article: Winemakers have been accused of fighting new EU regulations on revealing the calorie count on their labels because it will reveal that a bottle of red has the same as six digestives. The European Parliament is set to vote to close the current loophole, which sees all alcoholic drinks exempt from having to reveal nutritional value on their labels, next week. However, European winemakers argue that introducing nutritional labelling would lead to an intolerable rise in production costs, and hit smaller vineyards. Closing the loophole: The European Parliament is set to vote on whether alcoholic beverages must include calorie counts on their labels . Under current EU regulations, producers of alcoholic drinks are not obliged to reveal the nutritional value of their products on the label. According to The Times, winemakers  fear a fall in sales if consumers realise that 'a bottle of red wine has about the same amount of calories as half a packet of digestive biscuits'. But representatives of the European wine industry say the regulation would be devastating for smaller producers. As sugar and calorie levels varies with each vintage, this wound mean annual tests to provide accurate nutritional labelling. 'Obligatory nutritional labelling would lead to an intolerable rise in production costs,' said Aurora Abad, policy officer for the Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins, the wine industry's European body, told The Times. Fighting back: Winemakers say that introducing nutritional labelling would mean annual tests to extablish calories of each vintage, leading  to a rise in production costs that would mainly hit smaller vineyards . Ms Abad also said that as the nutritional value of a bottle of wine changes with age, the calories on the label would not be the same down the line. The European Commission was set to vote on whether to force producers of alcoholic drinks to display nutritional value on their labels in December, but the vote was delayed. Consumer and health organisations who have been pushing for a close of the loophole for alcoholic beverages say it's crucial to include calories on wine, beer and spirits so consumers can make 'informed choices'. 'At present consumers can have complete information about what is in a bottle of milk or fruit juice, but not a bottle of whisky or beer. We consider this unacceptable,' Monique Goyens, director-general of the European Consumer Organisation, said in a letter to the commission seen by the Times. This follows last year's calls from Britain's Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) that labelling is needed in order to tackle obesity. Counting calories: Consumer and health organisations want wine producers to include calories on their bottles so drinkers can make 'informed choices' RSPH chief executive Shirley Cramer said: 'Calorie labelling has been successfully introduced for a wide range of food products and there is now a clear public appetite for this information to be extended to alcohol to help individuals make informed choices. 'With two in three adults overweight or obese, and given that adults who drink get approximately 10% of their calories from alcohol, this move could make a major difference to waistlines of the nation.' A poll in November 2014 found that a majority of UK adults either did not know or underestimated the number of calories in a glass of wine and a pint of lager. Alcohol contains seven calories per gram. A large glass of white wine (250ml) contains on average 185 calories, a glass of champagne around 90 calories, a pint of lager some 180 calories while a double vodka and tonic around 145 calories.
highlights: Winemakers accused of trying to hide calorie count from consumers .
  Proposed EU regulations would force makers to put calories on bottle .
  Producers say calorie counts on label would increase production costs .
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