Publication of a communication of approval of a standard amendment to the 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 305/07
Date: 2022-08-10
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: Italy, Tuscany, consumer information, designation of origin, labelling, product designation, quality control of agricultural products, wine








C_2022305EN.01001201.xml










10.8.2022   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 305/12







Publication of a communication of approval of a standard amendment to the 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 305/07)

This communication is published in accordance with Article 17(5) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33 (1).
COMMUNICATION OF STANDARD AMENDMENT MODIFYING THE SINGLE DOCUMENT


                     ‘Vin Santo del Chianti Classico’
                  


PDO-IT-A1514-AM02


Date of communication: 27.5.2022
                  


DESCRIPTION OF AND REASONS FOR THE APPROVED AMENDMENT

1.   Varietal mix – list of varieties

Description: Malvasia varieties (Malvasia Bianca Lunga, Malvasia Bianca di Candia) are listed. In addition to Trebbiano Toscano, they make up a minimum of 60 % of the varietal mix.
Reasons: This amendment has been made in order to specify the Malvasia grape varieties allowed in the combination of varieties used to make the product, in line with the list of grape varieties deemed as being suitable for cultivation in the Region of Tuscany.
This amendment concerns Article 2 of the product specification and Section 7 [Main wine grape varieties] of the single document.
2.   Rules for winegrowing – position of the vineyards

Description: The adjective ‘hilly’ has been removed from the section describing the position of the vineyards and the word ‘aspect’ has been replaced by the word ‘exposure’.
Reasons: The altitude throughout the entire Chianti area is at least 150/200 m and is therefore naturally suited to the production of grapes intended for raisining. This is also the case of the vineyards located in the less elevated parts of the territory, as their altitude is still compatible with the type of production in question. Another reason for this amendment is to avoid subjective assessments being made about a territory that is hilly in its entirety and therefore suited to the production of wines for which raisining processes are required.
This amendment concerns Article 4.2 of the product specification but does not concern the single document.
3.   Cultivation practices – emergency irrigation

Description: Provision has been made for the possibility of emergency irrigation.
Reasons: The vine growing season has been affected by the impact of climate change throughout the territory for more than 10 years, with ever-rising temperatures and low rainfall. This cultivation practice guarantees that the vineyards can survive and preserves grape quality. In fact, quality parameters are significantly diminished in grapes harvested from vineyards affected by water stress.
This amendment concerns Article 4.5 of the product specification but does not concern the single document.
4.   Cultivation practices – reference to careful sorting of the grapes

Description: In the context of the maximum grape yield per hectare limit, the reference to ‘careful sorting of the grapes’ has been deleted.
Reasons: The reference to this operation has been deleted as the yield parameters are already laid down in the product specification.
This amendment concerns Article 4.6 of the product specification but does not concern the single document.
5.   Cultivation practices – reference to prior sorting of the grapes

Description: As regards attaining the minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume, the reference to the operation of ‘prior sorting of the grapes’ has been deleted.
Reasons: The reference to this operation has been deleted as the technical production and quality characteristics to be met by the vines are already laid down in the product specification.
This amendment concerns Article 4.8 of the product specification but does not concern the single document.
6.   Reference to bottling within the demarcated geographical area – adjustment to the form of the existing condition

Description: The reference to bottling or packaging within the demarcated geographical area has been included in the single document, since it has already been allowed since the designation was recognised and was therefore already included in Article 5(1) of the product specification.
Reasons: This is an adjustment to the form, because this condition had not been included in the single document due to an omission at the time it was drawn up.
This update does not invalidate the link referred to in Article 93(1)(a)(i) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 and it concerns Section 9 [Essential further conditions] of the single document.
7.   Ban on the practice of enrichment

Description: The ban on enrichment has been included.
Reasons: This practice is not employed by producers of Vin Santo del Chianti Classico; the minimum sugar content must be achieved through natural raisining. The decision/choice to ban the practice of enrichment therefore has the aim of ensuring continuous improvement of product quality, to be achieved by careful management of vineyards and respecting a natural wine-making process.
This amendment concerns Article 5.4 of the product specification and Section 5.1 [Specific oenological practices] of the single document.
8.   Organoleptic characteristics

Description: For the ‘Vin Santo del Chianti Classico’ type, the words ‘to brown’ have been added to the colour parameter ‘intense amber’; For the ‘Occhio di Pernice’ type, the colour ‘from intense pink to pale pink’ has been amended with the following description: ‘from rose gold to amber to brown’;
Reasons: The intention behind these amendments is that the description reflect more intense colours, given that in the Chianti area, where Sangiovese and red grape vineyards are of particular importance, winegrowers are increasingly focusing on this type of grapes, which is having an impact on the colour of the Vin Santo wine.
Description: For both types, in terms of taste, the parameters ‘from dry to sweet’ have been indicated.
Reasons: The purpose of this amendment is to broaden the taste range in line with the analytical data on the products. Vin Santo wine is now increasingly identified as a dessert wine and therefore there is a preference for it being sweet to taste. As for the Occhio di Pernice type, this is a typical Tuscan product that is used in particular in the preparation of typical meat and game recipes, for which a product with a low sugar content (i.e. dry) is required.
This amendment concerns Article 6 of the product specification and Section 4 of the single document.
9.   Chemico-physical characteristics

Description: For both types, the minimum total alcoholic strength by volume, for the ‘actual alcoholic strength’ value, has been reduced from 12,00 % vol. to 10,50 %.
Reasons: This amendment is in line with the decision to make the product sweeter, thus increasing the level of residual sugar.
Description: For ‘Vin Santo del Chianti Classico’, the minimum total acidity has been increased from 4,0 g/l to 4,5 g/l.
Reasons: Red grape varieties are used in the varietal mix, in particular Sangiovese, which has a particular tendency to increase the acidity of the wines in which it is used. These amendments are also fully in line with market trends.
These amendments concern Article 6 of the product specification and Section 4 of the single document.
10.   Adjustments to the form

Description: The grape varieties that are representative of the territory are indicated: Trebbiano Toscano, Malvasia Bianca Lunga, Malvasia Bianca di Candia, Sangiovese and Canaiolo (white and black), and some references to wines have been made.
Reasons: The text has been adapted in light of the amendments concerning the grape varieties already listed in the varietal mix and the chemico-physical and organoleptic characteristics of the products.
This adjustment to the form concerns Article 8 of the product specification but does not concern the single document.
11.   Range of temperatures – change of adjective

Description: As regards the premises where grapes are raisined, it has been deemed sufficient to indicate the need for a ‘good’ temperature range (rather than a ‘significant’ one) and for the environment to be well-ventilated.
Reasons: This definition has been deemed to be more accurate and relevant to the raisining process.
This amendment concerns Article 8 of the product specification but does not concern the single document.
SINGLE DOCUMENT
1.   Name of product

Vin Santo del Chianti Classico
2.   Geographical indication type

PDO – Protected Designation of Origin
3.   Categories of grapevine product







1.


Wine




4.   Description of the wine(s)

1.   Vin Santo del Chianti Classico

CONCISE TEXTUAL DESCRIPTION
Colour: from straw yellow to golden, to intense amber to brown;
Smell: redolent of ethers, intense, distinctive;
Taste: harmonious, velvety, well-structured, from dry to sweet;
Minimum total alcoholic strength by volume: 16,00 %, with an actual alcoholic strength of at least 10,5 %;
Minimum sugar-free extract: 23,0 g/l.






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)


30




Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre)


 




2.   Vin Santo del Chianti Classico Occhio di Pernice

CONCISE TEXTUAL DESCRIPTION
Colour: from rose gold to amber to brown;
Smell: redolent of ethers, intense;
Taste: soft, velvety and round, from dry to sweet;
Minimum total alcoholic strength by volume: 16,00 %, with an actual alcoholic strength of at least 10,5 %;
Minimum sugar-free extract: 26,0 g/l.






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)


30




Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre)


 




5.   Wine-making practices

5.1.   Specific oenological practices

1.   Vin Santo del Chianti Classico PDO, including with the Occhio di Pernice indication
Specific oenological practice
The traditional wine-making method is as follows:
after careful sorting, the grapes must undergo a natural raisining process; the grapes must be raisined in suitable premises; partial dehydration with ventilated air is permitted and the grapes must attain a significant sugar content before they are crushed; no enrichment practices are permitted. The vinification, preservation and ageing of Vin Santo del Chianti Classico must take place in wooden containers (known as ‘caratelli’).
5.2.   Maximum yields







1.


Vin Santo del Chianti Classico PDO, including with the Occhio di Pernice indication






 



                                    8 000 kilograms of grapes per hectare














2.


Vin Santo del Chianti Classico PDO, including with the Occhio di Pernice indication






 


28 hectolitres per hectare








6.   Demarcated geographical area

The area in which the PDO ‘Vin Santo del Chianti Classico’ is produced comprises 71 800 hectares in the centre of the Region of Tuscany, including part of the territory of the provinces of Florence (30 400 hectares) and Siena (41 400 hectares). In particular, all of the municipalities of Greve in Chianti, Castellina in Chianti, Radda in Chianti and Gaiole in Chianti are included in this area. The municipalities of San Casciano in Val di Pesa, Barberino Tavarnelle, Castelnuovo Berardenga and Poggibonsi are partially included.
7.   Wine grape varieties

Malvasia Bianca Lunga B. – Malvasia
Malvasia Bianca di Candia B. – Malvasia
Sangiovese N. – Sangioveto
Trebbiano Toscano B. – Trebbiano
8.   Description of the link(s)


Chianti Classico PDO including with the Occhio di Pernice indication

Vin Santo wine has been an important feature in the Chianti Classico area since the Middle Ages. Its origins date back to 1400. Producing Vin Santo is a real art that requires experience. The first stage in the process is harvesting the most suitable grapes, such as Trebbiano Toscano, Malvasia Bianca Lunga, Malvasia Bianca di Candia, Sangiovese and Canaiolo (white and black), which are trained using the techniques that are traditional in the area (‘Tuscan arch’). The raisining method is natural due to the temperature range in the area. Fermentation times, transfers and ageing methods are linked to the experience of local winegrowers. During vinification, the typical local ‘madre’ [mother] method is used. This involves seeding with yeasts selected over time by individual holdings.
9.   Essential further conditions (packaging, labelling, other requirements)


Vin Santo del Chianti Classico – bottling

Legal framework:
EU legislation
Type of further condition:
Packaging within the demarcated geographical area
Description of the condition:
Vinification, preservation, ageing and bottling operations must be carried out within the Vin Santo del Chianti Classico area referred to in Article 3 of the product specification.
In accordance with current national and EU legislation, bottling or packaging must take place within the demarcated geographical area in order to safeguard the quality and reputation of Vin Santo del Chianti Classico wine and guarantee the effectiveness of the relevant checks.

Vin Santo del Chianti Classico – vinification

Legal framework:
EU legislation
Type of further condition:
Derogation on production in the demarcated geographical area
Description of the condition:
Subject to authorisation from the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policy and following appraisal by the Region of Tuscany, vinification, preservation, ageing and bottling operations are permitted at wineries located outside the demarcated geographical area, but no more than 10 km from its boundary. The conditions are that such wineries must have already existed at the time of entry into force of the product specification and that they must belong to holdings that individually or collectively produce grapes suitable for the production of ‘Vin Santo del Chianti Classico’ harvested from vineyards either owned or managed by such holdings.

Link to the product specification

https://www.politicheagricole.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/18197


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