No-alcohol wines in Italy: there’s something new. “The decree-law breaks the regulatory deadlock”

The production of alcohol-free or low-alcohol wines in Italy (already a reality in other countries, such as France) is making progress, amid both supporters and detractors. As is well known, on February 14, Italy gave the final green light to the production of alcohol-free wines made in Italy. However, there were still some bureaucratic issues to resolve. “Today, the sector is at a standstill with regard to dealcoholized wines: we need to resolve the tax and regulatory issues and start producing”, said Lamberto Frescobaldi, president of Unione Italiana Vini-Uiv, at Vinitaly 2025, pointing the finger at “yet another legislative impasse that prevents the supply chain from producing in Italy and effectively renders the decree signed last December unworkable”. But significant news has arrived. This was reported by UIV Secretary General Paolo Castelletti, “in commenting on yesterday’s draft tax decree, which brought forward the deadline by which the interministerial decree of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Economy must be adopted,” explains the UIV in a statement. “The approval of yesterday’s fiscal decree”, says Castelletti, “has broken the deadlock on dealcoholized wines, which was in danger of continuing until 2026. Now the Ministries of Economy and Agriculture can immediately begin working on the interministerial decree that will define the conditions and tax authorizations relating to the production of dealcoholized wines in Italy. In appreciating what was established yesterday, Uiv hopes for a prompt response from the two ministries responsible in order to implement a decree that the sector has been waiting for for some time”.
The tax issue, explains the Italian Wine Union, “remains the last hurdle to be overcome in order to finally allow Italian companies to dealcoholize in Italy. At the end of March, Decree-Law No. 43 amended the Consolidated Excise Tax Law by inserting Article 33-ter to regulate the dealcoholization process in the tax field, referring to an interministerial decree of the Ministries of Economy and Agriculture to define the conditions relating to the structure of the tax warehouse and the simplified methods of assessment and accounting of excise duty for these products. The late entry into force of the regulation - set for January 1, 2026 - has prompted Uiv to call for transitional measures in recent months to fill the regulatory gap and avoid further delays in production”.
According to the Uiv-Vinitaly Observatory, the No-Low wine market in Italy is currently worth only €3.3 million, but is expected to reach €15 million in the next four years. Globally, the current market is estimated at $2.4 billion, with prospects for growth to $3.3 billion by 2028.