Can Europe’s Wine Reform Secure the Future of Its Vineyards?

The European Parliament approved on November 7, 2025, a legislative package known as the "Wine Package" to reorganize the wine sector of the European Union after several years of declining internal consumption, production surpluses, rising costs, and increasing competition from non-European producers. The measure amends the Common Market Organization rules, the CAP Strategic Plans, and the Regulation on Aromatized Wine Products, with the goal of giving producers more management tools, clarity for consumers, and financial flexibility for vineyards and wineries. The initiative followed requests from France, Italy, Spain, and other member states for a coordinated response and recommendations from a High-Level Group, which were transformed into a formal proposal in March 2025 and approved by the Agriculture Committee with 43 votes in favor, none against, and two abstentions.

For the first time, the reform creates a legal category of "alcohol-free wine" for products with less than 0.05% alcohol by volume, allowing the "0.0%" label, and requires the mention "wine with reduced alcohol" when the product has 0.5% alcohol or more but at least 30% less than the standard for its category. The intention is to avoid confusion from vague terms and open space for innovation in a market increasingly driven by low-alcohol options. The package also promotes digital labeling through QR codes to provide extended information on origin, sustainability, ingredients, or nutritional values without overloading the physical label, aligning wine with the broader digitalization underway in the European agri-food sector.

In crisis management, the package allows for the first time the use of specific EU wine funds to directly finance crisis distillation, green harvesting, and vineyard grubbing-up when needed to reduce surplus or adjust production potential, relieving pressure on national budgets. It raises from 20% to 30% the share of national budgets that can be allocated to these measures, allows unspent funds to be carried over to the next fiscal year to avoid "use it or lose it" situations, and grants an additional year for replanting after force majeure events such as hail, flooding, or pests. However, no new financial allocations are added beyond those already foreseen in the CAP, which means that existing resources must be redistributed.

The commercial aspect strengthens promotion in non-EU markets with programs lasting up to five years, compared with shorter previous periods that limited continuity, and allows EU co-financing to rise to 80% in certain cases. Lawmakers argued that this would sustain efforts in key markets in Asia and North America, where European consumption has stagnated, while digital labeling will make communication more transparent and verifiable.

On plant health, the reform authorizes full EU funding for prevention and control of highly contagious vine diseases such as flavescence dorée, covering monitoring, vine removal, and research. In sustainability, it simplifies procedures and directs support toward climate-efficient practices, from resistant grape varieties to improved irrigation, while leaving implementation details to member states.

The text includes safeguards for Protected Designations of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indications (PGI). When a vineyard under PDO or PGI is removed as part of an adjustment plan, member states may prevent replanting of non-designated vines in that same area to preserve the region's quality potential. The rule excludes so-called "heroic vineyards," located on steep slopes, at high altitudes, or on islands, where specific conditions and cultural value justify greater flexibility.

The announcement was broadly welcomed across the sector. In Italy, Federvini praised the simplified labeling and reinforced promotion as a strong basis for final agreement and a clear signal of institutional support for an emblematic European industry. In Spain, wineries and regulatory councils applauded the budget flexibility that prevents loss of funds between years and the enhanced presence in foreign markets. Outside the EU, wine producers followed developments closely, noting that a more stable European framework helps prevent global market disruptions and sharp price drops during surplus periods.

Concerns also emerged. The Unione Italiana Vini described "light and shadow" in the plan, supporting higher co-financing and digitalization but warning that making vineyard removal and distillation eligible without additional funding could divert money from modernization and innovation. Its president, Lamberto Frescobaldi, recalled the 2009 experience, when nearly one billion euros were spent on vineyard removals with mixed results. Analysts noted that the package does not include a specific plan to rekindle wine consumption among younger generations or provide immediate emergency funds to offset income losses, despite France's 2023 request for 200 million euros in crisis distillation aid. Within the Commission, some voices argued that market outlets should be prioritized over production cuts to avoid damaging the sector's base.

Once in force, several paths are possible. In the most favorable scenario, financial flexibility and rapid crisis response stabilize revenues, vineyards shift toward climate-adapted and higher-demand varieties, sustained promotion gains market share in Asia and North America, alcohol-free wine becomes a reliable category, and improved plant health management limits losses. In a more cautious outcome, the tools prevent deeper problems but European consumption continues to decline, less profitable areas lose vineyards with visible effects on rural landscapes, and exports hold up through innovation, wine tourism, and products appealing to younger audiences, possibly requiring new adjustments by 2030. In the most adverse case, the absence of new funds and national delays undermine effectiveness, consumption drops sharply, foreign markets fail to absorb surpluses, and mass distillation and uprooting return, eroding viticultural heritage and driving producers out. A more transformative path could see digitalization, sustainability, and regulatory openness accelerate technical and business change, with more direct-to-consumer sales, valuable by-products for other industries, and new vineyard techniques less dependent on climate, potentially shifting production northward as appellations adapt their specifications.

The "Wine Package" adds no new money but brings order to the rules and widens the room for strategic action. Its real effect will depend on each country's implementation, coordination with the sector, and speed in activating tools when needed. With this law, the EU acknowledges that wine is both an economic and cultural asset requiring a stable, preventive, and flexible policy to navigate a period of change and maintain its global standing.