French rosé wine to get special designation

BRUSSELS — French rosé wine could carry a special designation to distinguish it from products made simply by mixing red and white wines, the European Commission announced Tuesday, hoping to put an end to a maturing row.

Experts from the 27 European Union member states agreed the measure at a meeting Tuesday as part of a larger reform of the EU wine labeling system, a spokesman for the commission said.

It was a preliminary vote which should be confirmed in late April.

French viniculturists, notably in the southern Provence region, had protested against a European scheme to allow European wine created simply by a red-white combination to be labeled "rosé," something already done by New World wine makers in Australia, South Africa and elsewhere.

French winegrowers fear such a move would lead to thousands of job losses in France and endanger their traditional rosé, made by the more costly method of leaving crushed red grapes to soak with macerating white grapes.

In an attempt to solve the row, EU representatives agreed the compromise whereby wines created by the French method would be marked "traditional rosé."

The decision only concerned French wines, leaving Spanish or Italian makers free to call their products simply "rosé" if they wish. — AFP