Case C-216/23, Hauser Weinimport: Judgment of the Court (Ninth Chamber) of 8 May 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Bayerischer Verwaltungsgerichtshof – Germany) – Hauser Weinimport GmbH v Freistaat Bayern (Reference for a preliminary ruling – Approximation of laws – Agriculture – Definition, description, presentation, labelling and the protection of geographical indications of aromatised wine products – Regulation (EU) No 251/2014 – Article 3(4) – Aromatised wine-product cocktail – Definition – Concepts of alcohol and of flavouring foodstuffs)
Date: 2024-05-08
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: alcohol, approximation of laws, consumer information, flavouring, grape, labelling, product designation








C_202403727EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/3727


24.6.2024






Judgment of the Court (Ninth Chamber) of 8 May 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Bayerischer Verwaltungsgerichtshof – Germany) – Hauser Weinimport GmbH v Freistaat Bayern


(Case C-216/23,
                (1)
Hauser Weinimport)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Approximation of laws - Agriculture - Definition, description, presentation, labelling and the protection of geographical indications of aromatised wine products - Regulation (EU) No 251/2014 - Article 3(4) - Aromatised wine-product cocktail - Definition - Concepts of ‘alcohol’ and of ‘flavouring foodstuffs’)
(C/2024/3727)
Language of the case: German

Referring court

Bayerischer Verwaltungsgerichtshof

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: Hauser Weinimport GmbH

Defendant: Freistaat Bayern

Operative part of the judgment









1.


Article 3(4)(c) of Regulation (EU) No 251/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the definition, description, presentation, labelling and the protection of geographical indications of aromatised wine products and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1601/91, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2021/2117 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 December 2021,
must be interpreted as meaning that the concept of ‘alcohol’, within the meaning of that provision, which cannot be added to a drink bearing the name ‘aromatised wine-product cocktail’, includes an alcoholic drink which, like beer, is not a grapevine product, within the meaning of Article 3(4)(a) of that regulation, irrespectively of whether the addition of such alcoholic drink may not lead to an increase in the alcoholic strength of such a cocktail compared to that of the grapevine product or products referred to in the latter provision.












2.


Article 3(4)(c) of Regulation No 251/2014, as amended by Regulation 2021/2117,
must be interpreted as meaning that the prohibition on adding alcohol to an ‘aromatised wine-product cocktail’, laid down in that provision lays down, precludes an alcoholic drink which, like beer, is not one of the grapevine products referred to in that provision from being incorporated into such a cocktail, as a ‘flavouring foodstuff’ within the meaning of point 1(b)(ii) of Annex I to that regulation.






(1)  
            OJ C 271, 31.7.2023.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/3727/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)