The Assembly of European Wine Regions (AREV) will be participating in the ‘High Level Group’ organised by the European Commission, to be held this Wednesday 11 September in Brussels. AREV representatives will join other stakeholders in the wine industry, as well as representatives from Member States and the European Parliament.
AREV, representing Europe’s winegrowing regions, would like to reaffirm its commitment to pursuing a balance between tradition and innovation. We would like to suggest that the development of digital innovation, precision viticulture and the use of new genomic techniques should be given particular emphasis, while promoting sustainable territorial development. AREV also suggests that environmental regulations could perhaps be more balanced, and that there might be stronger support for wine promotion, to help ensure the sector’s resilience and competitiveness in the face of economic, climatic and consumer challenges.
The European wine sector is currently facing a number of significant challenges that require immediate and decisive action. These include:
– Economic and geopolitical instability: As is the case with other sectors, the wine industry is facing challenges related to rising raw material costs, inflation and production costs.
– Evolving consumer preferences and marketing approaches: We are seeing a notable decline in wine consumption, particularly of red wine. This is partly due to new consumer behaviour influenced by health messages that may inadvertently stigmatise moderate wine consumption.
– Innovation and climate change: The sector is becoming increasingly exposed to the potential impact of climatic risks, such as drought and heavy rainfall, which could have a direct effect on production and product quality. It would be beneficial for the sector to consider ways to adapt to these challenges in order to ensure its continued survival.
– Tougher environmental requirements: Although the objectives of the Green Pact are essential to protect the environment, they impose considerable constraints on winegrowers. In some cases, these requirements make it virtually impossible for winegrowers to carry out their work, adding a further burden to a profession that is already struggling.
– The consequences of the above are lower wine prices and higher production costs, resulting in prices below the break-even point.
At the meeting of the High Level Group, the AREV will be calling for in-depth reflection to analyse the causes of this crisis and propose concrete solutions to revitalise European winegrowing.
The proposals that AREV will be submitting to the European institutions include
– Designing the next CAP by strengthening existing policies and tools for risk management, taking into account the specific features of production systems such as sloping vineyards.
– Encourage innovation in new types of wine and new forms of consumption.
– Support efforts in precision viticulture and the use of drones.
– Develop and implement New Genomic Techniques (NGT).
– Define environmental regulations in a realistic and balanced way, to allow more viable flexibility for the wine industry.
– Support efforts to promote domestic consumption and wine exports, by offering greater flexibility and simplified access to these promotional programs.
