CELEX: 51987PC0091(01)
Language: en
Date: 1987-03-17
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC ) ON THE PREPARATION AND MARKETING OF LIQUEUR WINES PRODUCED IN THE COMMUNITY

No C 87/10                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                    2.4.87
                                                               II
                                                        (Preparatory Acts)
                                                 COMMISSION
             Proposal for a Council Regulation on the preparation and marketing of liqueur wines produced
                                                       in the Community
                                                        COM(87) 91 final
                               (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 18 March 1987)
                                                          (87/C 87/11)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                            Whereas, in order to avoid the use of sucrose in the
                                                                    sweetening of liqueur wines, the use of rectified
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European               concentrated grape must should be permitted in addition
Economic Community, and in particular Article 43                    to that of concentrated grape must;
thereof,
                                                                    Whereas all liqueur wines and the products used in their
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                  preparation must be made subject to minimum quality
                                                                    requirements; whereas provision should accordingly be
                                                                    made for their minimum characteristics;
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par-
liament,
                                                                    Whereas the preparation of certain quality liqueur wines
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                    produced in specified regions, hereinafter referred to as
Social Committee,                                                   quality liqueur wines psr, calls for a special process of
                                                                    ageing sous voile; whereas it should accordingly be
                                                                    defined;
Whereas at present no Community provisions govern the
conditions under which liqueur wines are prepared and
marketed; whereas, in view of the economic importance               Whereas additional provisions should also be laid down
of such products, common provisions are required to be              on the analytical characteristics of the products used for
adopted in this area in order to contribute towards the             the preparation of liqueur wines, in particular where
operation of the wine market as a whole;                            neutral spirits of vinous origin or wine distillate is
                                                                    employed;
Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No X/87 establishes
the common organization of the market in wine and
                                                                    Whereas the process of preparing liqueur wines requires
Council Regulation (EEC) N o Y/87 lays down special
                                                                    operators to keep a wide range of raw materials and in
provisions relating to quality wines produced in specified
                                                                    particular of spirits which may be used in particular for
regions; whereas those           Regulations should        be
                                                                    the manufacture of artificial wine; whereas provision
supplemented by adopting corresponding provisions for
                                                                    should consequently be made for better controls on such
all liqueur wines produced in the Community;
                                                                    activity and in particular, in order to avoid such manu-
                                                                    facture, for a prior authorization to be required;
Whereas liqueur wines should be made subject to a
system comprising common rules governing production,
preparation, marketing and controls which, while main-              Whereas, with a view to preserving the typical character
taining quality distinctions, will ensure that distortions of       of the origin of each quality liqueur wine psr and to faci-
competition are avoided, that free movement of such                 litating the task of control bodies, the Member States
products is enhanced and that consumers are protected;              should be permitted, within the limits laid down by this
                                                                    Regulation, to adopt production, preparation and
                                                                    movement disciplines supplementing Community rules,
Whereas such a measure will help to guide the consumer
in his choice by providing him in particular with the
assurance that each product presented meets specific                Whereas, in view of the traditional practices which have
quality requirements; whereas it is thereby likely to               contributed to the reputation of port quality liqueur wine
protect the interests of the producer, to encourage intra-          psr, the geographical ascription in question should be
Community trade, to increase demand and therefore to                recognized by way of a derogation, in respect of that
ensure increased opportunities for the disposal of wine             designation only, as covering a delimited area different
products;                                                           from that where the raw materials used were produced,
 ---pagebreak--- 2.4.87                                   Official Journal of the European Communities                                No C 87/11
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:                                        3. ageing 'sous voile'shall mean:
                          Article 1                                     the process of biological ageing in contact with the air
This Regulation lays down rules for the preparation and                 involving the development of a film of typical yeasts
marketing of liqueur wines as defined in point 14 of                    at the free surface of the wine after total alcoholic
Annex I to Regulation (EEC) No X/87.                                    fermentation of the must.
                          TITLE I                                                              Article 4
                      General provisions                            A liqueur wine is obtained either:
                          Article 2                                 — by adding to one of the basic products, where appro-
                                                                         priate after ageing sous voile, one of the addition
The descriptions 'liqueur wine' and 'quality liqueur wine
                                                                         products alone or in combination,
produced in a specified region' or 'quality liqueur wine
psr' shall be used only for the products referred to in
Article 1.                                                          — by freezing one of the basic products.
                          Article 3
                                                                                               Article 5
For the preparation of the products referred to in
Article 1:                                                          The basic products used for the preparation of liqueur
                                                                    wines must:
1. basic products shall mean:
   — grape must,                                                    — comply with the definitions in Annex I to Regulation
                                                                         (EEC) No X / 8 7 and be obtained from specific vine
   — grape must in fermentation, and                                    varieties selected from those listed in Article 69 of
                                                                         that Regulation,
   — wine;
2. addition products shall mean:                                    — have undergone, where appropriate, only the
                                                                         oenological practices referred to in Title II of and in
   (a) in the case of liqueur wines:                                     Annex VI to Regulation (EEC) No X/87. However,
                                                                         with the exception of freezing and the addition of the
       — added alcohol, i.e.                                             products listed in Article 3 (2), all enrichment
           — alcohol with an alcoholic strength greater                  operations including those involving fresh grapes
               than or equal to 95 % vol, obtained from                  shall be prohibited.
               neutral spirits of vinous origin including
               spirits obtained from the distillation of
               dried grapes,                                                                   Article 6
           — wine distillate with an alcoholic strength
                                                                    Addition products used for the preparation of liqueur
               greater than or equal to 52 % vol, and less
                                                                    wines must:
               than or equal to 80 % vol,
       — concentrated grape must, and                               — comply with the definitions laid down in Annexes I
                                                                         and II to this Regulation as regards neutral spirits of
       — a mixture of the products referred to in the
                                                                         vinous origin and wine distillate respectively,
           two preceding indents;
   (b) in the case of quality liqueur wines psr:                    — have undergone, where appropriate, only the
       — grape must in fermentation obtained            from             oenological practices referred to in Annex VI to
           raisined grapes,                                              Regulation (EEC) No X/87 as regards concentrated
                                                                         grape must and grape must in fermentation obtained
       — concentrated must obtained by the action of                     from raisined grapes.
           direct heat, meeting, with the exception of this
           operation, the definition of concentrated
           grape must, and                                                                     Article 7
       — the products referred to under (a) with the                Without prejudice to any more restrictive provisions
           exception, for certain red quality liqueur wines         which the Member States may adopt for liqueur wines
           psr to be determined, of wine distillate the             prepared within their territory, such products shall be
           alcoholic strength by volume of which must be            authorized to undergo the oenological practices referred
           greater than or equal to 70 % vol;                       to in Annex VI to Regulation (EEC) N o X/87.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 87/12                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                  2.4.87
In addition, sweetening using concentrated grape must                                        TITLE III
or rectified concentrated grape must shall be authorized
provided that the increase in the total alcoholic strength         Provisions on quality liqueur wines produced in specified
by volume of the liqueur wine in question is not                                              regions
increased by more than 2 % vol and that the operation is
the subject of a declaration as provided for in Article 2                                   Article 13
of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1618/70 O-
                                                                   The operations referred to in Article 4 for the
                                                                   preparation of quality liqueur wines psr may be
                           Article 8                               performed only within the specified region which
                                                                   produced the basic products and, where applicable, the
All producers of liqueur wines shall be required to                concentrated grape must or the grape must in fermen-
possess a prior authorization for such activity.                   tation obtained from raisined grapes from recognized
                                                                   vine varieties suitable for the preparation of quality
                                                                   liqueur wines psr in the specified region whose name
Without prejudice to Article 71 of Regulation (EEC) No             they bear.
X/87, all producers of liqueur wine shall be required to
keep goods inwards and stock utilization registers for the
basic and addition products listed in Article 3.                   However, for the quality liqueur wine psr designated
                                                                   port, the preparation may be carried out in a different
                                                                   delimited area from that in which the basic products
                           Article 9                               were produced.
Without prejudice to provisions adopted pursuant to
Article 72 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No X/87, liqueur
wine may only be released to the market in containers                                       Article 14
bearing a label on dispatch from the place of
preparation, indicating the description of the product             Without prejudice to any more restrictive provisions
together, where applicable, with the name of the                   which the Member States may apply as regards:
specified region, and under cover of commercial or
official documents accompanying such products and                  (a) the basic products used within their territory for the
indicating the same particulars.                                        preparation of quality liqueur wines psr, with the
                                                                        exception of quality liqueur wines psr on the list
                                                                        provided for in the third subparagraph of point 14 of
                           TITLE II                                     Annex I to Regulation (EEC) No X / 8 7 and the
                                                                        quality liqueur wines psr referred to in point 14 (a)
                 Provisions on liqueur wines                            and (c) of the abovementioned Annex, the natural
                                                                        alcoholic strength by volume of grape must, grape
                          Article 10                                    must in fermentation and wine may not be less than
                                                                        12 % vol;
The list of vine varieties selected among those referred to
in Article 69 of Regulation (EEC) No X/87 from which
the basic products are obtained shall be adopted in                (b) quality liqueur wines psr:
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 83 of                — the actual alcoholic strength by volume may not
that Regulation.                                                            be less than 15 % vol or more than 22 % vol,
                                                                        — the total alcoholic strength by volume may not be
                                                                            less than 17,5 % vol.
                          Article 11
The natural alcoholic strength by volume of the basic
products used for the preparation of liqueur wines may              However, the minimum total alcoholic strength by
 not be less than 12 % vol.                                        volume may be 15 % vol for certain quality liqueur
                                                                   wines psr on a list adopted in accordance with the
                                                                    procedure laid down in Article 83 of Regulation (EEC)
                          Article 12                                No X/87 where national laws applicable thereto before
                                                                    1 January 1985 expressly so provide.
Without prejudice to any more restrictive provisions
which the Member States may adopt where liqueur wines
 are prepared within their territory, the total sulphur                                      Article 15
dioxide content of the latter may not exceed 200 mg/1
when they are released to the market for direct human              Without prejudice to any more restrictive provisions
consumption.                                                       which the Member States may apply to quality liqueur
                                                                   wines psr prepared within their territory, the total
                                                                    sulphur dioxide content of such products may not exceed
                                                                    175 mg/1 when they are released to the market for direct
O O J N o L 175, 8. 8. 1970, p. 17.                                 human consumption.
 ---pagebreak--- 2.4.87                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 87/13
                        Article 16                                2.    Where no Community methods of analysis are laid
                                                                  down, the methods of analysis applicable shall be:
Quality liqueur wines psr referred to as vins doux
naturels may be obtained only from basic products 90 %
of which are produced from vine varieties listed in Annex         (a) those set out in Annex A to the International
III, with a natural alcoholic strength by volume not less              Convention for the Unification of Methods for the
than 14 % vol.                                                        Analysis and Appraisal of Wines of 13 October 1954;
                         Article 17
                                                                  (b) or, where that Annex makes no such provision,
Quality liqueur wines psr referred to as vino generoso                 methods scientifically recognized.
may be obtained only from white grapes, aged sous voile,
produced from vine varieties listed in Annex III and
released to the market after they have been kept for at                                     Article 21
least two years in oak barrels.
                                                                  The Member States and the Commission shall send each
                        Article 18                                other the information required for the application of this
                                                                  Regulation.
Quality wines psr referred to as vino generoso de licor
may be obtained only from vino generoso to which grape                                      Article 22
must in fermentation obtained from raisined grapes or
                                                                  Liqueur wines whose conditions of preparation or certain
concentrated grape must has been added and which has
                                                                  analytical characteristics of which do not comply with
been released to the market after it has been kept at least
                                                                  the provisions of this Regulation but are in accordance
two years in oak barrels.
                                                                  with the national laws previously in force may be held
                        Article 19                                with a view to sale, released to the market and exported
                                                                  until stocks are exhausted.
In addition to the provisions provided for in this Regu-
lation, producer Member States may lay down, taking
into account fair and traditional practices, any additional                                 Article 23
or stricter characteristics or conditions governing
production, preparation, ageing and release to the                Detailed rules for the application of this Regulation and
market, for liqueur wines produced in specified regions           in particular those relating to Articles 8, 10 and 14 shall
as referred to in this Title and prepared within their            be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down
territory.                                                        in Article 83 of Regulation (EEC) No X/87.
                         TITLE IV
                                                                                            Article 24
                     Final provisions
                                                                  This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 September
                        Article 20                                1987.
1.    The methods of analysis required for the
application of this Regulation shall be those adopted             This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
pursuant to Regulation (EEC) No X/87.                             directly applicable in all Member States.
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 87/14                              Official J o u r n a l of the E u r o p e a n C o m m u n i t i e s                       2.4.87
                                                                  ANNEX        I
                             Characteristics of neutral spirits of vinous origin as referred to in Article 6
            1. Organoleptic characteristics                                                   absence of unpleasant taste
            2. Total alcoholic strength by volume                                             96 % vol
            3. Maximum residues
               — total acidity
                  expressed as acetic acid g/hl alcohol at 100 % vol                           1,5
               — esters
                  expressed as ethyl acetate g/1 alcohol at 100 % vol                          1,3
               — aldehydes
                  expressed as acetaldehyde g/1 alcohol at 100 % vol                          0,5
               — higher alcohols expressed as methyl-2 propanol-1 g/hl at
                  100 % vol                                                                   0,5
               — methanol g/hl alcohol at 100 % vol                                           50
               — dry extract g/hl alcohol at 100 % vol                                         1,5
               — volatile nitrogenous bases
                  expressed as nitrogen g/hl alcohol at 100 % vol                             0,1
               — furfural                                                                     not detectable
                                                                  ANNEX       II
                                     Characteristics of wine distillate as referred to in Article 6
            1. Organoleptic characteristics                                                   absence of unpleasant taste
            2. Minimum alcoholic strength by volume                                           52 % vol
               Maximum alcoholic strength by volume                                           80 o/o vol
            3. Content of total volatile substances other than ethyl and
               methyl alcohol                                                                 more than 200 g/hl        alcohol at
                                                                                               100 % vol
            4. Maximum methyl alcohol content                                                  1 000 g/hl alcohol at 100 % vol
                                                                 ANNEX        III
                                LIST OF VINE VARIETIES AS REFERRED T O IN ARTICLE 16
            Muscat — Grenache — Maccabeo — Malvoisie.
                               LIST OF VINE VARIETIES AS REFERRED T O IN ARTICLE 17
            Palomino de Jerez — Palomino fino — Pedro Ximenes — Moscatel — Malvoisie.