New European-wide changes to the labelling law for organic wine came into effect on August 1.

The new regulations, governing organic wine production in the EU are now in force, but according to a report in Decanter magazine, some in the industry say the rules do not go far enough.

Before them, winemakers in Europe could only certify grapes as organically grown and not the “wine” as organic.

But now there is cause for concern, in particular over the rules relating to sulphur dioxide.

These include 30-50 per cent less added sulphur than that used in conventional winemaking, no use of additives such as sorbic acid and a full trace-ability processes.

The change is due to a new quality charter issued by the EU which deals not just with practices in the vineyard but also in the cellar.

Up to now, there have been no EU rules or definition of organic wine; only grapes could be certified organic.

A total of 3,945 vineyards in France are organic, a number that has doubled in three years and now represents six per cent of France’s total vineyards.