EU says no to mixed rosé
French wine producers applaud the decision to refuse making ‘rosé’ wine from mixing red wine with white.
PLANS to make rosé from mixing red wine with white have been knocked back by the European Commission.
French wine producers protested over the proposals after the Commission initially indicated they would be passed, arguing the move would seriously damage the industry by harming the reputation of rosé wine and threatening tens of thousands of jobs.
European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Mariann Fischer Boel said: “I am always ready to listen to good arguments and that is why I have taken this change in stance.”
The knock-back has been applauded by French wine makers, who are the world’s leading producers of rosé, churning out six million hectolitres a year.
President of the Association générale de la production viticole, Xavier de Volontat, welcomed the decision saying it “favoured the savoir-faire of winemakers rather than the mercenary side.”
Contrary to popular belief, the production of rosé is a skilled process, using red grapes whose flesh, skin, seeds, and juice are soaked for a short time.
While white and red wine sales have been flagging for several years in France, rosé has been growing in popularity.
It has risen from 8% to 22% of the total consumption of wine in France in the last 15 years according to wine body the Conseil interprofessionnel des vins de Provence (CIVP).
