when it has reached the required pressure after the second fermentation,” explained the ministry spokesman. Sparkling and semi-sparkling wines with added carbon dioxide are considered to have been produced using this addition – regardless of the base wine.
Mulled wine is only considered made after it has been flavored
Due to the definition of the time of production, sparkling wine drinks will only gradually come onto the market with the complete list of ingredients and nutritional values from December 8th, explained a spokeswoman for the Association of German Sparkling Wine Cellars.
Different rules apply to mulled wine: According to the EU regulation, flavored wine products are only considered to have been produced after they have been flavored. “The declaration cannot be based on the year of birth alone,” emphasized the ministry spokesman.
Digital solution with QR code possible
Winegrowers and industry associations had welcomed the transparency created by the new regulation, but expressed concerns about the additional bureaucratic effort and open questions of detail. The possibility of a digital solution was positively received.
The information on the labels can either be printed – or can be accessed via a QR code, which then refers to relevant documents or websites, as the ministry spokesman explains. However, there are no clear guidelines as to how the QR code or link should be labeled on the label.
The Federal Ministry considers an “i” for information to be sufficient, but the European Commission does not. Rather, in their opinion, clearer information is needed, such as “ingredients” and “nutritional values”. And the countries responsible for control in Germany followed this interpretation.