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The ban is intended to create a level playing field for producers across Europe. Sucrose is commonly used by producers in northern Europe to boost the alcohol content of fermented grape juice. In addition, the EU will no longer subsidize the use of grape must under plans to cut wasteful spending and reduce the wine surplus generated each year.

"The present system is not only a burden on the EU taxpayer, it is also damaging the industry," committee chairman, John Sewel, said in a statement today. "The EU wine industry can still thrive in the global market but it must take steps now to make itself more competitive and consumer-driven. Legislative reform is certainly needed."

Nations such as France, Italy and Spain, which with their European neighbors produce and consume 60 percent of the world's wine, face falling sales at home and a growing threat from producers from Australia to Chile.

The U.K. panel, in its final report following a 10-month inquiry, also found that producers outside the EU are better able to adapt to a changing market because, unlike European producers, they are allowed to blend wines to give consistency of taste.

They also use branding to better effect and producers in Australia, for instance, have access to bigger plots of land for planting, with associated benefits, according to the report.

About Sucrose:
Molecular structure - the arrangement of the atoms in a molecule. The molecular structure is different from the molecular formula (see below) in that the molecular formula only tells what kinds of atoms are in a molecule and how many of each kind of atom. The molecular structure tells us how those atoms are arranged in space. You can see the difference between the molecular formula and the molecular structure in the picture below.

The molecular structure of a molecule determines the properties of the material. To change a material's properties, you must change the molecular structure of its molecules.

(molecular formula): - a way of describing the kind of atoms and the number of each kind of atom that makes up a molecule. For example, a water molecule is made of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, so its molecular formula is H2O.

About CHAPTALIZATION:
In Short: The practice of adding sugar to grape juice (must) prior to fermentation. This is also known as sugaring. This is allowed in some areas of the world that have difficulty bringing grapes to full maturity (alcohol levels).

In Long:What does the winemaker do when the juice needs more body or alcohol? One way to correct this problem is to add sugar to the must just before fermentation. This practice is called chaptalization, which is common in France and Germany, but not in California. Instead, California winemakers add grape concentrate. The purists mock the practice of chaptalization and refer to it as cheating.

What is Chaptalization:
When natural grape sugars are not high enough to produce reasonable alcohol levels, chaptalization is utilized to attain the necessary sugar levels. Chaptalization is practiced when grapes do not fully ripen. This most commonly happens in cool weather regions like France or because of poor growing seasons. Moreover, if the year has had an insufficient number of sunny days to achieve mature grape ripening or when there has been an excess of rain. When used properly, chaptalization allows the production of full, rich wines with sufficient alcohol levels to give them balance.

Is it Important?:
Ask any experienced winemaker about factors that can come into play to make each year's harvest. Some years, the fruit will be fully ripe, bursting with flavor while other years the fruit seems like it takes forever to ripen, and the harvestable quantity diminished. Low-alcohol wines are prone to wine disorders and to infections by organisms that would otherwise be discouraged by adequate alcohol content.

You may agree that we should just let Mother Nature take its course with the grapes. However, winemakers feel that when the grapes are not ripe enough, they need a little help, and chaptalization is how they enhance the wine.

Contributor: WineDefintions Staff Writer

Source: “Sucrose Ban Will Harm EU Wine Producers, U.K. Lawmakers Say,” Kitty Donaldson, Bloomberg &..., October 31, 2007