In late 2024, Italy’s minster of agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida, permitted Italian wine to be marketed as ‘wine’ even if its alcohol had been removed – if the ABV was below 0.5%, it could be deemed ‘de-alcholised’, whereas between 0.5% and 8.5%, it would be considered ‘partially de-alcoholised’. This marked a major u-turn of Lollobrgida’s own views expressed during Vinitaly 2024.
However, progress hit a snag in the form of fiscal rules from the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) which conflicted with the proposals of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests (MASAF). Had this not been ironed out, producers would have had to wait until next year to be able to being the production of these wines in Italy, as opposed to outsourcing the de-alcoholisation process abroad.
After pressure from Italy’s leading wine trade body, Unione Italiana Vini (UIV), the tangle of red tape now appears to have been resolved.
Paolo Castellati, UIV general secretary, commented last week: “The approval of yesterday’s [13 June] fiscal decree-law has broken the deadlock on de-alcoholised wines, which risked continuing until 2026. Now the Ministries of Economy and Agriculture will be able to work immediately on the inter-ministerial decree that will define the conditions and fiscal authorisations relating to the production of de-alcoholised wines also in Italy.”
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