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

12.10.2006 EN 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 establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine (1), and in particular Articles 46(1), 53(1) and 70(3) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1622/2000 of 24 July 2000 laying down certain detailed rules for implementing Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine and establishing a Community code of oenological practices and processes (2) lays down restrictions on and certain conditions for the use of substances authorised by Regulation (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.
(2) Commission Regulation (EC) No 884/2001 of 24 April 2001 laying down detailed rules of 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 be provided in accompanying documents and the keeping of inwards and outwards registers, and provides in particular for 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.
(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, designation, presentation and protection of certain wine sector products (4) lays down the conditions for using indications 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, appropriate labelling rules should be laid down.
(4) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Wine,