Cork stoppers
Since 8 December 2023, new European regulations on wine bottle labelling have been in force. This change aims to provide greater transparency by detailing all the ingredients present in a bottle of wine as well as their nutritional values. Until now, wine was an exception to the legislation, with no information provided other than the origin of production and the grape variety, which were the preserve of designations of origin.
From now on, every wine label must mention two essential elements:
- The list of ingredients: this includes not only the grapes, but also all additives and processing aids used during vinification.
- The nutritional declaration: this includes the energy value of the wine in table form, expressed in kilojoules (kJ) and kilocalories (kcal) per 100 ml. This information can be displayed directly on the label or accessed via a QR code. In order to limit the space used on labels, certain information, such as the complete nutritional declaration, can be digitised and accessed via a QR code. By scanning this code with your smartphone, you can access detailed information about the wine, beyond the mandatory information such as the estate, production methods, and even suggested food and wine pairings.
Without getting into the controversy, it is important to know that most industrial wines contain a variety of additives to modify the taste, texture or stability of the product. These include:
- Fining agents: used to clarify wine, these agents may be of animal origin, such as egg albumin, casein (milk protein) or gelatin. Mineral alternatives, such as bentonite (a clay), are also commonly used.
- Acidifiers: to adjust the acidity of the wine, acids such as tartaric, malic or lactic acid may be added. These practices are regulated and vary according to wine-growing regions.
- Added tannins: to strengthen the structure of the wine.
- Wood chips: used to imitate ageing in oak barrels.
- Selected yeasts: to improve fermentation when there is a lack of indigenous yeasts and to influence the wine's aromas.
- Stabilising agents, which are too numerous to list here.
- Preservatives: the best known is sulphur dioxide (SO₂), often mentioned by the phrase ‘contains sulphites’ on labels, but also sorbate, potassium bisulphite and metabisulphite, lysozyme, ascorbic acid and dimethyl dicarbonate.
- Composition and bottling gases: argon, nitrogen, carbon dioxide.
Certain components are not considered additives and do not need to be listed on the ingredients label, such as wood chips. However, substances that may cause allergies or intolerances must be clearly indicated. This new regulation on wine labelling is a significant step forward in terms of transparency and consumer information. It allows everyone to make informed choices based on their preferences and beliefs. For natural wine producers, this regulation is a godsend! These winemakers strive to use only grapes in their winemaking processes, without additives or chemical interventions. As a result, the list of ingredients on their bottles often boils down to a single word: ‘grapes’ and the words ‘no added sulphites’, as wine may naturally contain a few milligrams.
With this new regulation, consumers finally have access to minimal information about what is – or is not – in their bottle. But paradoxically, we now know more about additives than we do about grape varieties, the origin of the grapes or the exact amount of sulphites present. We eagerly await the update.