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

(2021/C 451/09)

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

‘Cinque Terre’ and ‘Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà’

PDO-IT-A0352-AM02

Date of communication: 24 August 2021

DESCRIPTION OF AND REASONS FOR THE APPROVED AMENDMENT

1. Change to the required variety mix

Description: Under the proposed amendment, the three [main] varieties (Bosco, Albarola and Vermentino) can be used to meet the minimum threshold of at least 80 %, and additional white grape varieties ‘suitable for cultivation’ in the Liguria Region may be used for the remaining 20 %.

Reasons: This amendment has been requested with a view to improving wine quality, based on experiments in single-variety winemaking.

Merging several vineyards into one to form a decent-sized commercial vineyard, with the Bosco variety accounting for 40 % as required by the current product specification. It is crucial that vineyards be merged in order to streamline cultivation practices, leading to lower costs and improved vine health, and thus ensuring commercial winegrowers’ survival. A departure from the rigid rules on variety mix currently in place – which are no longer justified and actually pose obstacles to obtaining higher standards of quality – is therefore needed.

This amendment concerns Article 2 of the product specification.

2. Change to vine density per hectare

Description: When new vineyards are planted and existing ones replanted, vine density may now not be less than 4 000 vines per hectare, rather than the 6 250 per hectare established in the current version of the product specification.

Reasons: This change is justified by the fact that planting in rows or trellising is now being favoured over the pergoletta (one-armed arbour) training system, which has become obsolete. A greater distance therefore has to be left from the slope to ensure the possibility of working the land using small-scale farm machinery, which makes it easier to run the vineyard by reducing the number of hours’ labour needed, while at the same time maintaining a high level of production quality.

This amendment concerns Article 4 of the product specification.

3. Change to sugar content for ‘Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà’ DOC

Description: The grapes used to make ‘Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà’ are now required have a sugar content of at least 19 % (changed from 17 %) vol. of potential alcohol after partial drying.

Reasons: It is not actually alcoholic strength that is the marker of quality in a passito or dried-grape wine, but rather the dry extract and sugar content, as well as post-fermentation aromas and scents.

This amendment concerns Article 5 of the product specification.

4. Changes to the winemaking and release dates for ‘Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà’ DOC and ‘Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà Riserva’ DOC

Description: For ‘Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà’ and ‘Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà Riserva’ wines, the winemaking start date has been brought forward from 1 November to 1 October of the year of harvest. The wine release dates have been changed from 1 October (currently 1 November) of the year after the harvest for ‘Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà’ and 1 October (currently 1 November) of the third year after the harvest for ‘Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà Riserva’.

Reasons: Higher average annual temperatures, summer temperatures in particular, are causing grapes to ripen earlier, bringing the harvest forward. This also has an impact on the process of drying the grapes to be used to make ‘Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà’ DOC passito wines. The general tendency for more than twenty years now has been to harvest the grapes early, in August/early September, whereas back when the ‘Cinque Terre’ PDO product specification was approved the harvest would begin in the last 10 days of September and could run into early October. Harvesting the grapes earlier means that winemaking also has to start earlier: for technical reasons, the grapes to be used to make passito wines cannot be left to dry until 30 October because their sugar level rises too high, and an excessive concentration in the grapes causes major issues for alcoholic fermentation using yeast. As a result, it becomes difficult to achieve the actual alcoholic strength by volume of 13,5 % required by the product specification and the volatile acidity level obtained is too high.

In order to remedy these issues, it is proposed that the process of making grapes into ‘Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà’ and ‘Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà Riserva’ PDO wines begin on an earlier date, 1 October of the harvest year.

This amendment concerns Article 5 of the product specification.

5. Changes to the wines’ physical and organoleptic characteristics

Description: Changes have been made to a lot of the information on the wines’ chemical and organoleptic characteristics.

‘CINQUE TERRE’

Colour: straw yellow to golden yellow, varying in intensity, vivid;

Smell: intense, clean, elegant, characteristic;

Taste: dry, pleasant, full of flavour, sometimes mineral;

Minimum total alcoholic strength: 11,00 % by volume;

Minimum total acidity: 4,5 g/l

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

‘CINQUE TERRE COSTA DE SERA’

Colour: straw yellow to golden yellow, varying in intensity, vivid;

Smell: intense, clean, elegant and persistent, complex;

Taste: dry, full of flavour, intense, mineral, pleasant;

Minimum total alcoholic strength: 11,50 % by volume;

Minimum total acidity: 4,5 g/l

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

‘CINQUE TERRE COSTA DE CAMPU’

Colour: straw yellow to golden yellow, varying in intensity, vivid;

Smell: intense, clean, elegant and persistent, complex;

Taste: dry, full of flavour, intense, pleasant;

Minimum total alcoholic strength: 11,50 % by volume;

Minimum total acidity: 4,5 g/l

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

‘CINQUE TERRE COSTA DA POSA’

Colour: straw yellow to golden yellow, varying in intensity, vivid;

Smell: intense, clean, elegant and persistent, complex;

Taste: dry, full of flavour, intense, pleasant;

Minimum total alcoholic strength: 11,50 % by volume;

Minimum total acidity: 4,5 g/l

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

‘CINQUE TERRE SCIACCHETRÀ’

Colour: golden yellow to brownish amber, varying in intensity;

Smell: intense dried-grape-wine smell, characteristic, sometimes with notes of honey, spices, nuts;

Taste: sweet, sometimes tannic, well-structured, persistent with an almond aftertaste;

Minimum total alcoholic strength: 19,00 % by volume, with 11,50 % by volume actual alcoholic strength;

Minimum total acidity: 5,0 g/l

Maximum volatile acidity: 30 meq/l;

Minimum sugar-free extract: 26,0 g/l.

‘CINQUE TERRE SCIACCHETRÀ RISERVA’

Colour: golden yellow to brownish amber, varying in intensity;

Smell: intense dried-grape-wine smell, pleasing, spiced, toasted, characteristic:

Taste: sweet, sometimes tannic, harmonious, well-structured, sometimes with an almond aftertaste;

Minimum total alcoholic strength: 20,00 % by volume, with 11,50 % by volume actual alcoholic strength;

Minimum total acidity: 5,0 g/l

Maximum volatile acidity: 30 meq/l;

Minimum sugar-free extract: 28,0 g/l.

Reasons: The changes to colour, smell and taste details are aimed at a more faithful description of the characteristics of this prized product, which have been gradually fine-tuned.

The changes to the analytical values are for the purpose of increasing the quality of this exclusive product.

The increases in minimum total alcoholic strength and minimum net dry extract are linked to a more meticulous grape-drying process and the fact that the changing climate is causing the grapes to reach higher concentrations.

However, this increase in concentration means that it is difficult to reach a minimum alcoholic strength of 13,50 % through fermentation, which is why the reduction to 11,50 % has been requested.

These amendments concern Article 6 of the product specification and the Description of the wine(s) section of the Single Document.

6. Mandatory vintage-dating on labels

Description: The bottles or other containers used for ‘Cinque Terre’ and ‘Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà’ must now be labelled with the vintage year.

Reasons: ‘Cinque Terre’ DOC wines must now be vintage-dated in order to differentiate them and guarantee traceability for the consumer.

This amendment concerns Article 7 of the product specification.

7. Container capacity and closures

Description: The [maximum] capacity of bottles on the market is to be increased from the current 0,75 litres to 3 litres. Screwcaps will be allowed for bottles with a capacity of up to 3,00 litres (currently 0,375 litres).

Reasons: This change will allow the wines to be marketed in different formats and with different closures so that producers are not prevented from accessing developing markets.

These amendments concern Article 8 of the product specification.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

1. Name of the product

Cinque Terre and Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà

2. Geographical indication type

PDO - Protected Designation of Origin

3. Categories of grapevine product

1. Wine

15. Wine from raisined grapes

4. Description of the wine(s)

‘CINQUE TERRE’ DOC WINE

CONCISE TEXTUAL DESCRIPTION

Colour: straw yellow to golden yellow, varying in intensity, vivid;

Smell: intense, clean, elegant, characteristic;

Taste: dry, pleasant, full of flavour, sometimes mineral;

Minimum total alcoholic strength: 11,00 % by volume;

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 in grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid

Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre):

—

Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre):

—

‘CINQUE TERRE COSTA DE CAMPU’ DOC WINE

CONCISE TEXTUAL DESCRIPTION

Colour: straw yellow to golden yellow, varying in intensity, vivid;

Smell: intense, clean, elegant and persistent, complex;

Taste: dry, full of flavour, intense, pleasant;

Minimum total alcoholic strength: 11,50 % by volume;

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 in grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid

Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre):

—

Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre):

—

‘CINQUE TERRE COSTA DA POSA’ DOC WINE

CONCISE TEXTUAL DESCRIPTION

Colour: straw yellow to golden yellow, varying in intensity, vivid;

Smell: intense, clean, elegant and persistent, complex;

Taste: dry, full of flavour, intense, pleasant;

Minimum total alcoholic strength: 11,50 % by volume;

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 in grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid

Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre):

—

Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre):

—

‘CINQUE TERRE COSTA DE SERA’ DOC WINE

CONCISE TEXTUAL DESCRIPTION

Colour: straw yellow to golden yellow, varying in intensity, vivid;

Smell: intense, clean, elegant and persistent, complex;

Taste: dry, full of flavour, intense, mineral, pleasant;

Minimum total alcoholic strength: 11,50 % by volume;

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 in grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid

Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre):

—

Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre):

—

‘CINQUE TERRE SCIACCHETRÀ’ DOC WINE

CONCISE TEXTUAL DESCRIPTION

Colour: golden yellow to brownish amber, varying in intensity;

Smell: intense dried-grape-wine smell, characteristic, sometimes with notes of honey, spices, nuts;

Taste: sweet, sometimes tannic, well-structured, persistent with an almond aftertaste;

Minimum total alcoholic strength: 19,00 % by volume, with 11,50 % by volume actual alcoholic strength;

Minimum sugar-free extract: 26,0 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):

11,50

Minimum total acidity:

5 in grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid

Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre):

30

Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre):

—

‘CINQUE TERRE SCIACCHETRÀ RISERVA’ DOC WINE

CONCISE TEXTUAL DESCRIPTION

Colour: golden yellow to brownish amber, varying in intensity;

Smell: intense dried-grape-wine smell, pleasing, spiced, toasted, characteristic:

Taste: sweet, sometimes tannic, harmonious, well-structured, sometimes with an almond aftertaste;

Minimum total alcoholic strength: 20,00 % by volume, with 11,50 % by volume actual alcoholic strength;

Minimum sugar-free extract: 28,0 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):

11,50

Minimum total acidity:

5 in grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid

Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre):

30

Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre):

—

5. Wine-making practices

5.1. Specific oenological practices

—

5.2. Maximum yields

‘Cinque Terre’ DOC

9 000 kilograms of grapes per hectare

‘Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà’ DOC and ‘Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà Riserva’ DOC

9 000 kilograms of grapes per hectare

‘Cinque Terre Costa de Sera’ DOC

8 500 kilograms of grapes per hectare

‘Cinque Terre Costa da Posa’ DOC

8 500 kilograms of grapes per hectare

‘Cinque Terre Costa de Campu’ DOC

8 500 kilograms of grapes per hectare

6. Demarcated geographical area

The area in which grapes to be used to make ‘Cinque Terre’, ‘Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà’, ‘Cinque Terre’ Rosso and ‘Cinque Terre’ Passito Rosso DOC wines must be grown is located in the province of La Spezia. It consists of land suitable for producing a high-quality product located throughout the municipalities of Riomaggiore, Vernazza and Monterosso, and the parts of the municipality of La Spezia known as ‘Tramonti di Biassa’ and ‘Tramonti di Campiglia’ which border the municipality of Riomaggiore to the north-west, and to the north-east, the mule track which leads south-east from Monte della Madonna (527 m elevation), passes San Antonio church (510 m elevation), reaches elevations of 567 m, 588 m and 562 m and then passes the villages of Campiglia and S. Caterina (398 m) before following the unsurfaced carriage road as far as the 351 m elevation line. From that point, the area boundary follows the path, reaching an elevation of 368 m, as far as the boundary of the municipality of Portovenere, which it follows to the sea.

The ‘Costa de Sera’ sub-area is defined as follows:

From the La Spezia-Manarola coastal road at the entrance to the Lemmen tunnel, the area boundary follows the line where official map sheet No 30 meets sheets No 31 and No 32 as far as the sea, then skirts along the coast westwards it arrives at the mouth of the Val di Serra gorge, which it follows, rising once again until it returns to the elevation of the coastal road. From there it returns eastwards to the starting point.

This sub-area can be found on official map sheet No 30 of the municipality of Riomaggiore.

The ‘Costa de Campu’ sub-area is defined as follows:

Descending the La Spezia-Manarola provincial road, at the point where it crosses the Groppo Canal, the area boundary follows the line where official map sheets No 16 and No 11 meet, as far as the Fiesse municipal road, which follows until it meets the Campo municipal road. Then it travels westwards along the line separating map sheets No 15 and No 8 as far as the Collora-Donega municipal road, which it follows as far as the crossing with the Luogo municipal road, and then eastwards until, near the church, it reaches Groppo Canal, from where it then climbs back to the starting point.

This sub-area can be found on official map sheets No 16 and No 15 of the municipality of Riomaggiore.

The ‘Costa de Posa’ production sub-area is defined as follows:

From the Groppo-Volastra-Corniglia provincial road along the Rio della Valle Asciutta stream, the area boundary descends that river to the sea. It skirts westwards along the coastline until it reaches the mouth of Rio Molinello stream. It then climbs along that stream until it crosses the Vecchia Corniglia-Volastra municipal road, which it then climbs as far as the point where it intersects the line separating official map sheets No 4 and No 1 of the municipality of Riomaggiore. From there it follows the line separating map sheets No 4 and No 1 until it comes back to the Groppo-Volastra-Corniglia provincial road, and then eastwards back to the starting point.

This sub-area can be found on official map sheet No 4 of the municipality of Riomaggiore.

7. Main wine grape variety(ies)

Albarola B.

Bosco B.

Vermentino B.

Vermentino B. - Favorita B.

Vermentino B. - Pigato B.

8. Description of the link(s)

‘CINQUE TERRE’ AND ‘CINQUE TERRE SCIACCHETRÀ’ DOC

The geographical area for the ‘Cinque Terre’ designation of origin is located in the province of La Spezia in the eastern part of the region of Liguria. The area is generally characterised by terraced vineyards, quite small on average, mostly located high in the hills.

Soil aspects:

The soils in which the vines are grown are not particularly deep. They are coarse or coarse loam soils, rich in skeleton and therefore highly permeable. Soil PH is slightly acidic to acidic. Marine sediment (turbidite) is the most frequent bedrock type found in the hills of the Cinque Terre.

Landscape aspects:

The vines are grown at elevations of between 0 m and 600 m above sea level – mainly between 50 m and 500 m – with a gradient ranging from 35 % to 50 %, predominantly south-west facing and between 0 and 2 km from the sea.

Climate aspects:

The area has an average temperature of approximately 15 °C.

The area’s Huglin Index (HI), a bioclimatic heat index used to chart phenological and ripening trends, is approximately 2 240 °C, with values ranging between 2 050 °C and 2 370 °C depending on the year.

The sum of active temperatures (SATs), which indicates thermal availability in the area, is approximately 1 970 °C, with values ranging between 1 830 °C and 2 110 °C. The sum of temperature variations, another bioclimatic index of use in characterising a wine-growing area, is approximately 550 °C, with values between 490 °C and 590 °C.

Rainfall is highest in April, with an average of about 220 mm, and lowest in July, with an average of 24 mm.

Average annual rainfall is approximately 1 240 mm. There are 47 rainy days on average from April to October, ranging from a maximum of 11 days in April to a minimum of 3 days in July.

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

—

Link to the product specification

https://www.politicheagricole.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/17117

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