EUROPEAN UNION: RETHINKING THE ROSE’ WINE FROM BRUSSELS

Upon the go-ahead to make fake rosé wine (by simply mixing white and red table wines), Brussels is rethinking this initiative because the response to the proposal was too low. The European Commission, in short, takes note of the “shields up” attitude against the measure with Italy and France on the forefront, backed by the European Parliament and agricultural organizations. Unfair competition is feared for a cheap rosé compared to a quality product of a specific wine. Brussels is now working on the issue, in view of the Management Committee, which meets on June 19th, of 27 experts in the field of wine.
These same experts had initially given the go-ahead to the final “package” of measures on new oenological practices adopted in past years at the time of the reform of the market. For many years, Spain has been allowed to make rosé wine by mixing table wines and this practice is allowed also from producers in the rest of the world whose products enter freely into Europe. The news was leaked yesterday from European sources (EU Ministers of Agriculture, the Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel and European leaders were at an informal meeting in Brno).