Commission to propose new ‘zero-alcohol’ marketing term for wine

 

A slate of terms to describe low-alcohol and no-alcohol wines is set to be unveiled by the European Commission in a bid to support the growing market segment, according to a draft regulation seen by Euractiv.

The 2021 CAP introduced "de-alcoholised wine" (up to 0.5% alcohol by volume, ABV) and "partially de-alcoholised wine" (over 0.5% ABV) to the EU market.

But it's now time to make it easier for consumers to understand exactly what they are buying, according to the draft regulation, which would allow the use of terms already familiar to many drinkers such as "zero alcohol", "alcohol free", and "low alcohol".

"Zero alcohol" would be designated to mean products with ABV not exceeding 0,05 or 0,1% under the Commission draft. The numbers may still be subject to change, as they are given in square brackets in the draft regulation, which currently remains in internal consultation at the Commission. The "alcohol free" and "low alcohol" monikers, meanwhile, would correspond to the definitions already provided in the CAP. (...)