DANTE INTERNATIONAL S.A., with registered office in Bucharest, 148, Virtutii Road, Space E47, 6th District, with fiscal domicile and postal address in Bucharest, district 2, Street Gara Herastrau no. 6, Globalworth Square Building, 8th floor, unique registration code RO 14399840, and Trade Register number J2002000372404, hereinafter referred to as eMAG,
We would like to inform you of the following legal requirements and obligations that must be respected in the activity of marketing wine products and flavored wine products:
I. Legal framework
- Wine products:
- Regulation (EU) No. 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No. 922/72, (EEC) No. 234/79, (EC) No. 1037/2001 and (EC) No. 1234/2007;
- Regulation (EU) 2021/2117 of the European Parliament and of the Council of December 2, 2021 amending Regulation (EU) no. 1308/2013 establishing a common organization of agricultural products markets, of Regulation (EU) no. 1151/2012 regarding systems in the field of quality of agricultural and food products, of Regulation (EU) no. 251/2014 regarding the definition, description, presentation, labeling and protection of geographical indications of flavored wine products and Regulation (EU) no. 228/2013 regarding specific measures in the field of agriculture in favor of the outermost regions of the Union;
- Law 164/2015 of the vineyard and wine in the common organization system of the wine market (“Law 164/2015”);
- Government Decision no. 512/2016 for the approval of the Methodological Norms for the application of the Vine and Wine Law in the system of the common organization of the wine market no. 164/2015 (“Methodological Norms”);
- Rules regarding the marketing of products on the eMAG platform.
- Flavored wine products:
- Regulation (EU) no. 251/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of February 26, 2014 regarding the definition, description, presentation, labeling and protection of geographical indications of flavored wine products and repealing Regulation (EEC) no. 1601/91 of the Council;
- Joint Order of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development no. 1525/2018, the Ministry of Health no. 67/2019, and the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority no. 73/2019.
- Government Decision no. 1263/2024 on the designation of competent authorities responsible for controls, establishing contraventions and applying sanctions in the flavored wine products sector;
- Rules regarding the marketing of products on the eMAG platform.
Based on the aforementioned regulations, traders who offer wine products and flavored wine products for sale to consumers are obliged to clearly identify the product offered to consumers and to provide them with all real, correct, and complete information about the characteristics of the product, taken from the technical label and the artistic label on the product packaging.
II. Classification of wines as wine products and flavored wine products
A. Wines
According to the provisions of art. 17 of the Methodological Norms, wines are classified as follows:
- Wine with a controlled designation of origin, hereinafter referred to as DOC wine;
- Wine with a geographical indication, hereinafter referred to as GI wine;
- Still wine without AOC and without GI, with a variety name, which uses the name of the wine grape variety or varieties from which it is obtained for marketing purposes, provided that it is obtained in a proportion of at least 85% of the variety used on the label, hereinafter referred to as varietal wine;
- Wine without a D.O.C., without a G.I., and without a variety name, hereinafter referred to as wine.
The definitions of wine products and by-products, such as still wine, new wine undergoing fermentation, liqueur wine, sparkling wine, quality sparkling wine, quality aromatic sparkling wine, semi-sparkling wine, and sparkling wine, are provided in Annex 3 to Government Decision No. 512/2016.
B. Flavored wine products
In accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EU) No. 251/2014, flavored wine products are divided into the following categories:
- Flavored wine;
- Flavored wine-based beverages (e.g., Pelinul, Sangria, etc.);
- Flavored cocktails made from wine products.
Annex II to Regulation (EU) No 251/2014 details each category of flavored wine products.
III. The difference between WINE and FLAVORED WINE PRODUCTS
To highlight the essential differences between wine and flavored wine products, we mention the following:
- Wine is a food product obtained exclusively by the total or partial alcoholic fermentation of fresh grapes, crushed or uncrushed, or grape must.
- Flavored wine is a beverage obtained from one or more wine products other than “Retsina” wine, in which these products represent at least 75% of the total volume, and which may contain added alcohol, colorants, grape must (including partially fermented), may be sweetened, with an actual alcoholic strength of at least 14.5% vol. and less than 22% vol., as well as a total alcoholic strength of at least 17.5% vol.
- Wine-based flavored beverage is a beverage obtained from one or more wine products, other than wines with added alcohol and “Retsina” wine, in which these products represent at least 50% of the total volume, without added alcohol (except in the cases provided for in Annex II to Regulation (EU) No. 251/2014), which may contain colorants, grape must (including partially fermented), may be sweetened, and has an actual alcoholic strength by volume of at least 4.5% vol. and less than 14.5% vol.
- A flavored cocktail made from wine products is a drink made from one or more wine products, other than wines with added alcohol and “Retsina” wine, in which these products represent at least 50% of the total volume, without added alcohol, which may contain colorants, may be sweetened, and has an actual alcoholic strength by volume of more than 1.2% vol. and less than 10% vol.
IV. General requirements for labeling
According to the legal provisions in force, the following legal requirements must be complied with in the marketing of wine products and flavored wine products:
- “Labeling” means all mentions, indications, trademarks, images, or signs appearing on any packaging, document, advertisement, label, ring, or sleeve accompanying or referring to a wine or flavored wine product.
- Product labels must contain true, accurate, and complete information about the characteristics of the product, which must not be misleading to the consumer regarding the properties, nature, composition, origin, method of production, or other essential characteristics of the product.
- The product name and description on the website must accurately reflect the information on the technical label of the bottle so as not to provide incorrect or different information that could mislead the consumer as to the nature, composition, or origin of the product.
- The mandatory information that must be displayed in the labeling system when selling products through distance selling is identical to that required for physical commerce, so that all information regulated by law as mandatory in the labeling system must also be available and visible when publishing the advertisement through the eMAG Marketplace platform.
- It is a labeling non-compliance to present products as having won awards or distinctions in national or international competitions, in the absence of appropriate documentary evidence for the batch of wine sold. Mentioning medals or distinctions that have not actually been obtained by the batch in question is likely to mislead the consumer and contravenes the regulations on accurate and transparent information for consumers.
1. Requirements for the labeling of wine products in accordance with the legal provisions in force:
- The labeling of wine products must include mandatory information (g., the name of the wine product category, where applicable, the mention and name of the PDO and GI, alcohol content, country of origin, list of ingredients, nutritional information etc.) and optional indications (e.g. vintage year, sugar content, name of one or more grape varieties, distinctions awarded etc.).
- References to the grape variety/varieties and the area of origin may be used for wines in the first two categories mentioned above (D.O.C. and I.G.) if they are duly certified and indicated by the bottler on the packaging. For wines certified as varietal wines, only the grape variety/varieties from which the wines are made and the area of origin may be specified, provided that the area is not protected as a DOC or IG. For the category of simple wine (without D.O.C., without I.G. and without varietal designation), any reference to the variety is non-compliant.
- With regard to totally or partially dealcoholized wines, these continue to be classified as wine products and may be marketed accordingly in the “Wines” section, with no alternative classifications such as “Other non-alcoholic beverages” permitted. Statements such as “without alcohol,” “alcohol free,” or “alkoholfrei” (“alcohol-free”) are not sufficient to ensure compliance with labeling requirements for completely dealcoholized wines (0% alcohol); in these situations, the use of the statement “dealcoholized” is mandatory, in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
- Labeling products as “BIO” or “ECO” without having the appropriate certification constitutes non-compliance, in the absence of the specific logo for organic farming and the certification body code. In accordance with applicable regulations, economic operators marketing organic products online are required to be registered in the organic production control system and to hold a valid certification issued by an approved control body.
2. Requirements for the labeling of flavored wine products in accordance with the legal provisions in force:
- These types of beverages must be presented and labeled in a manner that ensures that they do not detract from the wine sector and do not mislead consumers as to the category of the product or its characteristics.
- When labeling flavored wine products, mandatory elements are used (e.g., name of the food product, list of ingredients, alcohol content, country of origin or place of provenance, if applicable etc.).
V. Recommendations for ensuring compliance
In order to avoid the aforementioned situations of non-compliance and because we want the activity of merchants on the eMAG Marketplace platform to be carried out in compliance with the regulations in force, we hereby inform you that, for the sale of products such as wines, special wines, flavored wine products, etc., compliance with the applicable legal provisions is required.
In this regard:
- Both wine products and flavored wine products will fall into the appropriate categories.
- The artistic label, i.e. the one affixed to the front of the bottle, does not always provide all the information about the product, which is supplemented on the back label. Therefore, we recommend uploading photos to the image gallery that include both the main label and the back label.
- The description or specifications of the product must not include information that is not expressly assumed by the bottler through the artistic label and counter label applied to the packaging, any deviation from these statements being likely to mislead the consumer and contravene the legal requirements regarding accurate and transparent information.
- Contradictory information regarding the origin of the product shall not be used, as this may mislead the consumer and contravene legal obligations regarding accurate information. For example, it is not permitted to present a product manufactured in the Republic of Moldova as “authentic Romanian” without documentary evidence in accordance with applicable legislation.
- References to grape varieties, geographical area of origin, or distinctions/medals in the product description shall not be used unless there is an explicit correspondence with the information on the product’s technical label.
- We note that any beverage containing flavorings (such as chocolate, cocoa, fruit etc.) cannot be called “wine” because it does not meet the legal definition of wine. Furthermore, products such as “Sangria” are regulated separately in the applicable legislation, being classified as wine-based flavored beverages and must be marketed as such, without being classified or presented as wines.
- All flavored wine products are obtained exclusively from wine sector products that have been subsequently flavored. Therefore, products presented as flavored wine products cannot be considered compliant if they are obtained from raw materials other than wine resulting from the fermentation of grapes or grape must. For example, products obtained from fruit wine, other than grapes, cannot legally be classified as flavored wine products.
VI. Consequences of non-compliance with legal requirements
In the event that we receive notifications or complaints regarding non-compliance with the aforementioned provisions and they are found to be justified, we inform you that the products listed on the eMAG Marketplace platform will be blocked.
Additionally, in accordance with the provisions of Law no. 164/2015 and Government Decision no. 1263/2024, non-compliance with the legal requirements regarding wine products and flavored wine products may result in the following contraventional sanctions:
According to Article 65(1) of Law No. 164/2015, the following constitute contraventions:
Ltr. q) inscribing or applying medals and distinctions from national and international competitions to wine batches that have not been awarded medals or distinctions;
Ltr. r) failure to comply with the rules on labeling and presentation of wines and other wine products in violation of the provisions laid down in the rules for the application of this law;
For these actions, the contraventional fine is between 12.000 and 20.000 lei and the products are to be withdrawn from sale until the deficiencies are remedied.
According to Article 6 of Government Decision No. 1263/2024, the following are prohibited and constitute offences:
- Ltr. b) the use in labeling/advertising of elements that falsely suggest affiliation with the wine sector;
- Ltr. c) incorrect registration of sales names or other mandatory information;
- Ltr. d) unauthorized use of designations of origin, geographical indications, or protected varieties;
- Ltr. e) omission or incorrect wording of mandatory labeling elements.
For these actions, the contraventional fine is between 30,000 and 50,000 lei for the actions specified in letter d), between 10,000 and 30,000 lei for the actions specified in letters b) and c) and between 5,000 and 10,000 lei for the actions specified in letter e) and the withdrawal from the sale, temporary suspension, or permanently removed from sale, depending on the nature of the non-compliance case.
Thank you for your cooperation,
DANTE INTERNATIONAL S.A.
