Germany’s authorities needs to vary European Union guidelines to permit alcohol-free wines to be labelled as natural, its Agriculture Ministry mentioned on Sunday.
“Whoever needs to drink alcohol-free wine must also find a way to take action with natural high quality,” mentioned German Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir in a press launch.
Below the present EU guidelines, the method of eradicating alcohol causes an in any other case natural wine to lose its licensed standing, as a result of that course of is not on the whitelist of permitted strategies for producing natural wine.
Berlin subsequently needs to amend an annex to the EU regulation on natural manufacturing and labelling of natural merchandise.
“With the assist of different member states, Germany has submitted an software in Brussels for the dealcoholization of natural wine to be permitted underneath EU legislation,” the ministry’s press launch mentioned.
The press launch mentioned that the European Fee – the one EU physique that may formally suggest new EU legal guidelines – has convened an impartial group of natural manufacturing consultants to contemplate the removing of alcohol by vacuum distillation.
In response to the assertion, the fee has promised to “promptly submit a draft regulation to incorporate vacuum distillation” if the knowledgeable group provides a constructive evaluation of the tactic.
The ministry’s assertion was launched in anticipation of Özdemir’s go to to the EUROVINO wine honest, being held on Sunday and Monday in Karlsruhe, southwestern Germany.