New labelling requirements for wine
Wine products produced and labelled from 8 December 2023 onwards must comply with new labelling requirements. For other alcoholic beverages, this is not yet mandatory. The new requirements provide greater transparency for consumers and also determine the method of digital labelling via U-label.
Pascal Brysse
What has changed since 8 December 2023?
Since 8 December 2023, it has been mandatory to state the nutrition declaration and list of ingredients on all wine products. For dealcoholised wine products, there is an additional requirement to also state the best-before date on the label.
All mandatory particulars must be displayed within the same field of vision. If an electronic label is used (e.g. a QR code), this must also be placed within a single field of vision. All mandatory particulars must be clearly legible on the label and must not be erasable
List of ingredients
The list of ingredients must comply with the requirements of Regulation 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers. The list of ingredients should begin with the heading “ingredients”. The ingredients are then listed in descending order, unless they make up less than 2% of the final product. Ingredients must be named using their specific name.
Nutrition declaration
The nutrition declaration also follows the rules of Regulation 1169/2011, with the order being respected. When there is sufficient space on the label, the declaration is presented in tabular format with figures. If there is insufficient space, the elements can be listed one after another.
When the nutrition information is displayed digitally, the standard practice is to use the tabular format with figures.
Best-before date
Wine products that undergo a dealcoholisation process and contain less than 10% alcohol by volume have an additional obligation to state the best-before date.
Electronic label
The new legislation allows customers to be informed digitally about the nutrition information and list of ingredients. Producers can use a U-label for this purpose. This digital label has been specially developed for the wine sector and is read via a QR code. It is also important for producers to know that an electronic label may not collect or track usage data. The page to which the label links must not contain any other sales information.
The energy values must, however, still be stated on the printed label. This can be done by stating the values preceded by “energy” or the symbol “E”.
Producers who display the ingredients via an electronic label must take allergens into account. Allergens must be indicated on the label before the word “contains”.
How can AMNorman support you?
Do you have questions about drafting a product label? Our labelling team is happy to help.
