New labelling rules for wines

EU Regulation 2021/2117, published on 6 December 2021, amended EU Regulation 1308/2013 on agricultural products. From 8 December 2023, it requires the labelling of two additional items of information for wines and vine products:

• the nutrition declaration referred to in Article 9(1)(l) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers
• the list of ingredients referred to in Article 9(1)(b) of Regulation 1169/2011

Wines, liqueur wines, sparkling wines, semi-sparkling wines and grape musts are all affected by these displays.

The mandatory nutrition declaration includes the following elements:

• energy value ;
• the amount of fat, including saturated fatty acids;
• the quantity of carbohydrates, including sugars;
• the amount of protein ;
• the amount of salt.

The content of this nutritional declaration on the label may be limited to the energy value alone, using the E symbol followed by the value, provided that the details of the nutritional declaration and the list of ingredients can be consulted electronically via a QR code, for example.

Ingredients must be labelled in descending order of their importance by weight at the time they are used in the manufacture of the foodstuff. Ingredients that account for less than 2% of the finished product may be listed in a different order after the other ingredients.

Flavourings, food additives and food enzymes are included in the definition of an ingredient and must be labelled. Allergenic ingredients (sulphites, ovalbumin, lysozyme, casein) must also be labelled in accordance with Article 21 of Regulation 1169/2011.

However, wines and vine products produced before 8 December 2023 are not affected by these new labelling rules and may be marketed until stocks run out. On the other hand, all wines and vine products produced from 8 December 2023 onwards will have to comply with these two new obligations.

At the end of November, the European Commission published a Q&A on the implementation of these new labelling provisions. Phytocontrol laboratory can analyse nutritional values in wine and vine products. You can consult our COFRAC technical appendix N°1-1904 available in your customer area or on the COFRAC website.