New EU rules for Organic Wine Jean-François Hulot Head of Unit DG AGRI/H3 Nuremberg, 16 February 2012.

New EU rules for Organic WineJean-François Hulot

Head of Unit DG AGRI/H3

Nuremberg, 16 February 2012

1. Why we need organic wine rules?

• No organic wine in EU• No rules for wine-making

• since 1991

EU-Regulation for plant production

• Grapes grown organically• “wine made of organic grapes”

Situation up to now:

Vin issu de

raisins cultivés

en agriculture

biologique

Organic production

• ~ 4.7 % of EU agriculture area• ~ 1.5% of EU wine growing area

• Rapidly increasing market demand

• Imports from:• Third country list: ARG, AUS, NZ

• import authorisations: Chile,

South-Africa, US, Croatia, TR, Tunisia, Uruguay

• Imports to: DE,FI,FR,BE

Organic grape production area in hectare, ESTAT

1998 2000 2004 2008 2010

BG 154 460

CZ 38 18 201

EL 1.347 2.059 3.135 3.875

ES 13.909 17.665

FR 4.874 6.879 12.557 15.419 21.403

IT 10.705 15.594 20.867 29.532 30.341

CY 15

LU 1 1 4

HU 274 527 533

NL 20 40

PL 5 84

PT 359 551 632

RO 126 604

SI 33 53 150

SK 12 53 50

UK 14 53 52 93

15.939 24.386 36.544 65.012 75.500

European Action Plan 2004

• Political orientation paper aims to implement concrete measures (21 Actions)

• Action 10:

Complete and further harmonise the standards for organic agricultureby considering whether to establish specific standards for organic wines;

The EU legal framework

• EU regulation = uniform single standard for all operators - national rules forbidden

• Private standards may go beyond

• From 1 January 2009:

• Council Regulation 834/2007 replaces old Regulation 2092/91

• Commission Regulation 889/2008 for production, labelling and control

• Commission Regulation 1235/2008 for imports

• Logo: from 1 July 2010

The EU organic Regulation

The EU legal framework CR 834/2007

Com R 889/2008

Com R 1235/2008

Guidance

Scope, objectives, principlesand general rules

specific rules onproduction:

•Plants•Livestock•Food•Feed•Yeast •Aquaculture

detailed rules onimports

detailed rules onlabelling

detailed rules oncontrol

GuidelinesWorking document controls

Logo: user manual

• Scope: agricultural products and food including wine• Objectives and principles• Flexibility – local production • Labelling:

• > 95% organic + mandatory EU-logo + code number + indication of place of farming

• Risk-based control (OFFC)

• relevant for wine-making:• Recital 7: processed food, including wine• Article 19: production rules for processed food • Article 21: criteria for substances in processing• Article 38: new implementing rules

Council Regulation 834/2007

• Detailed plant and animal production rules, labelling, control

• Processing (Article 26): • good manufacturing practices• critical processing steps• operations and storing separated by time or place

• Use of substances in processing (Article 27(1)):• reference to Annex VIII - food additives and processing aids• ….can be used, „with the exception of wine“

Commission Regulation 889/2008

2. The new rules organic wine:

Rules for wine-making based on:

• Legal basis: Council Reg. 834/2007

• Amending Regulation of Commission Reg. 889/2008

• Definition of “organic wine”www.orwine.org

• Will apply on top of horizontal Community legislation:• Food/wine labelling• Wine market organisation

Main elements of the new rules

New Chapter 3a:

1. Scope

2. Oenological practices

3. Positive list of substances

4. Flexibility rules

5. Transition rules on labelling

Oenological practices

– Based on Reg. 606/2009 for oenological practices (status of 1.8.2010!)

– Restrictions• Heat treatment < 70°C• Filtration > 0.2μm

– Forbidden• Electrodialyses• Cryo-concentration• Cation exchangers• Physical elimination of SO2

• Partial dealcoholisation

– Revision clause – 2015• Reverse osmosis • Ion exchange resin• Heat treatment

Positive list of substances

• New Annex VIIIa:• 44 substances (out of 68 in CMO wine) permitted• No differentiation between additives and processing aids• Preferably organic raw materials (yeast, gelatine, protein,..)

• Enrichment:• only organic products (sugar, must)

• Substances not authorised in the positive list:• Ammonium bisulphite, betaglucanase, malic acid, chitosan,

calcium tartrate, chitin-glucan, polyvinylimidazole,polyvinylpolpyrrolidone, lysozyme, potassium ferrocyanide, calcium phytate, dimethylcarbonate, urease, carboxymethylcellulose,calcium alginate

Sulphur dioxide

• Lower max. level of SO2mg/l for organic wines than authorised in CMO wine:

• Wine with residual sugar content < 2 grammes/litre:

100 mg / l for red wine150 mg / l for white wine

• Other wines:minus 30 mg / l

as from conventional wine level

• Flexibility provision:• Exceptional climatic conditions

Flexibility

Article 47:• Member States may grant

to increase SO2 up to conventional level for a given harvest year if:• exceptional climatic conditions in a specific geographical area,• deteriorate sanitary status of organic grapes by severe

bacterial attacks or fungal attacks,• operators need to record, and• authorising Member State need to inform Member States and

Commission.

Transition

Article 95(10a):• for products of wine sector current practice expires on 31

July 2012

• But: Stocks of wines produced until 31 July 2012 may be sold until stocks are exhausted:• “wine made of organic grapes” • no EU-organic-logo• private organic logos allowed• specific recording obligations

3. How we did the new rules

Decision making

• Commission initiates and prepares working document based on research, inputs from technical experts

• Discussion with • Member States in Standing Committee for organic farming (SCOF)• Stakeholders in Advisory group

• Internal consultation (other units, DGs)

• TBT consultation (technical barrier to trade – WTO)

• SCOF agrees by qualified majority (8 February 2012: 296 out of 345 votes)

• Commission colleges adopt draft regulation

from “Wine made of organic grapes” Organic wine

EU logo for harvest 2012

2004 20082006 3/2010 8/20122009

EAP

ORWINE

Working paper

Legal proposal

New Regulation

Still to be done - Final translations- Adoption by the Commission- Publication in the Official Journal of the European Union

• Applicable from 1 August 2012

EU-organic-logo is not exclusive: national and private labels may be added

Organic Wine

BE-BIO-005

EU/non-EU Agriculture

23

Labelling as off 1 August 2012

Thank you for your attention !

For more information visit:

www.organic-farming.europa.eu