Organic winemaking has reached a new stage of government support

Since September 1, mandatory Russian certification of organic wines has been introduced, and the transition period for the introduction of new standards has begun for the market.

Now, in order to be able to place the label "organic wine" on the bottle, winemakers will necessarily have to obtain the appropriate Russian certificate. Amendments to Federal Law FZ-280 dated 08/03/2018 "On Organic Products" also make the terms "organic", "eco", "bio" and their derivatives equivalent. These terms will be used only by those producers who will go through the procedure of confirming the production of organic products.

"The amendments to the Federal Law "On Organic Products" regarding the mandatory certification of ecological wines coming into force on September 1 is an important stage for the formation of the organic market in Russia.

This measure creates transparent and equal rules of the game for all market participants, both for domestic producers and importers. This is a logical step towards regulating the market for the production of environmentally friendly products.

Some of the winemakers have already proved that they produce real organic wine, having received the appropriate certificate. Now the unified mandatory rules have been brought up to the level of all others. This will create a healthy competition in which the one who offers the best quality wins. Ultimately, this will strengthen people's trust in the organic label and give a powerful impetus to the development of domestic high–quality winemaking," said Vladimir Uvaidov, Director of the Department for the Development of Organic and "Green" Products at Roskachestvo.

The new requirements apply equally to both Russian and imported wines. The changes were supposed to come into force in 2024, but lawmakers decided to give importers a delay so that they could receive certificates for their suppliers' wines.

Now, the labeling of any organic wines must be confirmed by a Russian certificate, and on the label, in addition to the corresponding inscription, there must be a single sample sign – a green leaf on a white background. Among other additions is the clarification of the requirement for the maximum possible content of the main wine preservative, sulfur dioxide, which now cannot exceed 100 mg/l, whereas in "ordinary" still wine, the sulfur dioxide content can reach up to 200 mg/l.

It is worth noting that the Russian standard is stricter than the European standard in terms of its requirements: in the EU, the maximum sulfur dioxide content for organic white wines is 150 mg/l.

Today, more than a dozen Russian companies and wineries have an "organic" certificate for vineyards, among them Villa di Alma, Tempelhof Winery, AYA, Uppa Winery, Manor Mangup from Crimea, Burnier and Nikolaev and Sons from Krasnodar Krai, Tempelhof from Stavropol. The leading regions in organic grape cultivation are Crimea and Sevastopol, whose primacy is largely due to the peculiarities of the climate. Mandatory certification will help Russian producers to confirm the authenticity of the organic origin of wines and, as a result, take their rightful place in the consumer basket.

The key event for the wine industry will be the Russian Wine Forum, which will be held on November 12-13, 2025. The Forum is organized by the Roscongress Foundation and the Association "Federal Self-Regulatory Organization of Winegrowers and Winemakers of Russia" (FSRO ABVR). The co–organizer is Rosselkhoznadzor. The strategic scientific partner is the Kurchatov Institute National Research Center. The forum will become a platform for discussing trends, technologies and prospects for the development of Russian winemaking.