9. 7. 84 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 182/21 
Amendments to the proposal for a Council Regulation laying down general rules for the 
description and presentation of sparkling wines and aerated sparkling wines (*) 
COM(84) 283 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council pursuant to Article 149 (2) of the Treaty on 
5 June 1984) 
(84/C 182/09) 
1. Article 2 is hereby amended as follows: 
(a) The following is added to paragraph 1: 
'(0 the method of production, provided 
that the production process, including 
ageing in the undertaking where they 
were made, took less than nine months 
and the wine is not a quality sparkling 
wine of the aromatic type as referred to 
in Article 18 of Regulation (EEC) 
No 358/79.' 
(b) The following sentence is added to the first 
subparagraph of paragraph 2: 
'In addition, the name or business name of 
another person or group of persons 
involved in the commercial distribution of 
the product and the names of the commune 
and Member State in which the head office 
of that person or group is situated may be 
given.' 
2. Article 3 (2) is hereby replaced by the follow-
ing('): 
'2. The Member States' authorities responsible 
for the monitoring and control of quality in the 
wine sector may require a producer of one of the 
products referred to in Article 1 (1) to furnish 
proof of the accuracy of the information con­
cerning the nature, identity, quality, composi­
tion, origin or provenance of the product or of 
the products used in its production. 
If no such proof is furnished, the said auth­
orities shall prohibit the use of the information 
in question. Without prejudice to the general 
rules of Member States governing apportion­
ment of the burden of proof in administrative, 
civil or criminal proceedings, failure to supply 
proof to the authorities referred to in the first 
subparagraph can have no legal consequences 
other than prohibition of the use of the informa­
tion which has not been substantiated.' 
(*) OJ No C 120, 5. 5. 1983, p. 3. 
(') This provision is inspired by Article 7 of the proposal 
for a Council Directive on misleading and unfair 
advertising (see doc. 5163/84 of 21 February 1984: 
preparation for the Council meeting of 2 March 1984 
on consumer protection). 3. Article 4 is hereby amended as follows: 
(a) In paragraph 2, the following is added after 
point (c): 
'(c')in the case of a quality sparkling wine 
of the aromatic type as referred to in 
Article 18 of Regulation (EEC) 
No 358/79, "quality aromatic sparkling 
wine".' 
(b) The third subparagraph of paragraph 4 is 
replaced by the following: 
'By way of derogation from Article 2(1) (d), 
for quality sparkling wines of the aromatic 
type as referred to in Article 18 of Regula­
tion (EEC) No 358/79, indication of the 
residual sugar content as referred to in the 
first subparagraph may be replaced by indi­
cation of the residual sugar content deter­
mined by analysis in grams per litre.' 
(c) Paragraph 6 is hereby replaced by the fol­
lowing: 
'6. The producer of a product referred to 
in Article 1 (1) means the natural or legal 
person or group of persons by whom, or on 
whose behalf, production is carried out. 
Production means the processing of fresh 
grapes, grape musts and wines into a prod­
uct referred to in Article 1(1). 
The name or business name of the producer 
and the names of the commune and Mem­
ber State in which the producer's head off­
ice is situated shall be given: 
— either in full, 
— or in code, provided that the name or 
business name of the person or group of 
persons other than the producer 
involved in the commercial distribution 
of the product, and the commune and 
Member State in which the head office 
of such person or group is situated, are 
given in full.' 
(d) The following paragraph 8 is added: 
'8. The expressions used to indicate the 
production method may be prescribed by 
the implementing provisions.' 
4. Article 5 is hereby replaced by the following: 
'Article 5 
1. The name of a geographical unit other than 
No C 182/22 Official Journal of the European Communities 9. 7. 84 
a specified region, and smaller than a Member 
State or a non-member country, may be used 
only to supplement the description of: 
— a quality sparkling wine psr, 
— a quality sparkling wine to which the imple­
menting provisions have given the name of 
such a geographical unit, 
or 
— a sparkling wine originating in a non-mem­
ber country, the conditions for whose prod­
uction are equivalent to those laid down in 
Title III of Regulation (EEC) No 358/79. 
Use of such a name shall be allowed only if: 
(a) it conforms to the rules of the Member State 
or non-member country in which the sparkl­
ing wine was produced: 
(b) the geographical unit in question is defined 
exactly: 
(c) at least 85 % of the grapes from which the 
product was obtained came from that geo­
graphical unit, with the exception of the 
products contained in tirage liqueur or 
expedition liqueur; 
(d) in the case of quality sparkling wines psr, 
the geographical unit is situated within the 
specified region whose name the wine 
bears; 
(e) in the case of quality sparkling w(ines, the 
name of that geographical unit is not laid 
down for describing a quality sparkling 
wine psr. 
2. The name of a vine variety may be used 
only to supplement the description of: 
— a quality sparkling wine psr, 
— a quality sparkling wine whose description 
contains the name of a geographical unit, 
— a sparkling wine originating in a non-mem­
ber country whose description contains the 
name of a geographical unit. 
Use of the name of a vine variety shall be 
allowed only if: 
(a) at least 85 % of the product was obtained 
from grapes belonging to the variety in 
question, with the exception of the products 
contained in tirage liqueur or expedition 
liqueur; 
(b) the cultivation of the variety and the use of 
the products which were obtained from it 
conform to Community provisions or to the provisions of the non-member country in 
which the grapes used were harvested; 
(c) the name used appears: 
— in the classification of vine varieties 
adopted pursuant to Article 31 (4) of 
Regulation (EEC) No 337/79 or, in the 
case of products originating in non-
member countries, on a list of vine 
varieties officially adopted or recog­
nized in the non-member country in 
which the grapes were harvested, 
or 
— where applicable, on a list of synonyms 
to be drawn up; 
(d) the variety has a preponderant effect on the 
nature of the product in question; 
(e) the name of the variety cannot be confused 
with the name of a specified region or geo­
graphical unit used to describe another wine 
produced in the Community or imported. 
However, in the case of products made from 
wines or grape musts originating in their terri­
tory, Member States may prescribe that the 
name of a vine variety be indicated only if: 
— the product was obtained entirely from 
grapes of the variety in question, 
or 
— the variety appears on an exhaustive list 
which they have drawn up. 
3. The term "reserve", whether or not com­
bined with other terms, may be used to describe 
a product as referred to in Article 1(1) only if 
the fermentation process designed to make the 
wine sparkling and the presence on the lees 
lasted at least six months. 
4. The expression "bottle-fermented" may be 
used only to describe: 
— a quality sparkling wine psr, 
— a quality sparkling wine, 
or 
— a sparkling wine originating in a non-mem­
ber country, the conditions for whose prod­
uction are equivalent to those laid down in 
Title III of Regulation (EEC) No 358/79. 
Use of this expression shall be allowed only if 
the product: 
(a) was made sparkling by alcoholic fermenta­
tion in the bottle; 
9. 7. 84 Official Journal of the European Communities NoC 182/23 
(b) spent at least nine months without interrup­
tion in the bottle in contact with the lees, 
and 
(c) was separated from the lees by filtering 
using trie decantation method or by disgorg­
ing. 
5. The following may be used only to describe 
a quality sparkling wine psr or a quality spark­
ling wine produced: 
— in Germany: "Flaschengarung nach dem 
traditionellen Verfahren", 
— in France: "methode champenoise" or "fer­
mentation en bouteille selon la methode 
champenoise". 
— in Italy: "metodo classico". 
Use of one or other of these expressions shall be 
allowed only if the product: 
(a) was made sparkling by alcoholic fermenta­
tion in the bottle; 
(b) spent at least 12 months without interrup­
tion in the bottle in contact with the lees; 
(c) was separated from the lees by disgorging; 
and 
(d) stayed without interruption on the premises 
of the same undertaking from the time when 
the cuvee was constituated until the bottles 
were finally closed. 
The implementing provisions may permit the 
use of one of the expressions referred to in the 
first subparagraph to describe either a quality 
sparkling wine psr or a quality sparkling wine 
produced in another Member State or a spark­
ling wine originating in a non-member country, 
the conditions for whose production are equiva­
lent to those laid down in Title III of Regula­
tion (EEC) No 358/79, provided that: 
— the use of such expression is traditional and 
customary, and 
— the provisions of the second subparagraph 
are observed. 
In the case of quality sparkling wines psr and 
quality sparkling wines produced on their terri­
tory which meet the criteria set out in the second 
subparagraph, Member States may lay down 
supplementary conditions governing the use of 
the expressions referred to in the first subpara­
graph. 
6. The vintage year may be used only in the 
description of: 
— a quality sparkling wine psr, — a quality sparkling wine, 
or 
— a sparkling wine originating in a non-mem­
ber country, the conditions for whose prod­
uction are equivalent to those laid down in 
Title III of Regulation (EEC) No 358/79. 
Reference to the vintage year shall be allowed 
only if at least 85 % of the product was obtained 
from grapes harvested in the year in question, 
with the exception of the products contained in 
tirage liqueur or expedition liqueur. 
However, Member States may prescribe that the 
vintage year may be given for quality sparkling 
wines psr produced on their territory only if the 
product was obtained entirely from grapes har­
vested in the year in question, with the excep­
tion of the products contained in tirage liqueur 
or expedition liqueur. 
7. Reference to superior quality or to a method 
of production other than those referred to in 
paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 shall be allowed only in 
the case of: 
— a quality sparkling wine psr, 
— a quality sparkling wine, 
or 
— a sparkling wine originating in a non-mem­
ber country the conditions for whose prod­
uction are equivalent to those laid down in 
Title III of Regulation (EEC) No 358/79. 
Where necessary, the implementing provisions 
may lay down: 
— conditions for the use of the expressions 
referred to in the first subparagraph, 
— a list of the expressions referred to in the 
first subparagraph for which a Member 
State or a non-member country has laid 
down conditions for use. 
8. The expressions "blanc de blancs" or equi­
valent expressions may be used only for prod­
ucts obtained from grapes belonging to vine 
varieties listed as white grape varieties in the 
classification drawn up pursuant to Article 31 
(4) of Regulation (EEC) No 337/79. 
9. A Member State or non-member country 
may not be indicated by the use of its name, or 
of the adjective derived from its name, in com­
bination with the name of the product unless 
the product is made exclusively from grapes 
harvested and processed into wine on the terri­
tory of the member State or non-member coun­
try in which it was produced.' 
No C 182/24 Official Journal of the European Communities 9. 7. 84 
5. In Article 6 (4), point (a) of the second subpara­
graph is hereby replaced by the following: 
(a) in the case of quality sparkling wines psr 
and quality sparkling wines, the official lan­
guage of the Member State on whose terri­
tory production took place shall be used: 
— for the name of the specified region, as 
referred to in the second subparagraph 
of Article 2 (2), 
— for the name of another geographical 
unit, as referred to in Article 5(1), — for an expression relating to the produc­
tion method, as referred to in Article 5 
(5);'. 
6. The following paragraph is hereby added to 
Article 14: 
'These provisions shall expire not later than 
31 August 1987, with the exception of those 
governing direct sale to the final consumer by 
retailers and vendors of beverages to be con­
sumed exclusively on the premises.'