EU-27 Annual Wine Report 2009; Consumption to Fall Due to Economic Downturn(8)

UNCLASSIFIED USDA Foreign Agricultural Service
Labeling: As of August 1, 2009, labeling of EU wines will be based on protected
geographical indications/designation of origin. However, well-established traditional national
quality-labeling schemes (such as AOC and AO-VDQS in France or DOC and DOCG in Italy),
which are already registered by that date, will be kept. Simplified labeling rules will also
allow EU wines to be labeled for grape variety and vintage.
Labeling of wine originating in the US: The wine labeling protocol of the U.S.-EU Wine
Agreement allowed for two more years in the use of the traditional terms “chateau”, “classic”,
“clos”, “cream”, “crusted/crusting”, “fine”, “late bottled vintage”, “noble”, “ruby”, “superior”,
“sur lie”, “tawny”, “vintage” and “vintage character.” Extensions were granted automatically
for an additional subsequent two-year period, unless a Party to the Agreement provided
written notification to the other Party that the period should not be extended. On September
8, 2008, the Commission notified the U.S. that the period should not be extended beyond
March 10, 2009. Commission Regulation 113/2009 introduces a transitional provision: U.S.
wines using the above mentioned traditional terms on their labels imported into the EU
before March 10, 2009, may be put into circulation until stocks are exhausted.
The financial allocations connected to the implementation of the CMO for the wine sector,
broken down by individual measure and Member State, are included in the following tables:
http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/markets/wine/facts/annex2_en.pdf
TRADE
Intra-EU trade continues to represent a major share of the total world volume. According to
recent EU Commission data, during 2007/08 intra-EU wine trade totaled 44 MHL, or about
half of the global volume of wine traded. A large share of this trade involves the shipments
of bulk wines, used mainly for blending purposes, from both Italy to Germany (about 2.5
MHL in January-November 2008) and France (0.6 MHL) and from Spain to France (2.7 MHL
in the same period) and Italy (0.6 MHL).
Total Italian exports to the EU/27 in January-November 2008 were 11.4 MHL, or 7 percent
less than in the same period of 2007, due mainly to reduced shipments to Germany and
France of bulk table wines, used locally for blending, as mentioned above. Spanish exports to
the rest of the EU in January-November 2008 reached 10.2 MHL (over two thirds of total
Spanish wine exports), or 9 percent more than in the same period of 2007, mainly directed
to France and Germany, with a large proportion also used for blending purposes. French
shipments to EU destinations in January-November 2008 were 10.5 MHL (5 percent more
than in the previous year), directed to virtually all the major European markets.
Aside from the intra-EU trade noted above, wine exports from the European Union to third
countries in 2008, accounting for about 38 percent of total world trade, declined by 5 percent
in volume, but rose by 11 percent in U.S. dollar value. This discrepancy can partially be
explained by an average 7 percent drop (between 2007 and 2008) of the dollar exchange
rate compared to the Euro, as well as lower shipments of cheaper wine to certain
destinations, primarily Russia. The following table shows exports from the EU-27 during the
three most recent years.