Welcome

Welcome to the June 2024 edition of Wine News. All previous newsletters are available here under Editions of Wine News and previous communications will remain under Previous announcements.  

In this month’s edition we will cover:

• EU ingredient lists;
• VI-1 equivalent letter updates; 
• Change to EU chemical tolerances updated in Wine e-Cert; 
• Upcoming updates to permitted alcohol range for "wine" exports to the EU;
• MPI Trade Certification. 

European Union ingredient lists

The Wine Notice: European Union OMAR – Amendment 6 (EU OMAR) has the latest information on the EU requirements for nutrition and ingredient labelling for wine produced on or after 8 December 2023.

The EU considers that a wine is "produced" when it has undergone its primary fermentation and achieved the criteria for its category of wine listed in the EU OMAR section 2.1.

The table below is a summary of how the new requirements apply to wine:

Please remember there are rules to consider when populating the list of ingredients on your label, e-label or in Wine e-Cert. These rules are included in the EU OMAR in section 2.6 and the latest list of ingredients is included in Appendix 1. One example is that "Grapes" must be listed first as the primary ingredient.

Additionally, in Wine e-Cert where sparkling wines have been disgorged, please use the disgorgement date as the bottling date and record the number of units made, rather than the bottling date for tirage.

If any detail in the ingredient list needs to be updated, use the "edit" tab to make amendments. Once the batch is eligible the list will become locked and unable to be edited. If the list is locked, please email the changes to MPI Wine Assurance on wine.query@mpi.govt.nz to make the amendments on your behalf.

VI-1 equivalent letter updates

On 8 December 2023 the EU requirement to include ingredient information on the VI-1 document (official assurance) and labels came into effect. The Wine Notice: EU Wine OMAR – Amendment 4 was published to reflect this change.

Considering this change, MPI identified that the process for generating VI-1 equivalent letters for wines made from vintage 2024 needed to be revised. The current document does not provide ingredient information.

MPI and Wine Australia have agreed that where EU eligible wines from vintage 2024 onwards are exported to Australia and a VI-1 equivalent letter is requested, exporters can provide ingredient information via a screenshot taken from Wine e-Cert. This proposal is an interim measure while MPI builds a more comprehensive solution into its new system later in the year.

Exporters who use this document have been contacted directly and more detailed information has been provided. Please contact MPI Wine Assurance on wine.query@mpi.govt.nz if you have any questions.

Change to European Union chemical tolerances updated in Wine e-Cert

Stricter EU limits on certain analytes will be implemented in the Wine e-Cert release on 20 June. Wine Assurance have contacted wine businesses who may have batches affected by these changes. The changes were notified in the Wine Notice: European Union Wine Overseas Market Access Requirement – Amendment 3 which was issued on 30 May 2023.

These changes include the introduction of: 

Volatile acidity limits for all wine destined for the EU, irrespective of alcohol content, as outlined below.

• 18 milliequivalents per litre for white and rosé wines; and   
• 20 milliequivalents per litre for red wines. 
• Note - Volatile acidity levels of 18 and 20 milliequivalents per litre are equal to 1.08 g/L and 1.20 g/L respectively, when expressed as acetic acid.

A new limit for total sulphur dioxide at 200 mg/L for red still wines with a total sugar content of at least 5.0 g/L and less than 35.0 g/L.  

The latest EU Wine OMAR requirements are available on the MPI website.

Upcoming updates to permitted alcohol range for "wine" exports to the EU

In mid-July 2024, MPI will update its Wine e-Cert system to reflect the wider alcohol tolerances for New Zealand wines exported to the EU under the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement.

As a result, products with an actual alcoholic strength of at least 7.0 % and a total alcoholic strength by volume of not more than 20.0 % will be eligible for export to the EU using the EU category "wine".

Wines previously registered in Wine e-Cert will be automatically re-assessed for EU eligibility after this update is introduced. 

This update will be reflected in an amendment to the EU OMAR to be issued at the same time.

MPI Trade Certification

From 2024, the new MPI Trade Certification system will begin replacing many of MPI's existing trade certification systems and processes, including Wine e-Cert.

MPI plans further engagement with the wine sector in 2024. To stay updated, please email the MPI Trade Certification team to join the distribution list. For more information, visit the MPI Trade Certification webpage.

To keep up to date with updates to the MPI website, including updates to export information such as OMARs and FYI documents, please click the link below.