Germany wants EU to let alcohol-free wines be labelled ´organic´

Germany's government wants to change European Union rules to allow alcohol-free wines to be labelled as organic, its Agriculture Ministry said on Sunday, reported dpa.

"Whoever wants to drink alcohol-free wine should also be able to do so with organic quality," said German Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir in a press release.

Under the current EU rules, the process of removing alcohol causes an otherwise organic wine to lose its certified status, because that process isn't on the whitelist of approved methods for producing organic wine.

Berlin therefore wants to amend an annex to the EU regulation on organic production and labelling of organic products.

"With the support of other member states, Germany has submitted an application in Brussels for the dealcoholization of organic wine to be approved under EU law," the ministry's press release said.

The press release said that the European Commission - the only EU body that can formally propose new EU laws - has convened an independent group of organic production experts to consider the removal of alcohol by vacuum distillation.

According to the statement, the commission has promised to "promptly submit a draft regulation to include vacuum distillation" if the expert group gives a positive assessment of the method.

The ministry's statement was released in anticipation of Özdemir's visit to the EUROVINO wine fair, being held on Sunday and Monday in Karlsruhe, southwestern Germany.