Coldiretti’s confusing controversy over ‘watered-down wine’ (1) – taken up without due fact-checking by Italic newspapers – deserves some clarity on dealcolated wine and the CAP and CMO reforms under discussion in Brussels.
De-colonized wine, reform under consideration in Brussels
The European Commission, member states, and Parliament are conducting negotiations on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform 2021-2027. (2) The implementation of which was postponed, following delays also aggravated by the pandemic, until 1.1.23. This is also the context of the debate on the reform of the CMO (Common Organization of Agricultural Markets) regulation, which has already made headlines on 20.10.20 for the great meat sounding farce (3,4).
De-alkalized wine, in the proposed reform of the CMO, could be framed through two special designations:
– dealcolated wine
, <0.5% vol. alcohol, and
– partially dealcolated wine
, 0,5-9%. For the specific purpose of ensuring that farmers and producers can access CAP funding when even the alcohol content of Bacchus nectars is declined in accordance with new market areas. Taking into account that 70% of the world’s population does not drink alcohol and its consumption is still subject to limits related to work, driving, health. (5)
Dealcolated and not watered-down wine
Wine dealcolation was introduced into European legislation beginning in 2009 as a remedy for the excessive alcohol levels associated with scorching summers and high sugars in grapes. With three strict limits:
– the practice is allowed on generic wines only. Therefore, DOP, IGP, STG DOC, DOCG are excluded,
– the reduction may not exceed 20% from the original alcohol content,
– The alcohol content of the final product must not be less than 9 degrees. (6)
The method is based on low-temperature vacuum distillation i.e. cartridge filtrations or by osmotic membrane. The addition of water is strictly prohibited outside the specific needs of adjuvant preparation. (7) Oenological practices will be defined by future acts of the Commission, guided by the sector organizations starting with OIV, Organisation Internationale de la vigne et du vin. (8)
Legitimate interests
Italy has been the world’s leading wine producer for years, but its average price remains distant from that of the other side of the Alps. And France, along with Spain and Germany, are insisting that the new definitions of partially and fully dealholed wine can also be applied to wines with Geographical Indications (GIs).
The legitimate interest is related to the prospect of increasing revenues by targeting an extraordinarily broader market that stretches from the Persian Gulf to Southeast Asia and includes consumer segments with high spending power. The Taliban in alternating phases (9) of Palazzo Rospigliosi, however, objected. In whose name?
Dario Dongo and Martina Fusaro
Cover design by Loup, Iconovox
Notes
(1) Coldiretti. EU: now Brussels wants to water down wine. Press release 6.5.21, https://www.coldiretti.it/economia/ue-ora-bruxelles-vuole-annacquare-il-vino
(2) Matthew Metta. Last Week of CAP Negotiations: What’s the Deal? ARC2020. 5/20/21, https://www.arc2020.eu/last-week-of-cap-negotiations-whats-the-deal/
(3) EU Regulation, no. 1308/2013 on the common organization of markets in agricultural products. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32013R1308.
(4) Dario Dongo. ‘Vegan meat’, meat sounding. Big show at the European Parliament. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 10/23/20, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/idee/carne-vegana-meat-sounding-grande-spettacolo-al-parlamento-europeo
(5) Dario Dongo, Andrea Adelmo Della Penna. Coronavirus, why eliminate or minimize alcoholic beverage consumption. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 6.4.20, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/salute/coronavirus-perché-eliminare-o-ridurre-al-minimo-i-consumi-di-bevande-alcoliche
(6) See reg. EC 606/09, reg. EU 1308/2013. See also International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV), Resolution 437/12 at https://www.oiv.int/public/medias/2943/oiv-oeno-437-2012-it.pdf
(7) Rather, the possibility of replenishing with water the volume corresponding to the alcohol removed by the dealcolation process is now being discussed in the European Parliament and the Council. In order to rebalance the wines, including organoleptically, with respect to the higher concentration of other components (e.g., the acids, polyphenols, salts, etc.) that would otherwise result from it
(8) OIV, in its resolution 432/12, already referred to the notion of ‘beverages obtained from the dealcoholisation of wine‘. V. https://www.oiv.int/public/medias/1911/oiv-eco-432-2012-it.pdf
(9) A famous example of ‘Talibanism in alternating phases’ is that ofItalian sounding proposed by Coldiretti with the ‘Italico’ oil project. V. Marta Strinati, Dario Dongo. Olio Italico, Coldiretti’s Italian sounding. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 6/29/18, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/mercati/olio-italico-l-italian-sounding-di-coldiretti
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
Graduated in law from the University of Verona, she attended the master's degree in lawyer and food safety consultant at the Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna.
