The new CAP, the Common Agricultural Policy, which will come into force from January 2023 (the current one extended until the end of 2022) opens to partially alcohol-free wines even among the PDO and PGI ones. negotiations are underway between the Council and the European Parliament. On 25 and 26 May there will be another meeting between the negotiators, which will have all the dossiers concerning the new agricultural policy on the table. But the world of wine in turmoil.
Coldiretti raised the alarm: The proposal foresees to authorize the total or partial elimination of alcohol in the context of oenological practices with the possibility of adding water. But in the evening arrived the clarification of the EU Commission: The proposal does not contain any reference to the addition of water to wine to maintain the initial volume of product when you want to reset the alcohol content to market alcohol-free wines. And MEP Paolo De Castro (Pd), reference point in Brussels for Italian agri-food companies, explained that no rules can be imposed on winemakers, because the final choice on a possible modification of their product will remain in their hands, with the necessary changes to the strict internal production regulations of the PDO and PGI. For De Castro, a wine without alcohol cannot be defined as suchThis is why the EU Parliament has always spoken out against it, even if we understand the commercial and export opportunities that low alcoholic wines would have in some markets.
Of this opinion too the Italian Wines Union, which is said to be attentive to the issue of de-alcoholated wines. For the general secretary Paolo Castelletti it is important that these new categories remain within the family of wine products, as among other things recognized by the International Organization of Vine and Wine (Oiv), to prevent them from becoming the business of other industries extraneous to the wine world and therefore Italian companies responding to market requests (especially from some Asian countries). The undersecretary for agricultural and food policies Gian Marco Centinaio (Lega) is committed to defending our excellence in all the offices.
What happened? The agreement reached by the trialogue (Commission, Parliament and Council) of 26 March last, which opens to the practice of partial or total elimination of alcohol in table wine, was brought to the Special Agriculture Committee in April, which brings together the ministries of the member states. and partial in the PDO and Igp productions. The proposal found support from several Member States because, as De Castro explains, it also has an opportunity: the possibility of growing, for example, in the market of Arab countries. We are not going to take anything away from what already exists, creating a huge opportunity in those markets that do not consume alcoholic beverages. Think of non-alcoholic beer. The risk of having a watered down, alcohol-free Barolo or Brunello? To clarify Bernard Farges president of the European Federation of Denomination of Origin wines, Efow: it is important to remember that the appellation must and can maintain control of its specifications. Furthermore, there is always national legislation: Italy and Spain, for example, do not allow sugar to be used to increase the alcohol content of wine, a practice which is admitted in other EU countries.
Coldiretti remains critical For President Ettore Prandini, alcohol removal represents a big risk and a very dangerous precedent that would seriously jeopardize the identity of Italian and European wine. For the Agri-food Cooperative Alliance, dealcoholated wines must be called differently and producers must be left free to choose.