Organic wine: less sulfites and protection of Italian practices. Ahead of the revision of the organic wine regulation at Vinitaly, the Italian proposal is discussed
Ahead of the amendment of EU Regulation 203/2012 on the production of organic wines, which has been in effect for three years, Italy is refining its proposal. The request to the EU focuses on two aspects in particular:
- The maintenance of certain winemaking practices for the production of concentrated musts
- The reduction of adjuvants and sulfites allowed in organic wine so that the difference from conventional wine is increasingly marked.
The Italian proposal was the subject of the conference ‘The revision of organic wine regulations. The Sector Compares’, organized on March 23, 2015, as part of Vinitaly, by FederBio together with AIAB and the Italian Association for Biodynamic Agriculture.
Giacomo Mocciaro of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry explained the proposed revision under discussion in Brussels. With changes on some oenological practices on concentrated musts, the use of which is of fundamental importance for wine production in Italy.
“At a time of growth in organic wine, which has seen a 67.8 percent increase in hectares planted with vines (from 40,480 hectares in 2008 and 67,937 in 2013), it is important that the rules are clear and easily applied by companies in the sector,” stresses Paolo Carnemolla, president of FederBio.
Organic wine less sulfites and adjuvants
The end point must meet two requirements, according to Mauro Braidot of UPBIO. Says the representative of Italy’s organic and biodynamic producers, “Safeguard those practices, such as concentrated must, which are of extreme importance especially for production in regions with a strong wine-making tradition in northern Italy, and reduce adjuvants in order to further mark the difference between organic and traditional wine even in the winery.” Adjuvants include sulfites. For which Italian producers are aiming for a further reduction in permitted quantities.
