Italian rectified grape must instead of common extra-European sugar. The battle for quality wines and transparent labels
Innkeeper, how is the wine? To the famous rhetorical question should be added Is it made of only grapes or with cane sugar? Indeed, because – due to the silence on wine labels – few know that in the production of sparkling wine many use foreign sugars, from beet or cane, the cheapest ones. And very few, in fact very few, use grape sugar. Although Italy itself is leader global in its production.
Sugar in still wines and sparkling wines
In still wines the addition of beet or cane sugar is allowed only in Northern European countries, including France. In Italy and other Mediterranean countries, this practice – called sugaring – is instead illegal. And prosecuted by ICQRF as fraud. It is in fact a shortcut to ‘correct’ and ‘falsify’ wines, even when the grapes are unripe or immature. Often due to climatic factors, in areas poorly suited to viticulture.
In sparkling wines, without prejudice to the chaptalization ban, the use of sugar is instead allowed in Italy as well. In the so-called refermentation phase. But which sugar is used? Italian grape sugar or foreign sugars?
Rectified solid must, the Italian genius
Grape must is the starting base to extract the sugar naturally contained in its berries. This is the only sugary substance that should be allowed in the winery, excluding instead extracts of cane and beet. Must is obviously more expensive as it requires careful processing to exclude unforeseen problems in the winery. But it comes from the same plant, it’s only grapes, a difference of no small importance.
Rectified concentrated must (Mcr) is allowed also in Italy for the enrichment of wines and for the refermentation of sparkling wine, precisely because it is made from the same raw material that composes the wine. It can be semi-liquid or solid. The first version is produced in various countries, in Europe and worldwide. The solid must is instead the result of a national research applied to the processing of lees. Thus expressing, once again, the Italian genius.
Solid rectified concentrated must (Mcrs) is obtained with an innovative process that initially separates the two sugars of the must – glucose and fructose – and then reunites them in crystalline form. The advantages of Mcrs, well known to oenologists, are presented in the study ‘Wine for Wine’ (W4W), conducted by the Edmund Mach Foundation of San Michele all’Adige – under the scientific responsibility of Prof. Fulvio Mattivi, in collaboration with Prof. Attilio Scienza of the University of Milan – for Naturalia.
The research of the Mach Foundation on the oenological practices of enrichment, sweetening, and sparkling with rectified must shows how the solid form version achieves better performance, compared to the liquid one and not only.
Purity distinguishes the solid crystallized must from its water-based counterpart. Mcrs is free of foreign substances, which may derive from thermal treatment or from the original grapes themselves. It contains no bacteria, yeasts, lactic acids, or molds, which instead tend to proliferate in the presence of water and can alter the taste of the wine. (1) Nor does it contain those volatile compounds, produced in other processes by Maillard reaction and caramelization, which affect the aromatic profile of the wine.
The presence of substances inherent to the grape – such as Beta-Damascenone – also, according to the authors of the study – enhance the positive fruity notes and mask the herbaceous notes of Bacchus’ drink. Thus, the choice to produce wines and sparkling wines ‘100% grape’, which Italian producers could well enhance to distinguish themselves in international markets.
Transparency on the label? Only partly, on organic wines. It's time to change
The legitimate request of consumers to know the ingredients of wines, and thus know what type of sugar was added (or used for thesparkling process), was denied by the European Commission in 2017. When – with a two-year delay – it ruled on the exemption from the obligation to inform consumers about the ingredients of alcoholic beverages.
Transparency is now satisfied, at least in part, in productions organic. Partial transparency as it refers to the origin of the ingredients, not their identity. Thus, if organic sparkling wine reports on the label the indication ‘EU-nonEU agriculture’ one can deduce the use of organic cane sugar extra-EU in the phase of sparkling process. The only ‘European’ organic cane sugar is in fact that which comes from the French Overseas Territories (e.g. Martinique).
Italy now asks for the introduction of the obligation to indicate on the label of all wines, at least, the presence of foreign sugars. To distinguish ‘cheated’ products through sweetening, a practice low-cost which causes serious distortion of competition among winemakers of different EU member countries, disregarding consumers’ rights to distinguish ‘100% grape’ wine from its imitations.
Marta Strinati and Dario Dongo
Notes
(1) This aspect is particularly relevant in refermentation practices, where microbial contamination represents a risk factor for the stability and quality of the product.
Professional journalist since January 1995, she has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and magazines (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). Author of journalistic investigations on food, she published the book 'Reading labels to know what we eat'.
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT – Food Times) and Égalité.
