Export Market Guide - European Union (EU)

All regulatory information for exporting wine to European Union, including the regulatory environment, duties and taxes, and permitted additives.

UPDATE: Compulsory energy, nutrition and ingredient labelling from December 2023

On 6 December 2021, Regulation 2021/2117 (Common Market Organisation) introduced a specific framework for a compulsory nutrition declaration and requirements for a list of ingredients for wine products sold on the EU market. From 8 December 2023, any wine sold in the EU (including imported wines) must communicate a full nutrition declaration including energy information and a list of ingredients either on-label or online.

What we know

From 8 December 2023, producers will be required to disclose the following in relation to each SKU:

• energy value
• nutrition declaration, and
• ingredients.

Despite the introduction of the new laws, wine produced and labelled in accordance with current EU labelling requirements prior to 8 December 2023 may continue to be placed on the market until stocks are sold. The EU’s new laws make it clear that:

• producers will be able to decide to display information on-label or “off-label” (via a link or QR code which appears on a product’s label)
• for energy and nutrition declarations, the rules will be different depending on whether producers decide to present information on or off-label
• nutrition declarations must be expressed as kJ and kcal/100mL, attributed to each substance contributing to the total energy (for example, ethanol and carbohydrate)
• if a producer displays a nutrition declaration off-label, the total energy value will still be required on-label energy in wine is predominantly derived from alcohol (29kJ/g) and carbohydrate (17kJ/g)
• there will not be any changes to the rules regarding allergen labelling.

What we don’t know

As above, the laws requiring the disclosure of ingredients, an energy value and a nutrition declaration have been passed by EU legislators and from 8 December 2023, producers will be required to disclose that information in relation to each SKU.

Despite the relatively imminent commencement of the EU’s new requirements, certain aspects of the new laws (particularly regarding ingredient labelling) remain the subject of draft legislation and ongoing consideration by the European Commission. For example, at present:

• we don’t know which additives and processing aids for wine will be considered “ingredients”
• we don’t know whether any guidance will be issued on the acceptable uncertainty of measurement of energy value calculations, and
• we don’t know whether substances such as glycerol and acid ought to be included for the purposes of calculating energy values.

Wine Australia has been closely monitoring relevant developments and actively liaising with its international counterparts across a range of international fora in relation to this important market access issue. Wine Australia expects that an update from European Commission is imminent regarding the status of the draft legislation and regarding the commencement of the new laws more broadly.

European Union Overview

The European Union (EU) is a hybrid intergovernmental and supranational organisation of 27 member countries. It has its own flag, currency and laws and operates a single market with free movement of goods, services and capital. The EU is the world’s largest trading bloc and the world’s largest economy, commanding a GDP over USD$17 trillion per year.1 EU Member States share a customs union, a single market in which goods can move freely, a common trade policy and a common agricultural and fisheries policy. 

There are significant differences in per capita income among the 27-member states and the EU is still grappling with high public debt and managing bail-out programs for a number of member states. 

The EU is the world's major wine producing region in volume terms, with an annual average production of 167 million litres and accounting for 65 per cent of global production. 

The EU has created complex requirements for wines imported from so-called 'third countries' (i.e. any non-EU countries), of which Australia is one. Set out below are guidelines designed to explain those requirements and assist wine exporters. Individual domestic requirements may also apply and can be found under country specific headings. Exporters should be aware that individual EU Member States reserve the right to exercise sovereign legislation in a way which can impact on wine imports, thus imposing additional requirements.

The United Kingdom formally withdrew from the European Union on 31 January 2020. Türkiye, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Moldova, Ukraine, and Bosnia and Herzegovina are candidates to join the EU.