European Wine Day 2025: Europe needs to be proud of its wine !

The European Wine Day 2025 brought together over 100 participants today at the headquarters of the Région Grand Est in Strasbourg. This successful event gathering winemakers, stakeholders and policymakers from across Europe, was an occasion to make an appeal for a proudly wine-producing Europe and build a common and shared vision of the policies needed to strengthen the sector. 

Strasbourg, 21st October 2025 – This new edition of the European Wine Day brought together more than 100 participants in Strasbourg — a key location chosen as the European Parliament meets in plenary session this week — to discuss the future of Europe’s wine sector at a key moment for EU agricultural policy. The event, driven by Farm Europe, La Coopération Agricole – Vignerons Coopérateurs, the AREV, and Iter Vitis, has become an essential platform for dialogue between professionals, policymakers, and civil society, aiming to build a shared vision for a competitive, sustainable, and culturally vibrant European viticulture. This event was also an occasion to launch a manifesto for a proudly wine-producing Europe. 

Opening the conference, Yves Madre, President of the European Wine Day and of Farm Europe, underlined the strategic context in which the meeting was taking place. He highlighted that winegrowers across Europe are facing profound transformations — from shifting consumption patterns and generational renewal challenges to climate change and the growing impact of unbalanced narratives on health and alcohol consumption. He stressed the need for the EU to provide a coherent policy framework that supports the sector’s sustainability and competitiveness, while recognising its cultural and economic importance.

Throughout the day, speakers and participants examined the main challenges and opportunities facing the European wine sector. Discussions focused on the need to combine economic, environmental, and social performance, rather than pursuing one dimension at the expense of others. The sessions also addressed the importance of maintaining consumer trust, ensuring fair competition in international trade, and promoting a balanced approach to health communication based on science and moderation.

Franck Leroy, President of the Grand Est Region and of AREV, underlined the importance of hosting this year’s edition in Strasbourg, at the heart of a major winegrowing region. He recalled that Alsace embodies the close link between viticulture, territory, and identity, and stressed the role of the regions in defending Europe’s wine heritage and supporting its renewal.

Christophe Hansen, EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, welcomed the spirit of dialogue that defines the European Wine Day and recognised the contribution of the wine sector to Europe’s excellence, identity, and sustainability goals. He reaffirmed the European Commission’s commitment to supporting the sector through innovation, climate adaptation, and generational renewal.

MEPs from different political groups contributed actively to the discussions. Herbert Dorfmann highlighted the need for a Common Agricultural Policy that gives winegrowers the means to remain resilient and autonomous in the face of market volatility and climate challenges. Céline Imart underlined the importance of strengthening Europe’s position in global markets and ensuring fair trade conditions for producers. Carlo Fidanza stressed the interdependence between economic viability, environmental protection, and social sustainability. Esther Herranz García insisted on the need to safeguard the sector’s competitiveness and cultural dimension through coherent European policies. Dario Nardella and Carmen Crespo called for an ambitious, future-oriented European framework that recognises wine as both a strategic economic sector and a pillar of rural life, while Eric Sargiacomo reiterated the need for the EU to defend its viticultural model in the face of global challenges.

The conclusions of the working sessions highlighted a set of key measures for the future of the sector: reconnecting wine with consumers through adapting the offer, maintaining a strong and common CAP, addressing climate change through adaptation and crisis management, and fostering innovation throughout the value chain.

The event closed with a strong message of unity and optimism. Participants called for a renewed European policy framework that supports growth, recognises the social and cultural value of wine, and invests in the future of those who make it possible.

As Yves Madre concluded, the European Wine Day stands as a space for open, constructive dialogue between all parts of the sector — a platform to define together the vision and ambition needed for the rebirth of European viticulture.

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