Transparency in the Glass: Who does EU Wine Nutrition Labelling Serve?
- Sally
- Nov 20
- 5 min read
Recently introduced EU regulations stipulate that all wines sold in Europe now need to include ingredient and nutritional information — either on the label directly or via a QR code. This brings wine into line with other food products which have had to include that information for almost 10 years. It’s a step that can be considered a headache for us winemakers given all the bureaucracy and paperwork we already have - from the various labelling rules of different countries to export and customs paperwork. But in all honesty, I think it’s a good move and I welcome this change for Château George 7.
Why? Because it’s an opportunity to show how straightforward our wines are. Transparency builds trust, and if this helps people understand our craft a little better, I’m all for it.
What’s Really in the Bottle
Most visitors to Château George 7 see wine as a mysterious (even magical!) product and have not thought about or delved into what really goes into a bottle of wine – either because they simply love the taste and their curiosity doesn’t go any further or because they consider it to be simply fermented grapes. Surprisingly, however, many believe that there are other ingredients added such as aromas or sweeteners – because they cannot believe that liquorice, smokiness, ripe peach or white flower blossom can come from the original fruit and the fermentation or ageing vessels alone.
Another group of consumers believe that wine is a glass of sugar and other non-natural ingredients plus pure alcohol and decide to steer clear of it. They are probably not the people I meet on a wine tour but they have a number of misguided views on what goes into a bottle of French Appellation Controlée wine.
So who is right?
The Recipe for great-tasting wine
Let’s take Château George 7 Blanc 2024 as an example - the first vintage where we were required to adhere to the new regulations of adding a QR code to access ingredients and nutritional information. Here at Château George 7, as with many winemakers, the grape is king and we want the flavours of the grape to shine, enhanced by those that might develop from the use of the fermenting or ageing vessel.
We took the fresh juice from the grapes, fermented half in Burgundy barrels on the lees (the yeast deposits) and half in a concrete egg. The only addition, as you will see from the label, was a minimum amount of sulphur to make sure there’s no bacterial spoilage while the wine is resting quietly in the bottle.
Healthy fruit + careful selection + good winemaking
Sulphur (sulphites in wine) gets a bad rap because it is wrongly blamed for many hangover headaches - see the
sidebar for a few facts. But in reality, it is a useful disinfectant for work in the winery and ensures freshness used in the right quantities at the right time. For making our wines, we only use the healthiest of fruit (through very selective sorting) which greatly reduces the need for sulphur to stop spoilage right at the start while some wineries who are focused on quantity over quality will include all fruit whether slightly damaged or not. At bottling, our red and white wines are consistently around half the allowed sulphite limit for organic wines which is lower than non-organic wines..
Can Rules Be a Good Thing?
In France, we often talk about the AOC system — our Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée rules — which define pretty strictly, where and how wines can be made. These rules are limiting in some ways: you can only grow certain grape varieties, make wine in certain ways, and follow quite a list of regulations if you want to use the appellation (AOC) name on the label. The Vin de France category is considered to be less rigid but still has rules in place to protect the standard of the finished product.
Here’s the thing: those rules also protect authenticity and quality. They ensure that what’s in the bottle is a genuine expression of the land and the craft behind it and stop us playing around with the winemaking process so that it turns into a concoction of fermented grape juice with additives.
In contrast, in some countries with fewer restrictions, winemakers have much more freedom to add things such as artificial colourings, flavourings, sweeteners etc. That flexibility can be marketed as innovation or creativity — and sometimes it is — but it also means the consumer may have less idea of what they’re drinking – especially if there is no strict ingredient labelling in place!
Let’s Talk Calories and Sugar
Another bonus of the new labelling? They finally help bust another couple of common myths about wine — especially the idea that all wines are packed with sugar. We, as most old-world winemakers of dry still wine, ferment to dryness which means we keep fermenting until there is no residual sugar left in the wine.
Back to our Château George 7 Blanc 2024: it has no residual sugar and only 74 calories per 100ml making it 89 calories per 125ml glass. That’s great news for anyone who enjoys wine full of flavour that enhances their meal and social occasion but wants to be mindful about what they’re drinking. You can have a glass of flavoursome wine with no sugar or carbohydrates and I haven't even started to bring up how certain elements in red wine are actually seen as positive for us! Those who are sugar or calorie-conscious often suggest it is better to have a gin or vodka and tonic rather than wine. Let’s compare (see sidebar): a 25ml measure of gin or vodka is approximately 65 calories before the mixer.*
By making calorie and sugar information clear, the new labelling encourages people to make informed choices rather than those based on hearsay - confirming once and for all, that well-made wine doesn’t have to be over-indulgent.
AND: To dive deeper into the sugar in wine debate & the impact of drinking wine with food, take a read of Wendy’s blog. It's fascinating.
Why This Change Matters
For smaller wineries like mine, this kind of transparency is actually a chance to shine. Many of us already make wine with minimal intervention, so showing that on the label (or via a QR code) helps consumers see for themselves.
“EU regulations” doesn’t sound thrilling, but in this case, it is progress. It’s a modern step that builds on tradition with honesty and respect for the consumer and winemaker. This law reinforces what I’ve always believed: great wine doesn’t need to hide behind mystery. It needs grapes, careful work in the vines and the winery - plus some French sunshine!
So yes, at Château George 7, we’re raising a glass to the new rules. If transparency means more people understand that good wine is about quality fruit and skilful winemaking, not secrecy, then that’s definitely something worth celebrating. Cheers!
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