E-Label Language Requirements: Which Languages Do You Actually Need?
EU wine e-labels must be available in the official language(s) of every member state where the wine is sold. Here's exactly what that means, which languages each country requires, and how to handle it without losing your mind.
The Actual Rule
The language requirement for wine e-labels does not come from a wine-specific regulation. It comes from Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on food information to consumers, which applies to all food products including wine.
Article 15 states:
Mandatory food information shall appear in a language easily understood by the consumers of the Member States where a food is marketed.
Member states may stipulate that the information be provided in one or more of their official languages. And most do exactly that.
This means the language requirement is not optional or best-practice. It is a legal obligation. If your wine is on a shelf in Germany, the mandatory information (ingredients, nutrition, allergens) must be available in German. If it is on a shelf in France, it must be in French. If it is in Belgium, you may need it in Dutch, French, and German, depending on the region.
The regulation applies to all mandatory food information, and since the e-label is the mechanism through which you deliver the ingredients list and nutrition declaration, it falls squarely under these language rules.
What This Means in Practice
For a small winery that sells only domestically, the requirement is simple: provide the e-label in your country's official language.
But the moment you start exporting, which most EU wine producers do, the language requirement gets complicated fast.
Consider a mid-sized Italian winery that sells to Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, and Poland. That is six countries, but the actual language count is higher: Italian, German, French, Dutch, Swedish, Polish, plus Belgium alone requires Dutch, French, and German. That is seven distinct languages for six markets. Add Austria (German, already covered), Portugal (Portuguese), and Finland (Finnish and Swedish), and the list grows quickly.
Scale this to a winery or negociant that distributes across most of the EU, and you could easily need 15 to 20 languages for a single product.
The Misconception About English
One of the most common assumptions we hear: "We will just do it in English. Everyone in Europe speaks English."
This is incorrect for compliance purposes. While English is widely spoken as a second language across the EU, individual member states can and do require information in their own official language(s). English is only an official EU language for Ireland (and previously the UK, which has left the EU). Malta also uses English as an official language alongside Maltese.
For every other member state, English does not satisfy the legal requirement. France requires French. Germany requires German. Spain requires Spanish. It does not matter how many people in those countries understand English. The regulation gives member states the right to mandate their own official language(s).
In practice, enforcement varies. Some countries are stricter than others. But relying on English alone is a compliance risk that grows every time a bottle crosses a border.
Countries With Multiple Official Languages
Several EU member states have more than one official language, which further increases the translation burden:
| Country | Official Language(s) Required |
|---|---|
| Belgium | Dutch, French, German |
| Luxembourg | French, German (Luxembourgish is official but French and German are used for legal/commercial purposes) |
| Finland | Finnish, Swedish |
| Ireland | Irish, English |
| Malta | Maltese, English |
| Cyprus | Greek (Turkish is official but applies in the northern part) |
Belgium is the most demanding case. Products sold nationally must carry information in all three official languages. A bottle on a Brussels supermarket shelf needs Dutch and French at minimum, and retailers with national distribution will expect German as well.
Full Table: EU Member States and Required E-Label Languages
Here is the complete list of EU member states and the language(s) your e-label must support when selling in each market:
| Member State | Required Language(s) |
|---|---|
| Austria | German |
| Belgium | Dutch, French, German |
| Bulgaria | Bulgarian |
| Croatia | Croatian |
| Cyprus | Greek |
| Czech Republic | Czech |
| Denmark | Danish |
| Estonia | Estonian |
| Finland | Finnish, Swedish |
| France | French |
| Germany | German |
| Greece | Greek |
| Hungary | Hungarian |
| Ireland | English, Irish |
| Italy | Italian |
| Latvia | Latvian |
| Lithuania | Lithuanian |
| Luxembourg | French, German |
| Malta | Maltese, English |
| Netherlands | Dutch |
| Poland | Polish |
| Portugal | Portuguese |
| Romania | Romanian |
| Slovakia | Slovak |
| Slovenia | Slovenian |
| Spain | Spanish (Castilian) |
| Sweden | Swedish |
Note that some countries have regional or co-official languages (such as Catalan, Basque, and Galician in Spain) that are not EU official languages but may carry additional national requirements. The table above covers the mandatory EU-level obligations.
The Practical Challenge for Wineries
For a single product, translating an e-label is manageable. The content is mostly standardized: ingredient names, nutrition terms, allergen warnings. But the challenge multiplies quickly:
- Multiple products. A winery with 8 wines selling to 12 countries needs translations for every SKU across every language.
- Accuracy. Allergen terminology must be precise. A mistranslation is not just a compliance issue; it is a safety issue.
- Updates. When a vintage changes or an ingredient is added, every translation must be updated.
- Cost. Professional translation services charge per language. At 10 to 20 languages per product, the cost adds up fast.
Many wineries do not have the resources to manage this manually, resulting in either non-compliance or a lot of work.
How Most E-Label Providers Handle Languages
Most e-label platforms offer limited language support:
- A handful of major languages (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish) with no support for smaller EU languages like Estonian, Latvian, or Maltese.
- Manual translation fields where the producer must source and enter their own translations.
- Premium language packs with additional fees per language.
- No automatic detection, meaning the consumer must manually select their language from a dropdown.
For a winery selling to two or three countries, this can work. For anyone with broader EU distribution, the language gap is a real compliance risk.
How ScanThisWine Handles This
Here is how it works: you fill in one form with your wine's details, and ScanThisWine automatically translates the e-label into all 24 official EU languages. One QR code serves all markets, and the page detects the consumer's browser language and displays the right version. There is no per-language fee and no translation limit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is English sufficient for EU wine e-labels? No. English is an official EU language only for Ireland and Malta. Every other member state can require its own official language(s). Relying on English alone puts you at risk of non-compliance in most EU markets.
Do I need to translate allergen information as well? Yes. Allergens are part of mandatory food information under Regulation 1169/2011 and must be provided in the required language(s) of the market. The physical label allergen text ("Contains sulphites") must also be in the appropriate language. ScanThisWine's e-label covers allergen translations automatically.
What happens if my e-label is missing a required language? Enforcement varies by member state, but a missing language can result in the product being considered non-compliant. Consequences range from warnings to removal from sale, depending on the country and the circumstances. It is far simpler to cover all languages from the start than to deal with enforcement actions later.
Can one QR code really work for all EU languages? Yes. The QR code links to a single URL. The page behind that URL detects the consumer's browser language and displays the e-label in the matching language. If the browser is set to Finnish, the consumer sees Finnish. If it is set to Portuguese, they see Portuguese. One QR code, one URL, all 24 languages.
Handle all 24 EU languages from one form. Try it at ScanThisWine.
