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European wine trade body postpones launch of innovative electronic label platform

01 November 2021 By Arabella Mileham

The Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins has postponed the launch of the new EU-wide e-label platform that was set to go live this week, due to technical hitches.

The new U-Label platform was developed by the CEEV, SpiritsEUROPE and key industry stakeholders to deliver greater transparency, by giving consumers more information on their products from ingredients, to nutrition, to information about sustainability and responsible drinking guidelines.

It was due to launch today (1 November) but has been postponed until 1 December to iron out technical features.

In a statement on its website, the CEEV said “With only a few days to go before the opening date, some technical features are still to be improved to ensure the best possible experience to companies and consumers. Therefore, it was decided to postpone the opening of the platform to 1 December 2021.”

Once it has gone live, consumers will be able to access the information in their own language about via a QR code on the bottle, in the first practical sector-wide application of e-labelling in Europe. It also marks the first time EU legislation allowed wines to communicate mandatory information through e-labels.

Speaking at the unveiling of the initiative in September, CEEV Secretary General Ignacio Sánchez Recarte said “We decided to create U-LABEL to offer all wine and spirits companies an affordable turnkey solution to embark on this digital journey. We are proud to be able to deliver this innovative multilingual tool over two years before new labelling rules become a legal obligation for wine producers under the CAP reform.”

Sixteen major wine and spirit producers were involved in the project to develop the platform, including Sogrape, Campo Viejo, Champagne Tattinger, Zonin, Zamora, GH Mumm Champagne, Edrington, Remy Cointreau and Absolut Vodka.