🍷 New wine

New wine covers the youngest products of a harvest: wine still fermenting, such as Federweißer, Sturm or burčák, and finished young wine sold within weeks, such as nouveau, primeur or novello. EU law sets separate categories for the first group, while national laws set names, origin rules and sales dates. ¹¹⁰⁶

Two EU categories. «New wine still in fermentation» is a product whose alcoholic fermentation is not yet complete and which is not yet separated from its lees. «Partially fermented grape must» has an actual alcoholic strength above 1% vol but below three fifths of its total strength. Nouveau, primeur and novello, by contrast, are finished wines. ¹

Germany: Federweißer. The name Federweißer is allowed only for partially fermented must from fresh must with a protected designation of origin or geographical indication, intended for direct consumption; simpler local products may be called «Neuer», «Sauser» or «Rauscher». ¹⁰ The German Wine Institute says it is best halfway from juice to wine, at about 5% vol, and its container is never sealed airtight. ¹¹

Austria: Sturm. Austrian Sturm is made only from Austrian grapes and may be sold from 1 August to 31 December of the harvest year while it is still fermenting. Its total alcoholic strength may reach 13.5% for white and 14.5% for red. ⁶

Czechia: burčák. Czech burčák comes only from grapes harvested in Czechia and may be sold from 1 August to 30 November. ⁵ Like Federweißer and Sturm, it belongs to the same EU category of fermenting new wine, but under its own national name. ¹⁵

Italy: vino novello. Italian vino novello may only be a DOP or IGP wine, at least 40% made by carbonic maceration, with at least 11% vol and up to 10 g/l of sugar. It goes on sale from 30 October and must be bottled by 31 December of the harvest year. ⁴

France and Austria: dates. In France, AOC wines labelled nouveau or primeur may be sold from the third Thursday of November, and IGP wines from the third Thursday of October. ⁸⁹ Austrian Heuriger, a young wine of the current year, may be sold to consumers until 31 March of the second year after the harvest. ⁷

Sugar on the label. Finished young wines use the usual EU sugar words: «dry» up to 4 g/l and «medium dry» up to 12 g/l, so a novello with up to 10 g/l is never sweet. ²⁴ Fermenting products change from day to day: their sugar falls as their alcohol rises. ¹¹¹

Why it matters to you. Fermenting wine keeps releasing carbon dioxide, so its bottles are not sealed tight: keep them upright and cold. ¹¹ The names Sturm and burčák guarantee local grapes, and new wine is made to be drunk young. ⁶⁵ The WHO warns that alcohol causes harm and that no level of drinking is risk-free. ³