The European Confederation of Independent Winegrowers (CEVI) held its presidential meeting on 10 November in Brussels. Vindependent, the Hungarian organization of independent Winegrowers and Winemakers was represented by Márta Wille-Baumkauff, who also holds the position of CEVI’s financial administrator.
Planned modification of mandatory description of wines – which would include the display of calories over and above the alcohol volume – was one of the most significant parts of the agenda. Some of the beer manufacturers already show this value on their labels, but at the moment only on a voluntary basis. Thomas Montagne, President of CEVI informed relevant authorities in writing that wine shouldn’t be treated like beer and other alcoholic beverages (so called alcopops) and spirits, which are industrial products. In contrary, wine is an agricultural product and in several countries wine is part of the national culture. As such,
winemakers play significant role in protecting the heritage of specific wine regions as well as nature in general.
A day before the meeting, CEVI invited representatives of the European Parliament and administrators of the wine industry to a party held in the Embassy of Luxemburg in Brussels (Luxemburg is the current holder of EU presidency), where they repeatedly emphasized the importance of family wineries in Europe.
