Italy breaks a taboo, green light for dealcoholised wines

Until now, a drink with an alcohol content of less than 8.5 degrees could not be called 'wine'. Now, with the publication on the website of the Ministry of Agriculture of the implementing provisions of the decree on dealcolates, this rule falls, a regulatory gap is overcome and, above all, a taboo in the world's largest wine-producing country and the cradle of the Mediterranean Diet falls. "It is possible," reads the decree, "to partially or totally reduce the alcohol content of wines, sparkling wines, quality sparkling wines, quality aromatic sparkling wines, aerated sparkling wines, sparkling wines and aerated semi-sparkling wines.

Nothing changes for certified denomination wines: in Italy the total and/or partial dealcoholisation process cannot be carried out for the categories of wine products with protected designation of origin (PDO) and protected geographical indication (PGI). The ministerial decree is, Masaf points out, currently being registered with the control bodies and obviously nothing will change for this New Year's Eve toast. As of the next one, however, that of 2025, it will be possible to raise glasses of alcohol-free wine, i.e. wine with a low or zero alcohol content, not only teetotallers, pregnant women, professional sportsmen, public transport drivers and conductors, people of other religious beliefs, in short, those who do not drink wine. But also the many who are experimenting with self-regulation in drinking at the table because of the new Highway Code. A novelty then that affects everyone.

"In Italy, 36% of consumers are interested in consuming alcohol-free beverages; in the United States, an incubator of trends especially among young people, the Nolo (no and low alcohol) market is already worth one billion dollars," emphasised the Secretary General of the Italian Wine Union (UIV), Paolo Castelletti, during Vinitaly. "These products," said Swg analyst, Riccardo Grassi, on the basis of a survey by Swg and the Uiv-Vinitaly Wine Observatory, "interest first and foremost a potential one million non-alcoholic drinkers, in addition to a number of consumers of wine or other beverages (14 million) who consider them an alternative for consumption in specific situations, such as driving.

Federvini President Micaela Pallini is satisfied: 'The signing of the decree on dealcoholised and partially dealcoholised wines by the Minister of Agriculture Francesco Lollobrigida is an important step forward for the Italian wine sector. Federvini therefore welcomes this new regulatory framework, which represents a solid basis for the development of dealcoholised wines, an expanding segment capable of attracting new consumers and consolidating the competitiveness of Made in Italy in the world.