Should it be called wine even if there is no alcohol? Ongoing dispute between producers and minister

"The use of the term 'wine' should be authorised for dealcoholised wines as provided for in the relevant Community legislation. The use of the term 'wine' should therefore also be extended to dealcolates'. This was stated by the Italian Wine Union in the aftermath of the statement by the Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida, who, at the 20th anniversary celebrations of the Grands Institute, had said that "a regulation to regulate dealcolates will be in place and will be drawn up by the Ministry of Agriculture because the sector is asking for it, but I will fight to the last to prevent these drinks from being called wine".

Minister Lollobrigida's statement, in addition to the terminological issue, also touched on another point that had alarmed Italian wine producers in recent days: the real short-circuit that had arisen in recent weeks when an amendment to the excise decree had contemplated the introduction of an excise tax on dealcoholised wines. This was a real thunderbolt, since it envisaged the introduction of an excise duty on products, dealcoholised wines, that cannot be produced in Italy at the moment. At the moment, in fact, the 2016 Testo Unico del Vino is still in force, which states that for a drink to be called 'wine' it must have a minimum alcoholic strength of 8.5 degrees.

For these reasons, Italian producers who in recent years have tried to make dealcoholised wines to meet a growing demand in international markets have had to go abroad to produce them.

Now then a first important clarification. The Mef regulation on new excise duties has been withdrawn and the regulatory framework on this segment of Italian wine production will be prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty. "Now, having overcome the impasse," commented the Italian Wine Union, "it is necessary for the Ministry of Agriculture to approve the decree as soon as possible, taking into account the main elements already discussed with the supply chain. These include the dealcoholisation process that will have to take place in specially dedicated premises; a ban on the practice for PDO/PGI wines; considering the residual hydroalcoholic solution (mains water, between 95% and 99.9%) as waste and therefore not subject to excise duty. UIV trusts that in the coming weeks Masaf will be able to convene the organisations to present the new decree proposal'.

On the terminological node, finally, UIV also recalled how an EU Regulation of 2021 sanctions the obligation to call this product 'dealcoholised wine' or 'partially dealcoholised'. "Italian companies," UIV concluded, "are therefore asking to be able to operate under the same conditions as their European competitors, applying the word 'wine' to dealcoholised products.