EU drops rose blending plans
June 8, 2009
By Oliver Styles
The EU has announced it will drop plans to allow red and white wines to be blended to make rosé, agriculture minister Mariann Fischer Boel announced today.
The announcement comes after months of strong lobbying from wine-producing countries in Europe, including France and Italy.
Producers and lobbyists argued that allowing the blending of red and white wines to make rose – a method legal in New World wine countries and, ironically, Champagne – would destroy the 'nobility' of the more traditional method of maceration used in Europe.
'It's become clear over recent weeks that a majority in our wine sector believe that ending the ban on blending could undermine the image of traditional rose,' said Fischer Boel. 'I am always prepared to listen to good arguments – that's why I am making this change'
The blending plans were drawn up to allow EU competitivity with New World rose producers and would have only been allowed in the production of Table Wines.
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