New EU rules for “organic wine”, which will be published in the Official Journal, have been agreed in the Standing Committee on Organic Farming (SCOF). Thus, the term “organic wine” will be allowed to use by organic wine growers on the labels. In addition, the labels must also show the EU-organic-logo and the code number of their certifier.

The Standing Committee on Organic Farming (SCOF) reached an agreement on the new EU rules for “organic wine”. Once the rules will be published in the Official Journal, that will be in the coming weeks, the term “organic wine” will be allowed to use by organic wine growers on the labels. Furthermore, the labels must also show the EU-organic-logo and the code number of their certifier, and must respect other wine labelling rules. With this piece of legislation, the EU organic farming is now complete and covers all agricultural products.

On the new regulation, the general wine-making rules defined in the Wine CMO regulation will also apply, and establishes a subset of oenological (wine-making) practices and substances for organic wines defined in the Wine Common Market Organisation (CMO) regulation 606/2009. For example, sorbic acid and desulfurication will not be allowed and the level of sulphites in organic wine must be at least 30-50 mg per litre lower than their conventional equivalent (depending on the residual sugar content). As well as these wine-making practices, “organic wine” must of course also be produced using organic grapes – as defined under Regulation 834/2007.

According to the Commission, the new rules have the advantage of improved transparency and better consumer recognition besides to facilitate the internal market. They will strengthen the position of EU organic wines at international level, since many other wine producing countries (USA, Chile, Australia, South Africa) have already established standards for organic wines. The EU annonced the entry into force of the Agreement with Australia about wine commerce.