(Wine-Searcher) - In a move that has been greeted with dismay by some producers, Alsace dry white wines will be obliged to carry the word "dry" on labels from the 2016 vintage.

The Association of Alsace Producers (AVA) reckons consumers are turning away from the region's wines because they are afraid of buying an off-dry or sweet wine when they wanted a dry one.

"This has become clear in Parisian brasseries, where AlsaceRieslings are getting rarer," AVA president Jérôme Bauer said.

The move to dry labeling is Alsace's interpretation of European Union law, which stipulates four levels of sweetness should be carried on labels: sec, demi-sec, moelleux and doux.

From 2016, dry Alsace wines must be labeled "sec" or "dry" if they have maximum four grams of residual sugar per liter.

It has been welcomed by some producers, although others feel it is misguided, as the default style of Alsace whites is mineral dryness rather than sweetness.

"We were not in favor of the change, especially for Riesling," Emanuelle Gallis of leading cooperative Cave de Turckheim told Wine Searcher. "As far as we are concerned, Alsace Riesling should be dry. Off-dry or sweet should be the exception, so we'd prefer it if those who make those styles had to put that on their labels."

Frédéric Blanck of Domaine Paul Blanck is also doubtful – his argument being that such regulations commodify and homogenize a business that is all about individuality and difference.

"It's good for some consumers but, as a winemaker, I don't think there's any use for it. It makes it easy for the consumer and they lose their capacity to make a choice.

"This changes the business, which is one in which we have to deal with different conditions and create different wines every year."

Others, like Felix Meyer at Domaine Meyer-Fonné, feel that, as there is a range of sweeter Alsace styles on the market, it makes sense to let consumers know how much residual sugar they are getting.