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News
Vodka defined
EU agriculture ministers have finally put an end to the so-called “vodka war”. Following a ministerial vote earlier on this week, producers using grapes, and not just traditional grain or potatoes, to make the spirit will be entitled to label it as vodka.
This will be a cause for celebration among companies such as Diageo, which produces grape-based Ciroc, after the EU threatened to limit the spirit’s ingredients to traditional raw materials such as cereals or potatoes.
From now on, vodka producers will be allowed to use non-traditional ingredients as long as they are mentioned on the label, while vodka made from grains and potatoes will just be labelled “vodka”.Â
Mariann Fischer Boel, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, described the solution as a “pragmatic compromise”. But the decision has frustrated distillers of traditional vodka. The Polish delegation, which says the decision “constitutes a licence to experiment and seek out cheap raw materials”, argues that the use of raw materials other than cereals and potatoes undermines the reputation of vodka and may have a negative impact on its quality and future market position. It claims that consumers could be misled as “future producers of new vodkas made from non-traditional raw materials will automatically be able to draw the benefits of the reputation acquired over many years by vodkas produced from traditional raw materials”.
Fionnuala Synnott 19/12