Organic wine now also alcohol-free: EU regulation amended
Winegrowers are allowed to dealcoholize
The EU Commission has given the green light: The dealcoholization of organic wine is now permitted under EU law. This means that organic winegrowers can finally benefit from the growing demand for alcohol-free wine - which is an important signal, especially in light of the overall decline in wine consumption. This is made possible by an amendment to the EU Organic Regulation, which now allows vacuum distillation. Until now, unlike conventionally produced wines, dealcoholization was not part of the oenological processes permitted for organic wine. De-alcoholized organic wines therefore lost their organic status. Federal Minister Özdemir had strongly advocated the amendment in Brussels - with success.
The Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, Cem Özdemir, commented: "A good day for organic winegrowers and a good day for all those who want to enjoy their organic wine without alcohol. I have been pushing hard for this change in Brussels - it's good that it's coming now. If you want organic, you should get organic, even in a glass. This is an important modernization of the organic regulation and a real market advantage for our German viticulture."
With the amendment to Annex II Part VI Number 3.3 of the EU Organic Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2018/848), vacuum distillation is permitted as a process for the dealcoholization of organic wine. Organic wine that is dealcoholized using this process may bear the organic label in future.
The path to the successful amendment of the regulation:
- Germany had submitted a corresponding dossier in Brussels with the support of other member states.
- The EU Commission commissioned its Expert Group for Technical Advice on Organic Production (EGTOP) with the examination.
- The group of experts came to a positive assessment and recommended approval.
- The EU Commission has now implemented this recommendation with Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/405.
The successful amendment to the organic regulation opens up an additional market for organic winegrowers - and consumers can be sure in future: Non-alcoholic organic wine also contains genuine organic ingredients.
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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