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“A European framework law will be adopted by the end of 2023 to define sustainability in terms of legislation. It will have to clarify what sustainability is, how it is measured, what the criteria and minimum requirements for marketing are,” head of the wine unit of the DG for Agriculture of the European Commission, Mauro Poinelli said at SIMEI.

The law, which will not only concern the wine sector, could be a fundamental starting point towards a single European standard on sustainability.

“Until now, labels have shown the hygiene and health criteria, they will now have to begin to include environmental information too,” Poinelli said.

“Again, with a view to legislative harmonisation in the sector, the European Commission intends to regulate the information relating to sustainability on the label. There will soon be a proposal to remove generic terms.”

“We believe that the opening of the Commission for the harmonisation of national practices on sustainability through an EU regulatory framework goes in the direction hoped for by the UIV and expressed just last week during the meeting in Brussels with the cabinet of the commissioner for agriculture,” The Secretary General of Unione Italiana vini (Uiv), Paolo Castelletti said.

“On the issue of re-use – Castelletti concluded- the Uiv also expresses satisfaction. The percentage of glass recycling in Italy is one of the highest in Europe and we need to continue to work on this.”

With regard to re-use, the DG for Agriculture representative confirmed that wine will be excluded from the scope of the legislative review, which will include recycling and re-use of packaging by 2030.

Among the legislative measures mentioned by Poinelli, the commitment to bring the entire economic and social system to zero emissions by 2050, the 50 per cent reduction of the risk in the use of plant protection products by 2030, with the proposal for new regulations that encourage innovation, in addition to reducing the excess of nutrients that flow into groundwater and promoting areas planted with organic farming methods.

These measures are part of the general framework of the strategic interventions of the new CAP, which incorporates the wine sector, due to be operational from next year with parts of the budget dedicated exclusively to the environment and climate.

In particular, 5% of the budget dedicated to the wine sector must be allocated to support measures for the climate and the environment.

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