The recent ones changes in European Union regulations for the labeling of wines make it mandatory, for wines produced after December 8, 2023 (i.e. 2024 vintage wines), to indicate on the attached label the energy value in kJ and kcal per 100 ml of wine as well as an electronic list of ingredients and the nutritional declaration that will be accessible to the consumer through a unique QRCODE. How to calculate the energy value of wine, carbohydrates and sugars. What are the typical values for fats, proteins and salt of wines.
Table of Contents
Energy – Caloric value of wine
The energy value is easily calculated based on the official energy conversion factors of the European Regulation. A chemical analysis is required for the alcohol percentage, residual sugars, total acidity and polyols. Most laboratories are able to issue relevant certificates of analysis for these indicators. The platform Wine e-labels offers you the ability to automatically calculate the energy value based on the data you enter. Read more information at the link: Calculating the energy value of wine (kJ/kcal per 100ml). Step-by-step guide
List of ingredients
The ingredient list is also relatively simple via a pre-defined list available in the European regulation. The digital signage platform provides the ability to create and format the list for you via a selection form to comply with the legislation. For example, ingredients will be displayed based on their functional category and allergens will be formatted differently to differentiate them from the rest of the ingredient text.
Some of the other information required for nutrition labeling includes fats (total and saturated), carbohydrates, sugars, proteins, and salt.
These are not measured in a typical chemical analysis of wine due to high cost.
Based on the FIC regulation, regarding the labeling of nutrition declaration prices, the prices declared can be average prices, based on:
a) the analysis of the food by the manufacturer
(b) the known or actual average values of the ingredients used and
c) the generally defined and accepted data.
From the laboratory databases of chemical analyses of wines, provided that good production practices are followed, the generally defined and accepted data for fats, proteins and salt have been determined.
Fat
Based on laboratory data, none of the wines tested showed fat content in any of the categories examined.
The European guidelines on fats state that the levels <0,5 g/100 mL can be declared as 0 g/100 mL.
For saturated fats, the following is allowed: declaration of 0 g/100 mL for levels < 0,1 g/100 mL.
Therefore, these data support the general labeling of typical wines with 0 g/100 mL for both fat and saturated fat.
Proteins
For proteins, as would be expected, small amounts were detected, ranging in concentration from 0 to 0,4 g/100 mL.
Similarly to fats, European guidelines allow for amounts of protein below 0,5 g/100 mL to be marked as 0 g/100 mL.
Therefore, it seems appropriate to price 0 g/100 mL to be reasonable for typical wines.
It is important to note that these results, as mentioned, can be applied to typical wines, specifically unfortified red, white and rosé wines with sugar levels between 0 and 12 g/L of sugars.
The data should not be extended to other wine styles or wine products without careful consideration.
Salt
Salt in the form of sodium chloride is not directly measured in wines. The general approach is to measure the sodium concentration in g/100 mL in the wine and then express it as sodium chloride by multiplying it by 2,5.
Based on laboratory data, a average salt value in wine is 0,013 g/100mL
The European guidelines (European Commission 2012) state that the Salt concentrations <0,0125 g/100 mL can be declared as 0 g/100 mL.
The average value for the wines in this dataset makes it difficult to suggest a 0 g/100 mL statement if almost half of the results fell above the limit.
It could be argued, however, that the measurement tolerance described in the report of 0,375 g/100 mL means that a result of 0 g/100 mL could be reported and easily fall within tolerance.
This is an interpretation that could be open to debate and would entail some risk of controversy for the wine.
Instead, a safer approach would be to declare a result 0,03 g/100 mL salt (based on 95% of the total data) and given the allowed tolerances, this would easily cover all wines in the survey.
This still represents a very low salt claim from a consumer intake perspective. (The recommended daily intake of sodium for people over 14 years of age is 2300 mg/day.)
Sugars and carbohydrates
All wines circulating in the European Union must provide a certificate of analysis that includes a value for sugar content as part of the export permit process.
Carbohydrates in wine are generally considered for the purposes of nutritional labeling in Europe to include the sugars, glycerin, and acids present in the wine.
Glycerin, which can be easily measured using the FTIR method, has typical values
- 0,5 g/100 mL for white wines and
- 1,0 g/100 mL for reds.
Finally, as specified in the guidance document (European Commission 2012) the tolerance value for carbohydrates is 2,0 g/100 mL.
Conclusion
Regarding fat, protein and salt in wines, based on the research data presented above and the published tolerances and rounding guidelines for data in European nutritional panels, it is easily defensible to label typical wines with 0 g/100 mL for fat, saturated fat and proteinFurthermore, the use of a value 0,03 g/100 mL for salt would present little risk of challenge and would easily fall within published tolerances.
Related:
Legislation/Guide for the electronic label (digital wine label using qr-codes)
Calculating the energy value of wine (kJ/kcal per 100ml). Step-by-step guide