Consumer oriented

Wine has been grown in Europe since ancient times, but one does not have to walk past many supermarket shelves to see that European winemakers are rapidly losing market share to dynamic producers in other parts of the world.

There are many reasons for that. One is an old fashioned European wine policy, out of tune with both consumer demands and the need to make European agriculture more competitive. We need a radical shake-up to be able to help wine producers meet the changing tastes of consumers and regain lost market share.

The wine reform proposal which I have put forward recently is controversial and provokes much emotion in European vineyards as it shifts the focus of European wine policy from quantity to quality.

There is an enormous difference between how successful the 2.4 million wine producers in the EU are. Some struggle to keep up with demand and have long lists of advance orders while others just struggle. They are dependent on the EU spending around half a billion euros every year on buying, storing and distilling their surplus wine into alcohol - money that could be spent far more wisely.

Under my plan, the first step would be to abolish from day one all the inefficient, expensive aids and subsidies to surplus wine. It is a bold move, but removing this safety net would discourage the production of wine for which there is no outlet. Instead the money could be spent on marketing and promotion, so consumers will decide with their shopping baskets which wine makers get to stay in business.

But for this to work, we must make sure that consumers can make informed choices.

Surveys show that more than 70 per cent of all wines are bought in the supermarket - a place of speedy decisions. The current restrictive labelling rules do very little to direct people towards a European wine.

Some consumers go for the aesthetic expression of the label or a brand, and at the other end of the scale, connoisseurs look for special producers and geographical indications.

In between, there is a large group of people looking for keywords such as grape variety and vintage year, a Merlot or a Sauvignon Blanc for instance. On many European wine bottles, they have so far looked in vain.

In the future all European wines should be able to state grape variety, vintage year, visual identity and better guidance on the bottle, provided that it is truthful, of course. Enjoying some of the many good European wines should not be reserved for a small informed circle, but all consumers should be able to read on the bottle what they are getting.

Ms Fischer Boel is European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development.