CELEX: 51987PC0652
Language: en
Date: 1987-12-08
Title: MODIFICATION OF PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC ) ON THE PREPARATION AND MARKETING OF LIQUEUR WINES PRODUCED IN THE COMMUNITY

16.1.88                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                 No C 11/7
                                                             II
                                                     (Prepa ratory A cts)
                                               COMMISSION
              Modification of proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) on the preparation and marketing of
                                       liqueur wines produced in the Community (')
                                                    COM(87) 652 final
              (Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 149 (3) of the EEC Treaty on 15 December
                                                            1987)
                                                       (88/C 11/10)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                          assurance that each product presented meets specific
                                                                  quality requirements; whereas it is thereby likely to
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European             protect the interests of the producer, to encourage intra-
Economic Community, and in particular Article 43                  Community trade, to increase demand and therefore to
thereof,                                                          ensure the increased disposal of wine;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
                                                                  Whereas, in order to avoid the use of sucrose in the
                                                                  sweetening of liqueur wines, the use of rectified
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par-
                                                                  concentrated grape must should be permitted in addition
liament,                                                          to that of concentrated grape must;
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
Social Committee,                                                 Whereas all liqueur wines and the products used in their
                                                                  preparation must be made subject to minimum quality
Whereas at present there are no Community provisions              requirements; whereas provision should accordingly be
governing the conditions under which liqueur wines are            made for their minimum characteristics;
prepared and marketed; whereas, in view of the
economic importance of such products, common                      Whereas the preparation of certain quality liqueur wines
provisions need to be adopted in this area in order to            produced in specified regions (quality liqueur wines psr)
enhance the operation of the wine market as a whole;              calls for a special process of ageing 'sous voile'; whereas
                                                                  it should accordingly be defined;
Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 (2), as
last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 3146/87 (3),                  Whereas additional provisions should also be laid down
establishes the common organization of the market in              on the analytical characteristics of the products used for
wine and Council Regulation (EEC) No 823/87 (4) lays              the preparation of liqueur wines, in particular where
down special provisions relating to quality wines                 neutral spirits of vinous origin or wine distillate is
produced in specified regions; whereas those rules                employed;
should be supplemented by adopting corresponding
provisions for all liqueur wines produced in the
Community;                                                        Whereas the process of preparing liqueur wines requires
                                                                  operators to keep a wide range of raw materials and in
Whereas liqueur wines should be made subject to a                 particular of spirits which may be used in particular for
system of rules governing production, preparation,                the manufacture of artificial wine; whereas provision
marketing and controls, together with common rules,               should consequently be made for better controls on such
which, while maintaining quality distinctions, enables            activity and in particular, in order to avoid such manu-
distortions of competition to be avoided, the free circu-         facture, for a declaration of such activity to be required;
lation of such products to be facilitated and the
consumer to be protected;                                         Whereas, with a view to preserving the typical character
                                                                  of the origin of each quality liqueur wine psr and to fa-
Whereas such a measure will help to guide the consumer            cilitating the task of control bodies, the Member States
in his choice by providing him in particular with the             should be permitted, within the limits laid down by this
                                                                  Regulation, to adopt production, preparation and
(') O J N o C 87,2.4. 1987, p. 10.                                movement disciplines supplementing Community rules;
O   OJNo L84, 27. 3. 1987, p. 1.
O   OJ No L 300, 23. 10. 1987, p. 4.                              Whereas, in view of the traditional practices contributing
(4) OJ No L 84, 27. 3. 1987, p. 59.                               towards the reputation of port quality liqueur wine psr,
 ---pagebreak--- No C 11/8                                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                      16.1.
the geographical ascription in question should be                              — the products referred to under (a) with the
recognized by way of a derogation, in respect of that                               exception, for certain red quality liqueur wines
designation only, as covering a different delimited area                            psr to be determined, of wine distillate the
from that where the raw materials used were produced,                               alcoholic strength by volume of which must be
                                                                                    greater than or equal to 70 % vol;
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
                                                                      3. 'ageing "sous voile" ' means the process of biological
                            Article 1                                     ageing in contact with the air involving the
                                                                          development of a film of typical yeasts at the free
This Regulation lays down rules for the preparation and                   surface of the wine after total alcoholic fermentation
marketing of liqueur wines as defined in point 14 of                      of the must.
Annex I to Regulation (EEC) No 822/87.
                                                                                                   Article 4
'Quality liqueur wines produced in specified regions'
means wines which meet the conditions listed in point 14              The products used for the preparation of liqueur wines
of Annex I to Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 for liqueur                  must:
wines and may also be considered to be quality wines
produced in specified regions in accordance with Regu-                — comply with the definitions in Annex I to Regulation
lation (EEC) No 823/87 of 16 March 1987.                                   (EEC) No 822/87 and be obtained from specific vine
                                                                           varieties selected from those listed in Article 69 of the
                                                                           abovementioned Regulation,
                            TITLE I
                                                                      — have undergone, where appropriate, only the
                        General provisions                                 oenological practices referred to in Title II of and in
                                                                           Annex VI to Regulation (EEC) No 822/87.
                            Article 2                                      However, with the exception of freezing and the
                                                                           addition of the products listed in Article 3 (2), all
The descriptions 'liqueur wine' and 'quality liqueur wine
                                                                           enrichment operations including those involving fresh
produced in a specified region' or 'quality liqueur wine
                                                                           grapes shall be prohibited,
psr' shall be used only for the products referred to in
Article 1.                                                            — in the case of neutral spirits of vinous origin or wine
                                                                           distillate, comply with the definitions in Annexes I
                            Article 3                                      and II to this Regulation,
For the preparation of the products referred to in Article            — in the case of concentrated grape must and rectified
 1, the following raw materials may be used:                               concentrated grape must and grape must in fer-
                                                                           mentation obtained from raisined grapes, have
1. — grape must,                                                           undergone, where appropriate, only the oenological
    — grape must in fermentation, and                                      practices referred to in Annex VI to Regulation
                                                                           (EEC) No 822/87.
    — wine.
                                                                                                   Article 5
2. In addition:
                                                                      Without prejudice to any more restrictive provisions
     (a) in the case of liqueur wines:
                                                                      which the Member States may adopt for liqueur wines
         — added alcohol, i.e.:                                       prepared within their territory, such products shall be
             — alcohol with an alcoholic strength greater             authorized to undergo the oenological practices referred
                 than or equal to 95 % vol, obtained from             to in Annex VI to Regulation (EEC) No 822/87.
                 neutral spirits of vinous origin including
                                                                      In addition, sweetening using concentrated grape must
                 spirits obtained from the distillation of
                                                                      or rectified concentrated grape must shall be authorized
                 dried grapes,
                                                                      provided that the increase in the total alcoholic strength
             — wine distillate with an alcoholic strength             by volume of the liqueur wine in question is not
                 greater than or equal to 52 % vol, and less          increased by more than 2 % vol and that operation is the
                 than or equal to 80 % vol,                           subject of a declaration as provided for in Article 2 of
         — concentrated grape must, and                               Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1618/70 (').
         — a mixture of the products referred to in the               Lastly, sulphating by adding calcium sulphate is also
             two preceding indents;                                   authorized for vino generoso where it is a traditional
                                                                      practice.
     (b) in the case of quality liqueur wines psr:
         — grape must in fermentation           obtained   from                                    Article 6
             raisined grapes,
                                                                      All producers of liqueur wines as referred to in Article 1
         — concentrated must obtained by the action of                shall be required to make a declaration of such activity.
             direct heat, meeting, with the exception of this
             operation, the definition of concentrated
             grape must, and                                          (') OJ No L 175, 8. 8. 1970, p. 17.
 ---pagebreak--- LDP                                                    CBofhcial]ournal of the European communities                                                         ^oCPMB^
Without prejudice to Article B^^of Regulation r ^ E E C ^ o
^^^B^B^,all producers of liqueur wine shall be required to
keep ^oods inwards and stock utilisation registers for the                          Without prejudice to any more restrictive provisions
use of products listed in Articled.                                                 which the Member States may apply as re^ards^
                                                                                    ^   the products used within their territory for the
                                                                                        preparation of quality liqueur wines psr, with the
Without prejudice to provisions adopted pursuant to                                     exception of quality liqueur wines psr on the list
A r t i c l e ^ p t ^ o f Regulation ^ E E C ^ o ^ ^ B ^ liqueur                        provided for in the third subparagraph of p o i n t t ^ o f
wine may only he released to the market in containers                                   AnnexltoRe^ulation^EEC^^o^B^andthe
hearing a market lahel on dispatch from the place of                                    quality liqueur wines psr referred to in point f ^
preparation, indicating the description of the product                                  and ^ of the abovementioned Annex, the natural
together, where applicable, with the name of the                                        alcoholic strength by volume of ^rape must, ^rape
specified region, and under cover of commercial or                                      must in fermentation and winemay not beless than
official documents accompanying such products and                                       t^Bovob
indicating the same particulars, f h e composition of the
product must he indicated on the marks or labels.                                   ^   quality liqueur wines psr^
                                                                                        — t h e a c t u a l a l c o h o l i c s t r e n ^ t h b y v o l u m e m a y not
                                                                                            be less than t^Bo vol nor higher t h a n ^ ^ o vol,
                                                                                        — the total alcoholic strength by volume may not be
                        PTOvisio^sor^^q^eurw^nes                                            less than t ^ ^ B o vol,
                                                                                        Idowever, the minimum total overall alcoholic
                                 A^cA^^
                                                                                        strength by volume may be t^Bo vol for certain
The list of vine varieties selected amon^ those referred to                             quality liqueur wines psr on a list adopted in
in Article ^ of Regulation ^ E E C ^ o ^ ^ B ^ s h a l l be                             accordance w i t h t h e p r o c e d u r e l a i d d o w n in Article
adopted i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e p r o c e d u r e l a i d d o w n i n     ^ o f Regulation ^ E E C ^ o ^ ^ B ^ where national
Article ^^ of that Regulation.                                                          laws applicable thereto before t ]anuary                                    r ^
                                                                                        expressly so provide.
                                                                                                                      ArrA^A^
The natural alcoholic strength by volume of the basic
products u s e d f o r t h e p r e p a r a t i o n o f liqueur wines may            Without prejudice to any more restrictive provisions
not be less than t^Bo vol.                                                          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
                                                                                    tOO m^Blitre when they are released to the marketfor
Without prejudice to any more restrictive provisions                                direct human consumption.
which the Member States may adopt where liqueur wines
are prepared within their territory, the total sulphur
dioxide content of the latter may not exceed ^00 m^B                                                                  ArrA^^
litre when they are released to the market for direct
                                                                                    C^uality liqueur wines psr referred to as ^vino dulce
human consumption.
                                                                                    natural'may be obtained only from basic products ^O^o
                                                                                    of which are produced from vine varieties listed in Annex
                                                                                    IN, with a n a t u r a l alcoholicstren^thby volume higher
                                                                                    than or equal t o t ^ ^ o vol.
Prov^io^so^qu^diry liqueur w^nes produced in specked
                                   regions
                                                                                                                      ArrA^A^
                                 A^cA^                                              (duality liqueur winespsrreferred to as ^vino^eneroso'
The operations referred to in Article ^ for the                                     may be obtained only f^om white crapes, a^ed ^sous
preparation of quality liqueur wines psr may be                                     voile', produced from vine varieties listed in Annex 111
performed only within the specified region where the                                and released to the market after they have been kept for
basicproducts areproduced and, where applicable, the                                an average of two years in oak barrels.
concentrated ^rape must or the ^rape must in ferment
ration obtained from raisined crapes from reco^ni^ed
                                                                                                                      A^AA^
vine varieties suitable for the preparation of quality
liqueur wines psr in the specified region whose name                                duality wines psr r e f e r r e d t o a s ^ v i n o ^ e n e r o s o d e l i c o P
they bear.                                                                          may be obtained only from vino ^eneroso to which ^rape
                                                                                    must in fermentation obtained from raisined crapes or
However, for the quality liqueur wine designated port,                              concentrated ^rapemust has been added and which has
t h e a r e a o f preparation may not necessarily be thesame                        been released to the market after it has been kept at least
as the area of production.                                                          two years in oak barrels.
 ---pagebreak--- NoCll/10                                   Official Journal of the European Communities                                     16.1.88
                           Article 17                                                               Article 19
In addition to the provisions provided for in this Regu-                  The Member States and the Commission shall notify
lation, the producer Member States may lay down,                          each other of the information required for the
taking into account fair and traditional practices, any                   application of this Regulation.
additional or stricter characteristics or conditions
governing production, preparation, ageing and release to
                                                                                                    Article 20
the market, for liqueur wines produced in specified
regions as referred to in this Title and prepared within                  Liqueur wines whose conditions of preparation or certain
their territory.                                                          analytical characteristics of which do not comply with
                                                                          the provisions of this Regulation but are in accordance
                                                                          with the national laws previously in force may be held
                           TITLE IV                                       with a view to sale, released to the market and exported
                       Final provisions                                   until stocks are exhausted.
                           Article 18
                                                                                                    Article 21
1.    The methods of analysis required for the
                                                                          The detailed rules for the application of this Regulation
application of this Regulation shall be those adopted
                                                                          and in particular those relating to Articles 6, 8 and 12
pursuant to Regulation (EEC) No 822/87.
                                                                          shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid
2.    However, where no Community analysis methods                        down in Article 83 of Regulation (EEC) N o 822/87.
are laid down, the analysis methods applicable shall be:
(a) those set out in Annex A to the International                                                   Article 22
     Convention for the Unification of Methods for the                    This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1988.
     Analysis and Appraisal of Wines of 13 October 1954;
(b) or, where that Annex makes no such provision,                         This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
     methods scientifically recognized.                                   directly applicable in all Member States.
                                                                 ANNEX I
              CHARACTERISTICS OF NEUTRAL SPIRITS OF VINOUS ORIGIN AS REFERRED TO IN
                                                                ARTICLE 4
               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/litre alcohol at 100 °/o vol           1,3
                  — aldehydes, expressed as acetaldehyde g/litre 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 °/o vol                                                                0,1
                  — furfural                                                                   not detectable
 ---pagebreak--- 16.1.88                              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                             N o C 11/11
                                                              ANNEX       II
                 CHARACTERISTICS OF WINE DISTILLATE AS REFERRED T O IN ARTICLE 4
        1. Organoleptic characteristics                                                                  absence of unpleasant taste
        2. Minimum alcoholic strength by volume                                                          52 % vol
           Maximum alcoholic strength by volume                                                          80 % 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 14
        Muscat — Grenache —* Maccabeo — Malvoisie.
                          LIST OF VINE VARIETIES AS REFERRED T O IN ARTICLE 15
        Palomino de Jerez — Palomino fino — Pedro Ximenez — Verdejo — Zalema and Garrido Fino.