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The Parliament of the European Union has adopted the support program for the wine industry. The key points include: raising the upper limit of European aid from fifty to eighty percent of investments to adapt vineyards to climate change; more flexibility for member states in the financially supported clearing of vineyards to adjust supply to declining demand, as well as the promotion of innovations.
This also includes a standardized labeling of de-alcoholized wine. If the alcohol content of the product is less than 0.05 vol-%, it may be labeled as "Wine without Alcohol 0.0 Percent". If the alcohol content is below 0.5 vol-%, it is called "alcohol-free wine". Products with more than 0.5 vol.-%, whose alcohol content has been reduced by at least 30 percent, are called "reduced alcohol". The EU also promotes wine tourism, marketing campaigns in export countries, and the development of flavored wines. The use of QR codes for access to ingredient and nutritional information, which has previously been regulated in the member countries, will also be simplified and standardized. Additionally, changes to planting rights have been decided.
The request to carry over unused national funding to the following year and the re-approval of the banned hybrid grape varieties Clinton, Herbemont, Isabelle, Jacquez, Noah, and Othello was rejected.
The background of the decisions is the crisis in the European wine industry, which is mainly attributed to declining consumption. The EU expects a decrease in consumption of one percent per year until 2035. The average wine consumption is expected to drop from 22.3 liters in 2024 to 19.8 liters per capita.
(al; Sources: vitisphere; La Revue du Vin de France; Image: Midjourney AI)
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