1995R0554 — EN — 11.10.1996 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 554/95
of 13 March 1995
layingdowndetailedrulesforthedescriptionandpresentationofsparklingandaeratedsparkling
wines
(OJ L 56, 14.3.1995, p. 3)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Commission Regulation (EC) No 554/95 of 13 March 1995 L 252 10 4.10.1996
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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 554/95
of 13 March 1995
laying down detailed rules for the description and presentation of
sparkling and aerated sparkling wines
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Havingreg ard to the Treaty establishingthe European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 of 16 March
1987 on the common organization of the market in wine (1), as amended
by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, and inparticular Article 75 (5) thereof,
Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2707/86 of 28 August 1986
layingdown detailed rules for the description and presentation of spark-lingand aerated sparklingwines(
2), as last amended by Regulation
(EEC) No 3826/90 (3) has frequently been amended; whereas, in the
interests of clarity, and on the occasion of further amendments, the rulesin question should be consolidated;
Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 2333/92 (
4), as amended by the
Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, lays down generalrules for the description and presentation of sparklingwines and aeratedsparklingwines; whereas the detailed rules for applyingthe principleslaid down in the abovementioned Regulation must be adopted;
Whereas, since it is compulsory throughout the Community to show the
actual alcoholic strength of sparkling wines and of aerated sparklingwines, detailed rules should be enacted that will create uniform condi-tions of competition and so facilitate consumer choice; whereas theserules should be made to correspond with the provisions of the CouncilDirective 76/766/EEC of 27 July 1976 on the approximation of the lawsof the Member States relatingto alcohol tables(
5);
Whereas the first indent of the first subparagraph of Article 3 (2) of
Regulation (EEC) No 2333/92 gives operators the option of showingeither the name or business name of a producer established in theCommunity or that of a vendor established in the Community; whereas,for the sake of better consumer information and better information ofthe authorities responsible for supervisingthe trade in sparklingwines,it should be made compulsory for the name to be preceded by theprofessional status of the person responsible for labelling; whereas thereis no need to require this if it is apparent from the business name thatthe operator is a producer of sparklingwine or if the producer has hadthe sparklingwine produced on his behalf by another undertaking ,provided in such cases that this is made clear by an expression such as‘cuvée spéciale pour .....' or ‘Hausmarke' accompanyingthe name orbusiness name of the producer; whereas neither is there any need torequire it in the case of vendors if the name of the producer is accompa-nied by an expression indicatinghis professional status;
Whereas, in the light of experience, it should be made clear that the
name of the vendor, where the latter is a person other than the producer,is required only if the sparklingor aerated sparklingwine is held in thename of the vendor with a view to its beingplaced on the market for thepurposes of final consumption;
Whereas the term ‘producer' and its translation in certain official
Community languages are inappropriate for describing sparkling wines;whereas it should therefore be provided that the name or business name
(1) OJ No L 84, 27. 3. 1987, p. 1.
(2) OJ No L 246, 30. 8. 1986, p. 71.
(3) OJ No L 366, 29. 12. 1990, p. 58.
(4) OJ No L 231, 13. 8. 1992, p. 9.
(5) OJ No L 262, 27. 9. 1976, p. 149.
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of the producer may be preceded not by the words ‘producer' or
‘produced by' but by an equivalent term;
Whereas it is compulsory to indicate the Member State concerned;
whereas it should be made clear as a result how this is to be indicatedon the labelling;
Whereas in conformity with the second indent of Article 5 (2) (c) of
Regulation (EEC) No 2333/92 a list of the specific traditional terms thatmay be used as sales descriptions of quality sparklingwines psr shouldbe drawn up;
Whereas in conformity with the third indent of Article 5 (2) (c) of
Regulation (EEC) No 2333/92, a list of specified regions which may beused as sales descriptions for a quality sparklingwine psr should bedrawn up;
Whereas under the third subparagraph of Article 5 (3) of Regulation
(EEC) No 2333/92, in the case of quality sparklingwines of aromatictype and of quality sparklingwines of aromatic type produced inspecified regions, indication of the product type may be replaced byindication of the residual sugar content determined by analysis;whereas, in view of the inevitable variations between individual vatswhen the said sparklingwines are produced, some tolerance should beallowed but of limited extent so that consumers are not misled as toproduct characteristics;
Whereas rules on specific descriptions, in conformity with Articles 5 (2)
(f) and 14 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2333/92, should be laid down inorder to prevent any risk of confusion between sparklingwines on theone hand and the aerated sparklingwines and sparklingdrinks obtainedby alcoholic fermentation of a fruit or some other agricultural rawmaterial on the other; whereas it should be required that the salesdescription of drinks other than sparklingwines be shown particularlyclearly on the labelling;
Whereas the second indent of the first subparagraph of Article 6 (1) of
Regulation (EEC) No 2333/92 makes provision for the names ofgeographical units to be assigned to quality sparkling wines; whereas arestricted list of these geographical units should be established;
Whereas certain provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 2333/92 are, and
certain provisions of the present Regulation will be, applicable to spark-lingwines orig inatingin third countries the production rules of whichhave been recognized as equivalent to those set out in Title III ofCouncil Regulation (EEC) No 2332/92 (
1), as last amended by Regula-
tion (EC) No 1893/94 (2); whereas a list of these wines should be
established;
Whereas, following the geopolitical changes which have occurred in the
former Soviet Union, the new republics of the former USSR whotraditionally exported sparklingwines to the Community and whoserules for the production of such wines had been recognized as equiva-lent to those set out in Title III of Regulation (EEC) No 2332/92 shouldbe allowed to continue to apply them until their new rules have beenexamined and recognized as equivalent to the Community rules;
Whereas, in order to harmonize throughout the Community and for all
categories of wine the use of variety names and synonyms and soestablish the formal conditions of competition, the existingroles on thedescription of wines and musts should be applied to the description ofsparklingwines; whereas, in order to facilitate such application, a list ofthe variety names and synonyms that may be used for the description ofsparklingwines should be published in the Official Journal of theEuropean Community;
Whereas the third subparagraph of Article 6 (5) of Regulation (EEC)
No 2333/92 stipulates that the words ‘méthode champenoise' may beused on the labellingof certain sparklingwines only for a transitional
(1) OJ No L 231, 13. 8. 1992, p. 1.
(2) OJ No L 197, 30. 7. 1994, p. 45.
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period ending on 31 August 1994 and only together with an equivalent
expression denotingthis production method; whereas a list should bedrawn up of the expressions that may accompany and later replace thewords ‘méthode champenoise';
Whereas transitional provisions should be adopted permittingthe sale of
products, the descriptions and presentation of which no longer complywith the Community provisions as a result of amendments;
Whereas, in order to facilitate the changeover from national rules on the
description and presentation of sparklingwines and aerated sparklingwines to Community rules, transitional provisions will be required;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance
with the opinion of the Management Committee for Wine,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
This Regulation lays down detailed rules for the description and presen-
tation of sparklingwines and aerated sparklingwines.
Article 2
The actual alcoholic strength, as referred to in Article 3 (1) (d) of
Regulation (EEC) No 2333/92, shall be indicated by units or half-unitsof percentage by volume.
Without prejudice to tolerances provided for in the reference method of
analysis used pursuant to Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2676/90 (
1), the alcoholic strength indicated must be not more than 0,8 % vol
higher or lower than the strength determined by analysis.
The figure for the actual alcoholic strength shall be followed by the
symbol ‘% vol' and may be preceded by the words ‘actual alcoholicstrength' or ‘actual alcohol'.
Article 3
1. The name or business name of the producer or of a vendor
established in the Community, as required by the first indent of Article3 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2333/92 shall refer:
— to the producer as defined in the Article 2 of the said Regulation, or
— to the vendor, the latter beingany natural or leg al person not
covered by the definition of the ‘producer' who holds in his ownname sparklingwines or aerated sparklingwines with a view toplacingthem on the market for the purposes of consumption. Thisshall also apply to associations of the abovementioned natural orlegal persons.
2. The name or business name of the producer, even if indicated in
code form, or of a vendor established in the Community shall bepreceded, as appropriate:
— by the words ‘producer' or ‘produced by' or by another equivalent
term,
— by the words ‘distributor' or ‘distributed by' or other equivalent
terms.
The provisions of the first subparagraph shall not apply in the case of:
(a) the particulars relatingto the producer,
— if the business name of the producer is in itself a clear indica-
tion that the production of sparklingwines is the producers’occupation,
(1) OJ No L 272, 3. 10. 1990, p. 1.
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— if the wine is produced to order, provided that the name or
business name of the producer is accompanied by wordexplainingthis circumstance;
(b) the particulars relatingto the vendor, where these are accompanied
by particulars relatingto the producer, whether or not in codedform.
3. The name or business name of the importer as referred to in
Article 3 (3) (a) of Regulation (EEC) No 2333/92 shall be preceded bythe words ‘importer' or ‘imported by'.
4. The Member State where the producer, vendor or importer has his
head office shall be indicated:
— either in full after the commune or part of commune,
— or by a capital letter or letters indicatingthe country, where applic-
able, together with the postal code of the commune in question.
Article 4
1. The specific traditional terms referred to in the second indent of
Article 5 (2) (c) of Regulation (EEC) No 2333/92 which may be used asa sales description for a quality sparklingwine psr shall be:
(a) for France:
— ‘appellation d’origine contrôlée',
— ‘appellation contrôlée'.However where the name of a holdingor
vine variety or a brand name appears on the labellingbearingthe term ‘appellation contrôlée',the name of the specified regionshall be repeated between the words ‘appellation' and ‘contrô-lée',all these words beingin characters of the same type, sizeand colour,
— ‘appellation d’origine vin délimité de qualité supérieure';
(b) for Italy:
‘denominazione di origine controllata', ‘denominazione di origine
controllata e garantita';
(c) for Greece:
‘Ονοµασία προελεύσεως ελεγχόµενη '(registered designation of
origin), ‘ Ονοµασία προελεύσεως ανωτέρας ποιότητας '(designa-
tion of origin indicative of higher quality);
(d) for Spain:
‘denominación de origen',‘denominación de origen calificada';
(c) for Luxembourg:
‘Marque nationale' followed by the words ‘Appellation contrôlée'
together with the name of the specified region ‘Moselle luxembour-geoise';
(f) for Portugal:
‘denominação de origem'; ‘denominação de origem controlada',
‘indicação de proveniênca regulamentada'.
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(g) for Germany:
‘Qualitätsschaumwein garantierten Ursprungs'.
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2. The names of specified regions referred to in the third indent of
Article 5 (2) (c) of Regulation No 2333/92 which may be used as asales description for a quality sparklingwine psr shall be:
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(a) France:
‘Champagne';
(b) Italy:
‘Asti';
(c) Spain:
‘Cava'.
Article 5
Where the residual sugar content determined by analysis in grams per
litre is indicated pursuant to the third subparagraph of Article 5 (3) ofRegulation (EEC) No 2333/92 a tolerance o f±5grams per litre shall be
permitted.
The terms ‘dulce',‘doux',‘doce',‘mild',‘dolce',‘sweet',‘sød',‘ γλυκύς',
‘makea'or ‘söt'may also be replaced by an indication that the residualsugar content is more than 50 grams per litre.
Article 6
1. The sales description ‘aerated sparklingwine'referred to in Article
5 (2) (f) of Regulation (EEC) No 2333/92 shall appear on the labelbearingthe compulsory information in characters of the same type withthe smallest letters at least 3 mm high.
The words ‘obtained by the addition of carbon dioxide'must be added
to the followingsales descriptions:
— ‘vins mousseux gazéifiés',
— ‘vino spumante gassificato',— ‘aerated sparklingwine',—‘αεριούχων αφρωδών οίνων ',
— ‘vino espumoso gasificado',— ‘vinho espumoso gaseificado'.
Those additional terms shall appear:
— on the same line or on the line immediately below the line on which
the sales description appears,
— in characters which are at least half the size of those indicatingthe
sales description.
2. Sales descriptions includingthe words ‘sparklingwine' and
authorized by Member States under the second subparagraph of Article14 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2333/92 for the designation of abeverage falling within CN codes 2206 00 31 and 2206 00 39 obtainedby alcoholic fermentation of a fruit or other agricultural raw materialshall be shown, within the same visual field as the other compulsory,information, on the label in characters of the same type with thesmallest letters at least 3 mm high.
Article 7
1. The names of geographical units other than specified regions, and
smaller than a Member State which may be used to supplement thedescription of a quality sparklingwine orig inatingin the Communitywithin the meaningof the second indent of the first subparag raph ofArticle 6 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2333/92 are listed in Annex I ofthis Regulation.
2. The sparklingwines orig inatingin a third country where the
conditions governing their production have been recognized as equiva-lent to those referred to in Title III of Regulation (EEC) No 2332/92 arelisted in Annex II to this Regulation.
Article 8
1. When drawingup the list of vine varieties referred to in section
(b) of the second subparagraph of Article 6 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No2333/92 Member States may provide for the use of only those variety
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names and their synonyms that appear in Annex III to Commission
Regulation (EEC) No 3201/90 (1).
The names of the ‘Pinot Blanc', ‘Pinot noir' and ‘Pinot gris' varieties
and equivalent names in other official languages of the Community maybe replaced by the synonym ‘Pinot'.
Only the names of varieties given in Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No
1907/85 (
2) or the synonyms for such varieties referred to in Annex IV
to Regulation (EEC) No 3201/90 may be used for the description of asparklingwine produced in the Community from wines orig inatinginthird countries.
2. Only the names of varieties and the synonyms appearingin Annex
IV to Regulation (EEC) No 3201/90 may be used to describe animported sparklingwine referred to in Annex II to this Reg ulation.
3. The Member States shall forward to the Commission at an early
date the list of vine varieties drawn up in conformity with point (b) ofthe second subparagraph of Article 6 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No2333/92 and any amendments made thereto. The Commission shallpublish these lists in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
Article 9
The expressions equivalent to ‘méthode champenoise' that may, under
the third subparagraph of Article 6 (5) of Regulation (EEC) No 2333/92be shown together with that term shall be ‘bottle-fermented by thetraditional method' or ‘traditional method' or ‘classical method' or‘classical traditional method'.
Those expressions may be translated into another official Community
language.
Article 10
1. Sparklingwines and aerated sparklingwines produced in Portug al
up to 31 December 1990 the description and presentation of which donot comply with Regulation (EEC) No 2333/92 or with this Regulationmay be held for sale, placed on the market or exported until stocks areexhausted provided that they comply with the Portuguese provisions inforce before that date.
2. Products listed in Article 1 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2333/92
described and presented in accordance with the provisions of that Regu-lation and of this Regulation in force when they are placed on themarket, the description and presentation of which no longer complywith the provisions of this Regulation following amendment thereof,may be held with a view to sale, placed on the market and exporteduntil stocks are exhausted.
Labels carryingindications which are no long er in compliance with the
provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 2333/92 or of this Regulationfollowingamendment thereof may be used for a period of one yearfrom the date of application of the amendment.
Material used for prepackaging on which indications which are no
longer in compliance with the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No2333/92 or of this Regulation following amendment thereof are printeddirectly may be used for a period of two years from the date ofapplication of the amendment.
3. Sparklingwines and aerated sparklingwines in containers which
may no longer be used after the expiry of the transitional periodsreferred to in Article 5 of council Directive 75/106/EEC (
3) and in other
Community provisions applicable may be held with a view to sale andplaced on the market in their containers until stocks are exhausted,provided that it may be proved, in particular by the registers referred toin Article 71 (2) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 822/87, that the
(1) OJ No L 309, 8. 11. 1990, p. 1.
(2) OJ No L 179, 11. 7. 1985, p. 21.
(3) OJ No L 42, 15. 2. 1975, p. 1.
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product in question has been vatted, bottled and labelled before theexpiry of the abovementioned transitional periods.
4. Products listed in Article 1 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2333/92
described and presented in accordance with the provisions of theGerman Democratic Republic in force before 3 October 1990 andwhose description or presentation does not conform to the above Regu-lation and this Regulation may be held for sale, put into circulation orexported until stocks are exhausted.
The same shall apply to products produced from growths established
before 3 October 1990 whose preparation was completed after that date,where their description or presentation does not conform to the above-mentioned provisions but conforms to the provisions in force before thatdate in the German Democratic Republic.
Labels and other labellingaccessories printed or manufactured before 3
October 1990, containinginformation not conformingto the provisionsof Regulation (EEC) No 2333/92 and this Regulation may be used until31 August 1991.
Article 11
1. Regulation (EEC) No 2707/86 is hereby repealed.2. References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as refer-
ences to this Regulation.
Article 12
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in
all Member States.
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ANNEXI
List as provided for in Article 7 (1) of the names and geographical units
which may be used to describe quality sparkling wines originating in the
Community
1.For Germany:
Rhein-Mosel
(a) Rhein;
(b) Mosel
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Bayern
(a) Main;
(b) Lindau;
(c) Bayerische Donau.
2.For Austria:
(a) Niederösterreich;
(b) Burgenland;
(c) Steiermark.
3.For Spain:
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4.For the United Kingdom:
(a) England;
(b) Wales.
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ANNEXII
List as provided for in Article 7 (2) of sparkling wines originating in third
countries
1. Sparklingwines orig inatingin Bulg aria and described in the labellingas
(high quality wine with a geographical designation of origin) in accordance
with Bulgarian provisions.
2. Sparklingwines orig inatingin Hung ary, where the competent official body
has noted on document V I 1 that the sparklingwine in question meetsHungarian requirements as regards the basic materials which may be used forthe production thereof and as regards quality.
3. Sparklingwines orig inatingin South Africa, where the competent official
body has noted on Document V I 1 that the sparklingwine in question hasbeen made from basic materials which may be described in accordance withSouth African provisions as ‘cultivar wine',‘wine of origin',‘vintage wine'or‘superior wine'.
4. Sparklingwines orig inatingin the United States of America where the
competent official body or a producer approved by the competent officialbody has noted on document V I 1 that the sparklingwine in question hasbeen made from basic materials which may be described in accordance withUnited States provisions by an ‘appellation of origin'by the name of a varietyother than varieties of Vitis labrusca ) or a ‘vintage year'.
5. Sparklingwines orig inatingin the territory of the former Soviet Union where
the competent official body has noted on Document V I 1 that the sparklingwine in question meets domestic requirements as regards the basic materialswhich may be used for the production thereof and as regards the quality of thefinished product.
6. Sparklingwines orig inatingin Romania where the official body has noted on
document V I 1 that the sparklingwine in question meets the Romanianrequirements as regards the basic materials which may be used for theproduction thereof and as regards the quality of the finished product.