Organic wine law

Current EU law contains no definition of ‘organic wine’ and does not allow the term to appear on any wine label.

Legally speaking, organic wine does not exist.

Nor is there any requirement on producers to label wine with either the chemicals used in its production or those still present in the bottle when it is sold.

What this means is that there is no way to tell, from the label, whether or not a wine is properly organic.

Wine 'made from organically grown grapes'

Wine can be labelled as ‘made from organically grown grapes’ if the grower has certified organic status.

But this offers no guarantee as to how the wine is made. A wine can be ‘made from organically grown grapes’ using any or all of the many chemicals common in conventional winemaking.

Almost all of the ‘organic’ wine available in the UK is of this type, and is drunk by people who wrongly believe it to be free of chemicals.

Biodynamic agriculture does not yet have a legal status distinct from organic.


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