Dealcoholised Wine Labels: EU Rules and E-Labels

Alcohol-free and lower-alcohol wine is one of the few growing corners of the wine shelf, and since the 2021 reform of the EU wine rules it is a recognised product category with its own legal terms. That brings it inside the same labelling regime as any other bottle, plus a few extra rules that catch producers out: a specific legal term, a best-before date, and the same ingredients and nutrition duties that every wine has had since December 2023. This guide walks through what goes on a dealcoholised wine label, what can move to an e-label behind a QR code, and how to keep a second code for your own story and reorders.

Plain-language guidance, not legal advice. Check the current regulations, your member state's authority and your importer before you print.

Dealcoholised or partially dealcoholised?

Regulation (EU) 2021/2117 amended the EU's common market rules so that wine products can have their alcohol removed and still be sold as wine products. It created two categories, and which one you are in decides the words on your label.

The alcohol has to be removed by an authorised process, which in practice means partial vacuum evaporation, membrane techniques or distillation, and the process must not leave organoleptic defects. You cannot add water or raise the sugar content above that of the original grape must to make up for the lost body. Under the reform, wines with a protected designation of origin or geographical indication can be dealcoholised only where their product specification allows it, and the rules on using the protected name on the result are specific, so check the regulation and your PDO or PGI body before you put a protected name on a dealcoholised wine.

What must be on the bottle

A dealcoholised wine carries the normal compulsory particulars for its category, and the actual alcoholic strength stays mandatory even when it is 0.0% vol. On top of that, two items are specific to these products.

• The term "dealcoholised" or "partially dealcoholised" next to the product category.
• A date of minimum durability ("best before") when the actual alcoholic strength is below 10% vol. Ordinary wine is exempt from best-before dates, but dealcoholised wine is not, because without alcohol it does not keep the same way. The Commission's labelling guidance allows this date to sit outside the main field of vision.
• Allergens such as sulphites, which must be printed on the physical label even if the ingredients list moves online.
• The energy value, written as "E" or "energy" followed by kcal per 100 ml, which stays on the physical label even when the rest of the nutrition declaration moves online.

Who sets the shelf life is up to you as the operator. Many producers run their own stability tests on the finished wine and set the date from those results, then keep the data with the batch records.

Ingredients and nutrition: the e-label option

Dealcoholised wine follows the same rules as other wine for the list of ingredients and the nutrition declaration. You can print both in full, or print only the energy value and put the full nutrition declaration and the ingredients list behind a QR code or other electronic means on the label. If you use the e-label route, the page it opens must not collect or track user data and must not carry marketing. The Commission's Q&A on wine labelling also covers how the code is presented: an "i" symbol alone may not tell the buyer what the code holds, so check its wording on the heading, such as the word "ingredients", that should sit next to the code.

Nutrition is where dealcoholised wine differs most. Alcohol supplies 7 kcal per gram, so removing it lowers the energy value a lot, but sugars and other carbohydrates often make up a larger share of what is left. Calculate the values from your own lab analysis of the finished product rather than from a regular wine of the same grape. Our guide to wine calories explains the method step by step.

Ingredients follow the same naming rules as for other wine. If you use additives or processing aids that must be listed, they are named by category and E-number or specific name as set out in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33, and allergens are emphasised in the list.

UK and US differences

If you sell outside the EU, the words change. In Great Britain, the government's low-alcohol descriptors guidance has long used "alcohol-free" for 0.05% ABV or less, "de-alcoholised" for 0.5% or less, and "low alcohol" for 1.2% or less, so a 0.5% wine that is "alcohol-free" in some markets may need different wording for UK shelves. Check the current GOV.UK guidance before you print a UK label.

In the United States, wine under 7% ABV is generally labelled under Food and Drug Administration rules rather than the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau's wine rules, which changes the panel layout and the nutrition facts format. Ask your importer which rules apply to your exact strength. Our export guide covers how QR codes fit each market.

Label checklist for a dealcoholised wine

• Category term with "dealcoholised" or "partially dealcoholised" beside it.
• Actual alcoholic strength, even at 0.0% vol.
• Best-before date if below 10% vol, based on your own stability data.
• Energy value on the bottle, from a lab analysis of the finished wine.
• Allergens printed on the bottle with the wording allowed for wine.
• If you use an e-label, a QR code clearly marked as holding the ingredients (check the Commission's Q&A for the wording), opening a neutral page with no tracking or marketing.
• A separate, clearly labelled code if you want to tell your story or sell the next bottle.
• A printed proof scanned with more than one phone before the full run.

Use the second code to explain the wine

Buyers of alcohol-free wine tend to have questions a back label cannot answer: how the alcohol was removed, what it tastes like next to the original, what food to pair it with, and where to buy more. None of that is allowed on the legal e-label page. It belongs on a separate code, clearly labelled as something like "Our story" or "Reorder", so the legal "Ingredients" code stays neutral. Our guide to two QR codes on one wine label shows how to lay out both.

FAQs

Does dealcoholised wine need a best-before date?

Yes, if the actual alcoholic strength is below 10% vol after dealcoholisation. That covers every dealcoholised wine and most partially dealcoholised ones.

Can I call a 0.5% wine "alcohol-free"?

In the EU the legal term is "dealcoholised". Other descriptors depend on national rules and the market. In Great Britain, guidance reserves "alcohol-free" for 0.05% ABV or less. Check each market before printing.

Can the ingredients list for dealcoholised wine go on an e-label?

Yes. The same e-label option applies as for other wine, as long as the energy value and allergens stay on the bottle and the e-label page has no tracking or marketing.

Can a PDO wine be fully dealcoholised?

Only where the product specification allows dealcoholisation at all, and the rules on using the PDO or PGI name on the result are specific. Check the regulation and ask your PDO or PGI body before you print.

Where does Tapline fit?

Tapline is not your compliance check. It powers the second code on the back label: a story page for each wine where you can explain how it was made and how it tastes, a reorder button that sends buyers to your shop or stockist list, and scan counts per code, all editable after the labels are printed. On the Scale plan the page can be shown in several languages for export markets. Shopify sync is coming soon. The marketing page is never the legal e-label. Tapline can also host a separate, neutral e-label page that you fill in yourself, and you are responsible for its accuracy. Tapline is built by Esipick, which has been building software for brands since 2013.

Related: what happens after the scan.

Related: two QR codes on one label.

Related: how to calculate wine calories for an EU e-label.

Related: how to write a wine ingredients list for an EU e-label.

Related: wine QR codes for export: EU, UK and US.

Related: EU e-label rules for wine.

Related: wine bottle QR codes that turn into reorders.

Related: pricing.