Publication of a communication of approval of a standard amendment to a product specification for a name in the wine sector referred to in Article 17(2) and (3) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33

(2022/C 183/09)

This communication is published in accordance with Article 17(5) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33 (1).

COMMUNICATING THE APPROVAL OF A STANDARD AMENDMENT

‘ASTI’

PDO-IT-A1396-AM06

Date of communication: 7.2.2022

DESCRIPTION OF AND REASONS FOR THE APPROVED AMENDMENT

1. Wine-making rules

This is a formal amendment to the description of any surplus quantities of wine, by means of which the words:

‘Any surplus, up to a maximum of 5 %, will not be eligible for Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin (DOCG) status. Further surpluses will result in the loss of DOCG entitlement for the entirety of the product concerned.’

have been replaced by the words:

‘For the types “Asti” / “Asti” Spumante, “Asti” / “Asti” Spumante Metodo Classico (traditional method) and “Moscato d’Asti”, if the yield exceeds the above limits, but not by more than 80 %, the surplus will not be entitled to DOCG status. If the 80 % limit is exceeded, DOCG entitlement will be lost for the entire batch. For “Moscato d’Asti” Vendemmia Tardiva (late harvest), if the yield exceeds the above limit, but not by more than 55 %, the surplus will not be entitled to DOCG status. If the 55 % limit is exceeded, DOCG entitlement will be lost for the entire batch.’

The amendment makes it possible to identify more clearly, for the various types of wine, the maximum yield limit beyond which it is not possible to qualify for PDO, i.e. beyond which PDO entitlement is lost for the entire batch of wine.

This amendment concerns Article 5(4) of the product specification and has no impact on the single document.

2. Labelling

This amendment removes the following paragraph 5, concerning the obligation to include certain particulars on the label:

‘The producer/manufacturer must be indicated on the labelling and presentation of sparkling types wine. This information must be:

— included in the same field of vision as all the mandatory information;

— repeated, together with the relevant address, in another field of vision if the name or brand name of the seller/distributor on whose behalf the wine is produced is given there. If the name or brand name of the seller/distributor is given, the name and address of the producer/manufacturer must appear in clearly visible characters not less than 50 % of the size of the characters used for the word “Asti”. This provision is without prejudice to application of the provisions laid down in current European Union and national legislation requiring a smaller font or the use of a code in cases where the name or address of the producer contains or is made up of the name of another PDO or PGI.’

Reason: The aim of the amendment is to simplify legislation and to avoid excessive drafting strictness as regards labelling, without prejudice to compliance with the relevant European Union and national legislation in force.

This amendment concerns Article 7(5) of the specification and has no impact on the single document.

3. Labelling

This amendment lays down provisions for the use of the collective mark.

In particular, it is mandatory for PDO wines to be marked exclusively with a collective mark of the size and colour described in the relevant Annex A to the specification. This mark should appear in the field provided for by the legislation in force. All users of the designation, at the stage of designation and presentation of the wines, are also entitled to use this mark, which is distributed exclusively by the relevant protection association under the same economic and usage conditions as those reserved for its members.

Reasons: To enhance the reputation of ‘Asti’ PDO, a brand name which conveys the historical and territorial elements that distinguish these wines from all others. It was therefore considered appropriate to include the designation mark on the State label, so that each bottle produced is an ambassador of the profound collective efforts of the entire territory of origin. The collective mark is also made available for further use, in accordance with the relevant general rules, by all potential users, whether or not they are associated with the ‘Asti’ wine protection association.

The amendment concerns Article 7(5) of the product specification and Section 9 of the single document (‘Further conditions’).

SINGLE DOCUMENT

1. Name of the product

Asti

2. Geographical indication type

PDO – Protected Designation of Origin

3. Categories of grapevine product

1. Wine

6. Quality aromatic sparkling wine

4. Description of the wine(s)

1. ‘Asti’ / ‘Asti Spumante’ and the sub-region-specific types ‘Asti’ / ‘Asti Spumante’ Santa Vittoria d’Alba and ‘Asti’ / ‘Asti Spumante’ Strevi

CONCISE TEXTUAL DESCRIPTION

Foam: fine, long-lasting

Colour: from straw-yellow to pale gold

Smell: characteristic, delicate

Taste: characteristic, balanced, from pas dosé to sweet

Minimum total alcoholic strength by volume: 11,50 %, including an actual alcoholic strength of at least 6,00 %;

Minimum sugar-free extract: 15,0 g/l

Any analytical parameters not shown in the table below comply with the limits laid down in national and EU legislation.

General analytical characteristics Maximum total alcoholic strength (in % volume) Minimum actual alcoholic strength (in % volume) 6,00 Minimum total acidity 4,5 grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre) Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre)

2. ‘Asti’ / ‘Asti Spumante’ Metodo Classico (traditional method) and the sub-region-specific types ‘Asti’ / ‘Asti Spumante’ Metodo Classico Santa Vittoria d’Alba and ‘Asti’ / ‘Asti Spumante’ Metodo Classico Strevi

CONCISE TEXTUAL DESCRIPTION

Foam: fine, long-lasting

Colour: from straw-yellow to very pale gold

Smell: characteristic, pronounced, delicate

Taste: characteristic, balanced, from pas dosé to sweet

Minimum total alcoholic strength by volume: 12,00 %, including an actual alcoholic strength of at least 6,00 %

Minimum sugar-free extract: 17 g/l.

Any analytical parameters not shown in the table below comply with the limits laid down in national and EU legislation.

General analytical characteristics Maximum total alcoholic strength (in % volume) Minimum actual alcoholic strength (in % volume) 6,0 Minimum total acidity 6,00 grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre) Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre)

3. ‘Moscato d’Asti’ Vendemmia Tardiva (late harvest)

CONCISE TEXTUAL DESCRIPTION

Colour: golden yellow

Smell: fruity, very intense, characteristic of the raisined grape with spiced notes

Taste: sweet, harmonious, velvety, with notes of the Moscato variety, which is reminiscent of honeycomb

Minimum total alcoholic strength by volume: 14,00 %, including an actual alcoholic strength of at least 11,00 %

Minimum sugar-free extract: 22,0 g/l

Any analytical parameters not shown in the table below comply with the limits laid down in national and EU legislation.

General analytical characteristics Maximum total alcoholic strength (in % volume) Minimum actual alcoholic strength (in % volume) Minimum total acidity 4,5 grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre) Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre)

4. ‘Moscato d’Asti’

CONCISE TEXTUAL DESCRIPTION

Colour: straw-yellow of varying intensity

Smell: characteristic fragrant aroma of Moscato

Taste: sweet, aromatic, characteristic, may be lightly sparkling

Minimum total alcoholic strength by volume: 11,00 %, including an actual alcoholic strength by volume of between 4,50 % and 6,50 %

Minimum sugar-free extract: 15,0 g/l

Any analytical parameters not shown in the table below comply with the limits laid down in national and EU legislation.

General analytical characteristics Maximum total alcoholic strength (in % volume) Minimum actual alcoholic strength (in % volume) Minimum total acidity 4,5 grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre) Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre)

5. ‘Moscato d’Asti’ Santa Vittoria d’Alba

CONCISE TEXTUAL DESCRIPTION

Colour: straw yellow with hints of gold

Smell: elegant, fine, fresh and persistent also with floral hints

Taste: crisp, harmonious, sweet, aromatic characteristic of muscatel, sometimes lively

Minimum total alcoholic strength by volume: 12,00 %, including an actual alcoholic strength by volume of between 4,50 % and 6,50 %

Minimum sugar-free extract: 15,0 g/l

Any analytical parameters not shown in the table below comply with the limits laid down in national and EU legislation.

General analytical characteristics Maximum total alcoholic strength (in % volume) Minimum actual alcoholic strength (in % volume) Minimum total acidity 5,0 grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre) Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre)

6. ‘Moscato d’Asti’ Canelli

CONCISE TEXTUAL DESCRIPTION

Smell: musky, distinct and with a Moscato bouquet

Colour: from varying intensities of straw-yellow to golden

Taste: sweet, aromatic, distinctive, with an aroma of Moscato grapes, sometimes lively

Minimum total alcoholic strength by volume: 12,00 %, including an actual alcoholic strength by volume of between 4,5 % and 6,50 %

Minimum sugar-free extract: 16,0 g/l

Any analytical parameters not shown in the table below comply with the limits laid down in national and EU legislation.

General analytical characteristics Maximum total alcoholic strength (in % volume) Minimum actual alcoholic strength (in % volume) Minimum total acidity 4,5 grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre) Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre)

7. ‘Moscato d’Asti’ Strevi

CONCISE TEXTUAL DESCRIPTION

Colour: straw-coloured, yellow of varying intensity up to golden

Smell: distinct and with a Moscato bouquet

Taste: sweet, aromatic, distinctive, with an aroma of Moscato grapes, sometimes lively

Minimum total alcoholic strength by volume: 12,00 %, including an actual alcoholic strength by volume of between 4,5 % and 6,50 %

Minimum sugar-free extract: 15 g/l

Any analytical parameters not shown in the table below comply with the limits laid down in national and EU legislation.

General analytical characteristics Maximum total alcoholic strength (in % volume) Minimum actual alcoholic strength (in % volume) Minimum total acidity 4,5 grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre) Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre)

8. ‘Moscato d’Asti’ Santa Vittoria d’Alba Vendemmia Tardiva

CONCISE TEXTUAL DESCRIPTION

Colour: bright golden yellow

Smell: composite, fruity, very intense, characteristic of the raisined grape with spiced notes

Taste: sweet, harmonious, velvety with hints of Moscato grapes, reminiscent of comb honey

Minimum total alcoholic strength by volume: 12,00 %, including an actual alcoholic strength by volume of at least 12,00 %

Minimum sugar-free extract: 22,0 g/l

Any analytical parameters not shown in the table below comply with the limits laid down in national and EU legislation.

General analytical characteristics Maximum total alcoholic strength (in % volume) Minimum actual alcoholic strength (in % volume) Minimum total acidity 4,5 grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre) Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre)

5. WINE-MAKING PRACTICES

5.1. Specific oenological practices

—

5.2. Maximum yields

1. ‘Asti’ / ‘Asti Spumante’ and ‘Moscato d’Asti’

10 000 kilograms of grapes per hectare

2. ‘Asti’ / ‘Asti Spumante’ Metodo Classico

10 000 kilograms of grapes per hectare

3. ‘Moscato d’Asti’ Vendemmia Tardiva (late harvest)

6 000 kilograms of grapes per hectare

4. ‘Moscato d’Asti’ Canelli and ‘Moscato d’Asti’ Strevi

9 500 kilograms of grapes per hectare

5. ‘Moscato d’Asti’ Canelli labelled with the term Vigna followed by a place or vineyard name

8 500 kilograms of grapes per hectare

6. ‘Moscato d’Asti’ Strevi and ‘Moscato d’Asti’ Santa Vittoria d’Alba

9 500 kilograms of grapes per hectare

7. ‘Moscato d’Asti’ Vendemmia Tardiva Santa Vittoria d’Alba

5 000 kilograms of grapes per hectare

8. ‘Asti Spumante’ Santa Vittoria d’Alba, ‘Asti Spumante’ Metodo Classico Santa Vittoria d’Alba, ‘Asti Spumante’ Strevi and ‘Asti Spumante’ Metodo Classico Strevi

9 500 kilograms of grapes per hectare

6. Demarcated geographical area

‘Asti’ DOCG wines can be made with grapes grown in the area demarcated as follows:

In the province of Alessandria, the following municipalities in their entirety:

Acqui Terme, Alice Bel Colle, Bistagno, Cassine, Grognardo, Ricaldone, Strevi, Terzo and Visone.

In the province of Asti, the following municipalities in their entirety: Bubbio, Calamandrana, Calosso, Canelli, Cassinasco, Castagnole Lanze, Castel Boglione, Castelletto Molina, Castelnuovo Belbo, Castel Rocchero, Cessole, Coazzolo, Costigliole d’Asti, Fontanile, Incisa Scapaccino, Loazzolo, Maranzana, Mombaruzzo, Monastero Bormida, Montabone, Nizza Monferrato, Quaranti, San Marzano Oliveto, Moasca, Sessame, Vesime, Rocchetta Palafea and San Giorgio Scarampi.

In the province of Cuneo, the municipalities of Castiglione Tinella, Cossano Belbo, Mango, Neive, Neviglie, Rocchetta Belbo, Serralunga d’Alba, S. Stefano Belbo, S. Vittoria d’Alba, Treiso, Trezzo Tinella, Castino and Perletto in their entirety and the following subdivisions of the municipality of Alba: Como and San Rocco Senodelvio.

— The Canelli sub-region is formed by the following municipalities in the province of Asti: Calamandrana, Calosso, Canelli, Cassinasco, Castagnole Lanze, Coazzolo, Costigliole d’Asti, San Marzano Oliveto and Moasca in their entirety, plus the territory of the municipalities of Loazzolo and Bubbio located on the left bank of the river Bormida.

Province of Cuneo: Castiglione Tinella, Cossano Belbo, Mango, Neive, Neviglie, Rocchetta Belbo, Serralunga d’Alba, S. Stefano Belbo, Treiso and Trezzo Tinella in their entirety and the following subdivisions of the municipality of Alba: Como and San Rocco Senodelvio.

— The Santa Vittoria d’Alba sub-region consists of the municipality of Santa Vittoria d’Alba in the province of Cuneo.

— The Strevi sub-region consists of the following municipalities in the province of Alessandria in their entirety: Acqui Terme, Cassine, Ricaldone, Strevi, Terzo, Alice Bel Colle, Bistagno, Grognardo and Visone.

7. Wine grape varieties

Moscato Bianco B. – Moscato reale

8. Description of the link(s)

ASTI DOCG

ASTI DOCG

‘Asti’ and ‘Moscato d’Asti’ are single-variety wines produced exclusively from Moscato Bianco grapes, which have a distinctive, outstanding aromatic profile. The distinctive qualities that this variety lends the various types of wines, including the sparkling and late-harvest versions, are closely linked to the expert cultivation of the vines by growers and to sometimes innovative winemaking techniques, including the development over recent decades of a range of drier Moscato-based wines in both sparkling and still form.

The suitability for winegrowing of the land, with its particular morphology and chemical composition, and the area’s climate conditions and local winemaking skills and traditions, have made it possible, over the years, to ‘select’ Moscato Bianco as the vine variety best suited to the environment.

In the 18th century, a series of articles published in Lausanne on wine and vineyards around the world specifically referred to a Moscato Bianco of Piedmont, highly rated, and at the end of the century the prestigious Società di Agricoltura di Torino declared Moscato as one of the Piedmont grape varieties most likely to produce highly prized wines. In the 19th century Piedmont was clearly distinguishing itself from the other Italian regions for its widespread cultivation of Moscato Bianco. At the end of the nineteenth century, significant amounts of sparkling wine began to be produced from Moscato grapes, re-fermenting the base wine in the bottle. By 1895, the Charmat method (which was invented in Piedmont) had been honed and the Moscato grape was mainly being used to produce sparkling wine. There was already talk of considerable demand, even from abroad, for the fragrant, sparkling white wine known in the trade as ‘Moscato d’Asti’ or ‘Moscato di Canelli’. By opting for sparkling winemaking, Piedmont clearly set itself apart from the other regions where Moscato was also present (though to a far lesser extent). Outside the Piedmont region, most Moscato wines were classed as luxury ‘liqueur’ wines. The Moscato grape was used to make sparkling wine only in Piedmont, in the Asti, Alessandria and Cuneo areas. The same period saw the first experiments with dry sparkling Moscato-based wines (‘Asti Champagne’ in the early 1900s). However, these did not have much commercial success, since limited oenological knowledge meant that it was not possible to mitigate the bitter taste caused by the terpenes of a Moscato wine taken to full fermentation. The addition of sugar for re-fermentation in the bottle, which reduced the bitterness, created too much pressure for the bottles used at the time. The producers of ‘Asti’ DOCG have continued to work on developing dry versions of their various wines (both sparkling and still or lightly sparkling). In the 1980s, Piedmontese research institutes began to publish papers on the chemical and aromatic characteristics of dry wines made from Moscato Bianco grapes and on the development of the terpene compounds in Moscato grapes in order to optimise production technology. Those years saw the development of the concept of ‘varietal oenology’, i.e. an increasingly fine-tuned technological approach that sought to enhance the characteristics of the grapes in the final quality of the wine. In the specific case of Moscato, technical developments have allowed fermentation to be prolonged, thus reducing the bitter notes that thwarted the producers’ attempts in the early twentieth century. This progress in know-how was passed on to the winemakers who, over recent decades, have developed Moscato-based wines with less sugar, in both sparkling and still form.

9. Essential further conditions (packaging, labelling, other requirements)

Additional provisions relating to labelling

Legal framework:

In national legislation

Type of further condition:

Additional provisions relating to labelling

Description of the condition:

In the description and presentation of wines bearing the controlled and guaranteed designation of origin ‘Asti’ or ‘Asti Spumante’, the sugar content must not be shown on the same line as the name; this information must also be in a different font and the letters must be smaller than those used for the name.

Derogation on the production in the demarcated geographical area

Legal framework:

In national legislation

Type of further condition:

Derogation on the production in the demarcated geographical area

Description of the condition:

As well as in the grape-growing area, the winemaking operations involved in making ‘Asti’ DOCG wines (including drying grapes for the Vendemmia Tardiva category and the sparkling winemaking process) may also take place anywhere in the provinces of Alessandria, Asti and Cuneo and in Pressione, a sub-division of the municipality of Chieri (Turin) bordering the grape-growing area.

Packaging within the demarcated area

Legal framework:

In national legislation

Type of further condition:

Packaging within the demarcated geographical area

Description of the condition:

‘Asti’ DOCG wines must be bottled within the grape-growing area. In accordance with Article 4 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33, bottling must take place in the demarcated geographical area specified above to safeguard quality and reputation, guarantee the origin and ensure the effectiveness of checks.

Collective mark

Legal framework:

In national legislation

Type of further condition:

Additional provisions relating to labelling

Description of the condition:

The labelling and presentation of PDO wines are marked by a collective mark of the size and colour described in the appropriate Annex A to the specification. This mark should appear in the field provided for by the legislation in force. All users of the designation, at the stage of designation and presentation of the wines, are also entitled to use this mark, which is distributed exclusively by the relevant protection organisation under the same economic and usage conditions and those reserved for its members.

Link to the product specification

https://www.politicheagricole.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/17758

(1) OJ L 9, 11.1.2019, p. 2.