EN Official Journal of the European Union C 41/13

Publication of an application pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs

2010/C 41/07

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (1). Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months of the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘HESSISCHER APFELWEIN’

EC No: DE-PGI-0005-0620-16.07.2007

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1. Name:

‘Hessischer Apfelwein’

2. Member State or third country:

Germany

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff:

3.1. Type of product:

Class 1.8 — Other products of Annex I to the Treaty (spices etc.)

3.2. Description of the product to which the name in (1) applies:

‘Hessischer Apfelwein’ (Hessen cider) is a fermented apple juice product. It has a fruit content of 100 % and is fermented, clarified and bottled exclusively in Hessen.

‘Hessischer Apfelwein’ is golden yellow in colour. Traditionally, it is made from apples from meadow orchards, which are characterised by a high level of acidity (at least 6 g/l), which is also typical of old apple varieties. For ‘Hessischer Apfelwein’, only apples which meet these requirements may be used. The accompanying dryness is also the result of full fermentation, which clearly distinguishes ‘Hessischer Apfelwein’ from the ciders of other regions. Its fizz is caused by carbon dioxide, which is produced during fermentation.

The product has a minimum alcohol content of 5 % by volume and a sugar-free extract of at least 18 g/l. It contains at least 4 g/l of non-volatile acids and no more than 0,8 g/l of volatile acids. It is not permitted to add water or sugar in the production of ‘Hessischer Apfelwein’.

3.3. Raw materials (for processed products only):

‘Hessischer Apfelwein’ is made from apples (97 %), mainly from Hessen's meadow orchards.

Traditionally, ‘Hessischer Apfelwein’ is made exclusively from apples. Sorb-apple juice is occasionally added and clears the cider. Well over 95 % of the cider produced in Hessen is made purely from apples.

Fruit growing in meadow orchards is significantly affected by alternate bearing. The trees produce a heavy crop one year and very little the next. The cider-press houses aim to produce cider almost exclusively from apples grown in Hessen. Where it is necessary to buy in apples from other regions, a minimum acidity of 6 g/l is the yardstick against which their quality is judged.

Meadow orchards are also characterised by the wide range of apple varieties. In total, more than 2 000 different apple varieties are grown in Hessen. This range of varieties is a distinctive characteristic of ‘Hessischer Apfelwein’. It is made from various apple varieties in varying proportions.

The varieties used for ‘Hessischer Apfelwein’ include:

Alkmene, Elstar, Holzapfel, Pilot, Ananasrenette, Glockenapfel, Idared, Rheinischer Bohnapfel, Berlepsch, Goldparmäne, Jacob Lebel, Schafsnase, Berner Rosenapfel, Gelber Edelapfel, James Grieve, Topaz, Bittenfelder, Gehrer Rambour, Jonagold, Weinapfel, Blenheimer, Gewürzluike, Kaiser Wilhelm, Winterrambour, Brettacher, Golden Delicious, Landsberger Renette, Zabergäu-Renette, Boskoop, Gravensteiner, Geheimrat Oldenburg, Cox Orange, Hauxapfel, Ontario.

These varieties are well suited to the weather and soil conditions in Hessen and are traditionally used to make cider.

3.4. Feed (for products of animal origin only):

—

3.5. Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area:

Fermentation and clarification of the apple juice take place exclusively in Hessen.

3.6. Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc.:

Oxidation, which occurs during transportation or interim storage, adversely affects the characteristics of the cider. ‘Hessischer Apfelwein’ should therefore be bottled straight from the fermenter.

3.7. Specific rules concerning labelling:

—

4. Concise definition of the geographical area:

The federal state of Hessen.

5. Link with the geographical area:

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area:

The raw material for ‘Hessischer Apfelwein’ is cider apples, which are chiefly grown in Hessen’s typical meadow orchards.

Meadow orchards have long been a ubiquitous part of Hessen’s agricultural landscape. In many places they continue to be a characteristic landscape feature. Through cultivation of the meadow orchards, there are still many hundred traditional apple varieties, which have become quite hardy and well adapted to the climate and soil of their particular region. They are a valuable part of Hessen's agricultural heritage, meriting conservation and further development. Hessen’s cider-press houses have ensured that meadow orchards continue to be used and are a factor in the economy up to the present day.

Apples for pressing may not be used as dessert fruit. Appearance is of secondary importance. The apples must not have blemishes but small depressions are without significance. Apples for pressing can therefore be shaken from the tree and then picked up from the ground. Dessert fruit, however, is picked by hand.

5.2. Specificity of the product:

‘Hessischer Apfelwein’ is a Hessian speciality with a long tradition, famed far beyond the federal state's borders and highly regarded, especially in the region. It is the wide range of varieties that gives it its characteristic flavour. In the federal state of Hessen, Apfelwein has established itself as a cultural icon, a ‘national drink’. In the Rhine-Main region and the neighbouring hilly areas, it has been firmly embraced as the people's drink. The people of Hessen closely identify themselves with their cider.

Unlike in other regions of Germany and other countries, complete fermentation of the apple juice to produce a dry cider is a speciality of Hessen.

5.3. Causal link between the geographical area and the quality or characteristics of the product (for PDO) or a specific quality, the reputation or other characteristic of the product (for PGI):

With the centuries-old tradition of its production in Hessen — bolstered by the home-grown nature of its raw material — its firm place in the culture of Hessen and its characteristic flavour due to the many varieties of cider apples used and the production method of full fermentation traditionally practised in the region of origin, ‘Hessischer Apfelwein’ has become a well-known and much-appreciated regional speciality.

There is also historical evidence of the close links between Hessen and ‘Hessischer Apfelwein’. From the Capitula de Villis promulgated by Charlemagne in the year 800 it can be seen that even in those days there must have been experts in cider making. In the following centuries, cider lost in importance relative to wine, and it was not until the 16th century that the success story of ‘Hessischer Apfelwein’ began, with its origins in Frankfurt. Wine growing, which by then had spread throughout the area, fell victim to vine diseases, which meant that alternative varieties of fruit had to be used, especially robust apples. At first, these were pressed more for home consumption, cider already having been the drink of choice of gardeners for some considerable time. In 1779, with the opening of the ‘Zur goldenen Krone’ (‘The Golden Crown’) inn at Hochstadt (in today's Main-Kinzig district), the oldest remaining cider-press house in Hessen was established.

Even though the origins of the history of ‘Hessischer Apfelwein’ can primarily be traced to the city of Frankfurt, it is still quite evident from other sources that great importance is also attached to this beverage outside the Frankfurt catchment area.

‘Hessischer Apfelwein’ reached a cultural high point more recently in the 1960s and 1970s particularly with the television series ‘Zum Blauen Bock’ (‘The Blue Buck’) on Hessischer Rundfunk.

‘Hessischer Apfelwein’ does, of course, have to be served in the proper way. Just like the cider, the ‘Bembel’, the traditional pitcher, and the ‘Gerippte’, the traditional diamond-pattern cider glass, are immediately associated with Hessen.

The importance of cider in Hessen, especially compared with the rest of Germany, can be seen from the consumption figures. For example, according to the statistics of the Hessian Cider and Fruit Juice Pressers’ Association (Verband der Hessischen Apfelwein- und Fruchtsaft-Keltereien) and the Association of the German Fruit Wine and Sparkling Fruit Wine Industry (Verband der deutschen Fruchtwein- und Fruchtschaumwein-Industrie) (Bonn), consumption in Hessen, about 10 litres per head of the population, is some 10 times higher than that for Germany as a whole, which is about 1 litre per head.

The population’s close attachment to and identification with the cider is promoted by the recurring activities of the cider-press houses. There are a number of firmly established events centring on ‘Apfelwein’ cider. In the early 1990s, the ‘Süsser-Feste’ developed as a permanent part of the public relations activities of Hessen's press houses. These signal to the local population that pressing has begun in that particular area, with regular pressing displays and visits, and explain to visitors the process and technology of cider making. This has helped to forge and maintain a connection between the population and ‘Apfelwein’ cider. The ‘Hessen Cider and Meadow Orchard Route’ (‘Hessische Apfelwein- und Obstwiesenroute’), which was inaugurated by the Association and the federal state of Hessen in 1995 and now includes six regional circuits, is an agricultural tourist attraction that is helping to preserve and promote the culture and tradition of ‘Hessischer Apfelwein’ in the typical meadow-orchard and cider-pressing areas of Hessen. The Association’s revival of the traditional broaching of the cider barrel (‘Apfelwein-Anstich’) as an annual public event held in January each year in the presence of the Prime Minister of Hessen and attracting the interest of the population and the media alike is further evidence of the deep roots the traditional drink of cider has put down in Hessen.

A market research study of consumers in Hessen has confirmed that they consider Apfelwein cider to be a very traditional drink — especially in association with the ‘Bembel’ and the ‘Gerippte’ — and identify it with Hessen.

Reference to publication of the specification:

Internet: http://publikationen.dpma.de/DPMApublikationen/fnd_tm_gd.do

(1) OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.