Commission Regulation (EC) No 1507/2006 of 11 October 2006 amending Regulations (EC) No 1622/2000, (EC) No 884/2001 and (EC) No 753/2002 concerning certain detailed rules implementing Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine, as regards the use of pieces of oak wood in winemaking and the designation and presentation of wine so treated
Date: 2006-10-11
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: deciduous tree, labelling, product designation, vinification, viticulture, wine, wood product

12.10.2006

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Official Journal of the European Union

L 280/9

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1507/2006

of 11 October 2006

amending Regulations (EC) No 1622/2000, (EC) No 884/2001 and (EC) No 753/2002 concerning
certain detailed rules implementing Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 on the common organisation of
the market in wine, as regards the use of pieces of oak wood in winemaking and the designation
and presentation of wine so treated

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 of 17
May 1999 on the common organisation of
in
wine (1), and in particular Articles 46(1), 53(1) and 70(3)
thereof,

the market

Whereas:

nation, presentation and protection of certain wine sector
products (4)
lays down the conditions for using indi-
cations concerning the production method. The use of
pieces of oak wood in winemaking gives the product a
woody flavour similar to that of wines produced in oak
casks. It is therefore difficult for the average consumer to
determine which of the two methods has been used.
Using pieces of oak wood in winemaking is extremely
financially attractive to wine producers, and affects the
selling price of the product. There is a risk of misleading
consumers if the labelling of a wine made using pieces of
oak wood contains terms or expressions which may lead
them to believe that it has in fact been produced in oak
casks. To avoid misleading consumers, and to prevent
any distortion of competition between producers, appro-
priate labelling rules should be laid down.

(1)

(2)

for

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1622/2000 of 24 July
2000 laying down certain detailed rules
imple-
menting Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 on the
common organisation of the market in wine and estab-
lishing a Community code of oenological practices and
processes (2)
lays down restrictions on and certain
conditions for the use of substances authorised by Regu-
lation (EC) No 1493/1999. As a result of the addition of
the use of pieces of oak wood to the list of authorised
oenological practices in Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No
1493/1999, restrictions on and conditions for the use of
this material should be laid down. The restrictions and
conditions laid down in this Regulation are in accordance
with the rules approved by the International Organisation
of Vine and Wine.

of

rules

down detailed

Commission Regulation (EC) No 884/2001 of 24 April
2001 laying
application
concerning the documents accompanying the carriage
of wine products and the records to be kept
in the
wine sector (3)
lays down rules on the information to
and the
be provided in accompanying documents
keeping of
and
provides
the indication of certain
operations in the records. The particular characteristics
of the use of pieces of oak wood in wine require this
use to be indicated in the accompanying documents and
the records.

and outwards
for

inwards
in particular

registers,

(3)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 753/2002 of 29 April
2002 laying down certain rules for applying Regulation
(EC) No 1493/1999 as regards the description, desig-

(1) OJ L 179, 14.7.1999, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 2165/2005 (OJ L 345, 28.12.2005, p. 1).

(2) OJ L 194, 31.7.2000, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 643/2006 (OJ L 115, 28.4.2006, p. 6).

(4)

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

Regulation (EC) No 1622/2000 is hereby amended as follows:

1. The following Article 18b is inserted:

‘Article 18b

Use of pieces of oak wood

The usage of pieces of oak wood provided for in paragraph
4(e) of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 may be
carried out only where it meets the requirements set out in
Annex XIa to this Regulation.’

2. Annex I to this Regulation is added as Annex XIa.

(3) OJ L 128, 10.5.2001, p. 32. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

(4) OJ L 118, 4.5.2002, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation

lation (EC) No 643/2006.

(EC) No 261/2006 (OJ L 46, 16.2.2006, p. 18).

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Article 2

Regulation (EC) No 884/2001 is hereby amended as follows:

1. The following indent is added to the first subparagraph of

Article 14(1):

‘— the use of pieces of oak wood in winemaking’.

2. The following figure 8a is added to point 3.2 of paragraph B

of Annex II:

‘8a: the product has been made using pieces of oak wood’.

Article 3

may, however, establish other indications equivalent to those
laid down in Annex X for such wines, paragraphs 1 and 2
applying mutatis mutandis.

Use of one of the indications listed in Annex X shall be
permitted where the wine has been aged in an oak
container in accordance with the national rules in force,
even when the aging process continues in another type of
container. The Member States shall notify the Commission
of the measures they take to implement this paragraph.

The indications in Annex X may not be used to describe a
wine made with the aid of pieces of oak wood, even in
association with the use of an oak container or oak
containers.’

Regulation (EC) No 753/2002 is hereby amended as follows:

2. Annex II to this Regulation is added as Annex X.

1. The following paragraph 3 is added to Article 22:

Article 4

‘3.
The indications in Annex X are the only terms which
may be used to describe a wine that has been fermented,
matured or aged in an oak container. The Member States

This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day
following its publication in the Official Journal of the European
Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 11 October 2006.

For the Commission

Mariann FISCHER BOEL
Member of the Commission

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ANNEX I

‘ANNEX XIa

Requirements for pieces of oak wood

PURPOSE, ORIGIN AND AREA OF APPLICATION

Pieces of oak wood are used in winemaking, to pass on certain characteristics of oak wood to wine.
The pieces of oak wood must come exclusively from the Quercus genus.

They may be left in their natural state, or heated to a low, medium or high temperature, but they may not have
undergone combustion,
including surface combustion, nor be carbonaceous or friable to the touch. They may not
have undergone any chemical, enzymatic or physical processes other than heating. No product may be added for the
purpose of increasing their natural flavour or the amount of their extractible phenolic compounds.

LABELLING

The label must mention the origin of the botanical species of oak and the intensity of any heating, the storage conditions
and safety precautions.

DIMENSIONS

The dimensions of the particles of wood must be such that at least 95 % in weight are retained by a 2 mm mesh filter
(9 mesh).

PURITY

The pieces of oak wood may not release any substances in concentrations which may be harmful to health.
This treatment is to be recorded in the register referred to in Article 70(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999.’

ANNEX II

‘ANNEX X

Indications authorised for use on wine labelling pursuant to Article 22(3)

“barrel fermented”
“oak-cask fermented”
“cask fermented”

“barrel matured”
“oak-cask matured”
“cask matured”

“barrel aged”
“oak-cask aged”
“cask aged” ’