THE UKVA GUIDE TO THE NEW EU WINE REGIME

Transcription

1 THE UKVA GUIDE TO THE NEW EU WINE REGIME 2009 Authors: Alison Nightingale and Ian Edwards

2 PO Box 534, Abingdon OX14 9BZ Tel: , Registered in U.K. No

3 CONTENTS SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introductory Comments EU Regulations governing the production and sale of EU wine Regulatory Bodies 5 SECTION 2: DEFINITIONS OF KEY TERMS 2.1 Wine Sparkling Wine & Quality Sparkling Wine Quality Wines & Wine Schemes Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical 7 Indication (PGI) 2.5 Traditional Terms Geographical Unit Varietal Wines UK Wines EU Wines Labelling and presentation 10 SECTION 3: OVERVIEW OF QUALITY CATEGORIES IN THE UK 11 SECTION 4: AUTHORISED VITICULTURAL AND OENOLOGICAL PRACTICES & RESTRICTIONS FOR STILL WINES 4.1 Viticultural practices and restrictions Oenological practices and restrictions Post-bottling assessment & Record keeping requirements 15 SECTION 5: AUTHORISED VITICULTURAL AND OENOLOGICAL PRACTICES & RESTRICTIONS FOR SPARKLING WINES 5.1 Viticultural practices and restrictions Oenological practices and restrictions Post-bottling assessment & Record keeping requirements 18 SECTION 6: LABELLING & PRESENTATION FOR STILL WINES 6.1 Compulsory & Optional Particulars Quality Still Wines (PDO/PGI) Compulsory & Optional Particulars Non-Quality Still Wines Wording & Type size requirements 21 SECTION 7: LABELLING & PRESENTATION FOR SPARKLING WINES 7.1 Compulsory & Optional Particulars PDO & PGI Quality Sparkling Wines Compulsory & Optional Particulars NON-PDO & NON-PGI Quality 25 Sparkling Wines 7.3 Compulsory & Optional Particulars Sparkling Wines Wording and type size requirements 27 SECTION 8: OTHER LABELLING & PRESENTATION RULES 8.1 Terms referring to a holding Use of certain bottle shapes 31 SECTION 9: ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF QUALITY VS. NON-QUALITY WINE STATUS 32 SECTION 10: TRANSITIONAL PLANS 34 SECTION 11: DOCUMENTARY REQUIREMENTS 11.1 Commercial Accompanying Document (WSB15) Compulsory Annual Declarations (WSB21 and WSB12) The Vineyard Register Winery Records (WSB20) Process Notifications (WSB10, WSB14) 35

4 SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introductory Comments The growing, production and sale of wine in the UK is governed by EU Regulations, which are enacted in the UK via national legislation (Statutory Instruments). It is important that you are fully aware of the current legislation governing wine not only to ensure that your wines are legal once you launch them on to the market but also to enable you to understand at the outset the advantages and disadvantages to you of classifying your wine under different legal categories. The EU Regulations are many and complex and this guide is intended as an easy to digest version for distribution to existing and new vineyard owners and winemakers in the UK. In the interests of keeping it short and readable it relates solely to the production of wine in the UK and is not comprehensive. Readers requiring more detailed information are urged to follow up the references given at the end of this guide especially the CHECKLISTS Comprehensive Guide to UK and EU regulations for Wines & Spirits, available from the WSTA (contact details may be found on the UKVA website - ). This booklet is not intended as a wine-making guide brief definitions of certain wine-making practices are given in order to clarify points in the text but not full explanations. Wine-makers and vineyard owners without experience are strongly recommended to attend a course at Plumpton College (contact details may be found on the UKVA website). Other general UK legislation also applies to the UK wine industry (e.g. Weights and Measures Act 1985, Food Safety Act 1990 and Food (Lot Marking) Regulations 1996) and where these affect how you can produce or sell wine they will be referred to within this booklet. The EU Wine regime was revised in 2009, introducing some significant changes in how we are allowed to make and market UK produced wines. Please note, this booklet does not cover legislation governing the importation or export of wine CHECKLISTS provides comprehensive guidance in this area nor does it cover areas of the EU legislation with no immediate relevance to UK vineyard owners e.g. grubbing up schemes, distillation grants etc. This guide has been prepared by the UKVA in good faith, and represents the UKVA s understanding of the legislation at the time of writing. Whilst efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, readers should not rely on it. Full details of the legislation are contained in the Regulations referred to in this document. 4

5 THE UKVA GUIDE TO THE NEW EU WINE REGIME EU Regulations governing the production and sale of EU wine The EU produces two types of Regulations: Council Regulations: provide an outline of the overall rules and requirements Commission Regulations: provide detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulations The principal Regulations we are concerned about are summarised in the following tables: Commission Regulation (EC) No.607/2009 & its amendment EC No.607 Rev.5 Publication Date Effective Date Main Areas of Regulation Covered 14 July st August 2009 Labelling, marketing and quality (EC) No.436/ May st August 2009 Reporting and regulatory requirements (EC) No. 606/ July st August 2009 Oenological practices and restrictions Replaces/Updates (EC) No.753/1999 (EC) No.1607/2000 (EC) No.649/1987 (EC) No.884/2001 (EC) No.1282/2001 (EC) No.2676/1990 (EC) No.423/2008 If you would like to read these regulations in full they are free to download them from the EU Website ( They are also available on the UKVA website ( 1.3 Regulatory Bodies A number of different organisations are responsible for the enforcement and administration of various aspects of the legislation. Contacts for all these may be found on the UKVA website. DEFRA Name of Body Wine Standards Branch of the Food Standards Agency (London office + network of local inspectors) Local Authorities Trading Standards departments HMRC UKVA BRi Corkwise Responsibilities & Enforcement Powers Represents the industry within the EU and has overall enforcement responsibility for the wine regulations. The Competent Body responsible for Varietal, PGI and PDO wine related legislation covering wine production in the UK (wineries and vineyards). Responsibility for maintaining and administering on behalf of the EU the Vineyard Register, all compulsory declarations and process notifications including CADs and for reviewing the accuracy of producers Winery Records. Regulatory enforcement responsibility for all wine related legislation in the retail sector and for all general food labelling provisions e.g. Weights and Measures declarations and Lot numbers. Ensures correct duty is paid on all wine sold in the UK and is also responsible for ensuring that all imported wine is accompanied by the correct documentation. Sponsor of the Quality and Regional Wine Schemes. The body responsible for day to day regulation of Varietal Wines The body responsible for the day to day administration of the quality wine schemes 5

6 SECTION 2: DEFINITIONS OF KEY TERMS Definitions for some of the key terms used in the new legislation and referred to throughout this booklet are given below. A more comprehensive list of definitions is provided in the Definitions section. 2.1 Wine Wine is the product that can describe itself as Wine on the label. It is one of 17 categories of grapevine product defined and covered by the EU legislation (a full list of these is given in Appendix I). The other main categories we are interested in within the UK are Sparkling Wine and Quality Sparkling Wine. A product can be described as Wine if it: is derived exclusively from the total or partial alcoholic fermentation of whole or crushed fresh grapes or grape must has an actual alcoholic strength of not less than 8.5% vol. has a total alcoholic strength of not more than 15% vol. has a total acidity content of not less than 3.5g/l tartaric acid complies with certain restrictions on how it is be made is made from grapes grown within the EU However, in the UK the term wine can be appended to certain other non-wine products if it forms part of a composite name (e.g. British Wine) or it is accompanied by the name of a fruit to market products obtained by the fermentation of fruit other than grapes (e.g. Blackberry Wine). These types of product are not Wine, and are not covered by these EU Regulations. Many of the protected names and phrases (known as particulars ) used in the labelling of wine, cannot be used on these non-wine products. The term British Wine is commonly used to describe a drink which is made in Britain by fermenting imported grape concentrate that can originate from anywhere in the world. 2.2 Sparkling Wine & Quality Sparkling Wine Six of the 17 categories of grapevine product relate to sparkling wine, each defined by certain unique production methods and product requirements. The two most important from a UK perspective are Sparkling Wine and Quality Sparkling Wine. Sparkling Wine is defined as a product which: is obtained by first or secondary alcoholic fermentation from fresh grapes, grape must or wine when the container is opened, releases carbon dioxide derived exclusively from fermentation has an excess pressure, due to carbon dioxide in solution, of not less than 3 bar when kept at a temperature of 20 o C in closed containers is prepared from cuvées with a total alcoholic strength of not less than 8.5% vol. For Quality Sparkling Wine the first two points are the same, however the second two differ: the excess pressure, due to carbon dioxide in solution, must be not less than 3.5 bar when kept at a temperature of 20 o C the total alcoholic strength of the cuvees intended for its preparation must not be less than 9% vol. Thus the use of the term quality here defines a separate product category rather than 6

7 THE UKVA GUIDE TO THE NEW EU WINE REGIME 2009 a quality wine per se (see definition below). Sparkling wines labelled as Quality Sparkling Wine have not necessarily been through any form of independent testing via an approved wine scheme. The same is not true for still wines. 2.3 Quality Wines & Wine Schemes Quality wines are wines that have been subject to independent testing via an approved Wine Scheme. The general rules for wine schemes are set out in the legislation with the purpose of ensuring that not only are wines made to the standards required of the wine area/region but also to ensure that they reflect and preserve that areas typicity. Approved wines are required to pass both analytical and organoleptic assessment. The concept of quality wines in the EU is based, inter alia, on the specific characteristics attributable to the wine s geographical origin. Hence the importance of the concept of terroir and the historic development of appellation systems throughout Europe. Defining and protecting wines based on the quality characteristics associated with their place of origin is the guiding concept behind EU quality wine categorisation and the associated wine schemes. Hence approved wine schemes are specific to a geographic location of origin (PDO or PGI). In the UK there are separate wine schemes for Still wines and Quality sparkling wines and these are sponsored by the UKVA and run by Corkwise and the WSB. Regularly updated details of the requirements for these schemes may be found on the UKVA website ( or on the WSB website ( wine). Only Wines and Quality Sparkling Wines that have passed through the appropriate wine scheme are permitted to indicate the origin of their grape source on the label. Wines, Sparkling Wines and Quality Sparkling Wines that have not passed through an appropriate scheme can refer to their provenance (country of origin) only, and cannot refer to the locality of the source of the grapes, or to any other locality, as this is deemed to be mis-leading. Note that these rules extend to and include geographic references included in Wine names and Holding names. Note: The current legislation provides a derogation to allow for the continued use of a Wine name or Holding name that refers to a geographical unit for a PDO or PGI wine provided the name was trademarked before May Anyone relying on this derogation should consider the commercial risks of doing so, and should consider seeking legal advice. Risks include (i) there is no guarantee that the derogation will continue in future legislation; (ii) the derogation may be quite specific to the wine that was marketed prior to May 2002, and to the ownership of that wine. 2.4 Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) A protected designation of origin (PDO) is defined as the name of a region, a specific place or, in exceptional cases (as we are in the UK), a whole country used to describe a wine product which denotes Quality and characteristics that are essentially or exclusively due to its particular geographical environment with its inherent natural and human factors The grapes have come exclusively from that area and are only of the Vitis vinifera genus The production of the wine takes place in the named area 7

8 A protected geographical indication (PGI) is slightly less restrictive. It is defined as the name of a region, a specific place or a country used to describe a wine product which: Possesses a specific quality, reputation or other characteristics attributable to the geographical origin At least 85% of grapes used for its production have come from that area and are of the Vitis Vinifera genus or a cross of Vitis vinifera and another genus of Vitis The production of the wine takes place in the named area Background note: The concept of legally protecting products with a certain quality or reputation as a result of their place of origin goes back to the WTO s Agreement on TRIPS (Trade Related aspects of Intellectual Property rights) negotiated in the late 1980 s which introduced intellectual property rules into the global trading system for the first time. It was an attempt to narrow the gap in the way Intellectual Property Rights are protected around the world, and to bring them under common international rules. The TRIPS Agreement recognised the importance of geographical indications in identifying to consumers what to expect from a product and the possible danger of misleading consumers if the names were used freely by imitators. The most well known example of a geographical indication is Champagne but there are many others covering a wide range of food stuffs e.g. Parma Ham, Roquefort Cheese, Tequila etc. Article 23 of the TRIPS Agreement sets out rules for the protection of GI s for wines and spirits which prevents any other producer from a different area using a GI name even if they clarified the true origin of the product (e.g. Champagne produced in California ). A group of producers or exceptionally a single producer may apply for their own PDO or PGI status for a clearly demarcated geographical area. The process for doing this is not covered within this booklet and if you are interested in doing this you should read in full Chapter II of EC Regulation No. 607/2009 and discuss your plans with the UKVA. Most current AOCs in France are PDOs and a simple transfer will take place so that rather than seeing Appellation Sancerre Contrôlée on the label we will start seeing Sancerre appellation d origine protégée as long as the AOC abides by all the PDO requirements. However, no doubt in order to prevent a giant administrative headache and due to a lot of resistance, the EU recognised the need for protection of Traditional Terms and Trademarks certain of which may continue to be used (and protected) under the new legislative regime. The EU maintains a register of all PDO/PGI s in each EU Member State which is available to view on the EU E-Bacchus website ( markets/wine/e-bacchus). At the time of writing, there are only two registered PDOs and PGIs for Wine and Quality sparkling wine in the UK England and Wales. 2.5 Traditional Terms The EU legislation defines Traditional Terms as a term traditionally used in a Member State for wine products to designate that the product has a protected designation of origin or geographical indication. Traditional terms are terms described in statute in the Member State, and are only permitted on the labels of 8

9 THE UKVA GUIDE TO THE NEW EU WINE REGIME 2009 PDO and PGI status wines in place of the PDO or PGI wording (see Sections 6 and 7 for detailed labelling guidance). For the UK there are two approved traditional terms: Quality wine for use on PDO wines only Regional wine for use on PGI wines only The terms English Vineyards Quality wine psr and Table Wine will no longer be used. 2.6 Geographical Unit A geographical unit is the term used on labels to describe the locality of origin of the grapes that make up the wine. A geographical unit cannot be used on Wines or Quality sparkling wines that have not passed through a wine scheme. Quality wines (have passed through a wine scheme) may refer to a geographical unit provided at least 85% of the grapes originate within that unit, and the remaining grapes originate within the region of the wine scheme that has been passed. The EU legislation defines a geographical unit as a well defined area which consists of: A locality or group of localities A local administrative area of part thereof A wine-growing sub-region or part thereof An administrative area A wine-growing sub-region consists of a list of vineyards, or vineyard plots that can market their wines under a registered name, provided certain constraints are met (e.g. Sancerre, Chablis, Champagne, etc. etc.). In the UK, England and Wales are the only wine-growing regions at the time of writing. An administrative area is an area administered by a Council e.g. Parish Council, Town Council, etc. A locality is undefined in the legislation. 2.7 Varietal Wines This term is used in this document to refer to non-quality wines (i.e. ones that have not passed through a wine scheme) which declare the varietals and/or vintage on the label. Producers who choose to label their non-quality wines with such information will have to be certified and will be subject to verification checks that the information on the label is correct. In order to make these declarations on the labelling, certain requirements must be met: If a vintage is declared 85% of the grapes used to make the wine must have come from that vintage. If only one grape variety is named, at least 85% of the product must have been made from that variety If two or more grape varieties are named, 100% of the product must have been made from those varieties All of the above do not include any quantity of products used in sweetening, expedition liqueur or tirage liqueur. Parallel requirements apply to PDO and PGI wines which declare a vintage and/or variety. 2.8 UK Wines This is the term used in this document to refer to non-quality wines that do not declare a vintage and/or variety on their labels, which are made from UK grown grapes. 9

10 2.9 EU Wines This is the term used in this document to refer to wines made in the UK from grapes grown in another Member State. Such wines are not eligible for entry to any wine scheme. In terms of labelling they will be referred to as European Community wine. However several labelling options exist as to the indication of provenance (see under Section 6.3 on labelling). Declaration of variety and/or vintage is not allowed on such wines. EU (Quality) Sparkling wines may indicate their provenance as produced in England/Wales provided that the secondary fermentation takes place in England or Wales even if the grapes are sourced outside the UK Labelling and presentation Labelling means any words, particulars, trademarks, brand name, pictorial matter or symbol placed on any packaging, document, notice, label, ring or collar accompanying or referring to a given product. Presentation means any information conveyed to consumers by virtue of the packaging of the product concerned including the form and type of bottles. Therefore the labelling and presentation rules outlined in Sections 6 and 7 apply to all documents you produce that refer to and describe your wine (not just the labels you stick on the bottles) e.g. invoices, advertising material, accompanying documents, websites, etc. 10

11 Product Category THE UKVA GUIDE TO THE NEW EU WINE REGIME 2009 SECTION 3: OVERVIEW OF QUALITY CATEGORIES IN THE UK Each category of grapevine product you produce has a number of descriptions it may be marketed under. The table below summarises these options for the four main categories in the UK: Quality Wine (PDO) Regional Wine (PGI) Varietal Wine UK Wine EU Wine (Still) Wine Quality Sparkling Wine Sparkling Wine Semi-sparkling Wine Still Wines and Quality Sparkling Wines are eligible for all quality categories. Sparkling wines and Semi-Sparkling wines are not. Each quality category stipulates vine growing, winemaking, assessment and labelling constraints which will be explained in the following sections. 11

12 SECTION 4: AUTHORISED VITICULTURAL AND OENOLOGICAL PRACTICES & RESTRICTIONS FOR STILL WINES 4.1 Viticultural practices and restrictions Grapes must be sourced and vinified within England and Wales to qualify for PDO/ PGI status. A major obstacle to gaining PDO status for some UK wines is the use of hybrid varieties (the most common ones being Seyval and Triomphe). Grape Sourcing Quality Wine PDO 100% must come from England/Wales Regional Wine PGI Min. 85% must come from England/Wales, with the remainder coming from the UK Non-quality Wines UK/EU Location of Vinification England/Wales UK Vine Varieties permitted* Only approved Vitis vinifera varieties Approved Vitis vinifera or V.vinifera x other genus of Vitis Maximum altitude of vines 220m No parameters set Maximum yields 80hl/ha 100hl/ha Minimum Natural Alcoholic Strength by vol 6% vol * The list of all EU approved Vitis varieties may be found on the Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin (OIV) website ( This page document can be downloaded for free and is called International List of Vine Varieties and their synonyms. The Vine Variety List for the UK no longer exists. 4.2 Oenological practices and restrictions A list of all authorised oenological practices are provided in Annex I of Commission Regulation EC 606/2009 (see Appendix II) and within Annex XVa of Council Regulation (EC) 1234/2007. The latter refers specifically to enrichment and deacidification processes. The most relevant details of these practices and processes are set out below in addition to minimum and maximum alcoholic strength criteria. Please refer to Appendix II for information on other oenological practices and processes including permitted processing agents/additives. These apply to both quality and non-quality wines. Minimum Actual Alcoholic Strength by vol Minimum Total Alcoholic Strength by vol Maximum Total Alcoholic Strength by vol Quality Wine PDO Regional Wine PGI 8.5% vol 9% vol No parameter set 15% vol 15% vol Non-quality wines 12

13 Permitted Enrichment levels (chaptalisation) De-acidification of Must De-acidification of Wine Minimum Total Acidity Permitted Sweetening levels of wine Sweetening Agents Blending of wines (coupage) Maximum Volatile Acidity Maximum Total SO 2 content on release to market THE UKVA GUIDE TO THE NEW EU WINE REGIME 2009 Quality Wine PDO May increase natural alcoholic strength by up to 3% volume (3.5% in exceptional years) Regional Wine PGI Non-quality wines May increase natural alcoholic strength by up to 3% volume (3.5% in exceptional years), PROVIDED the process of enrichment does not increase the total alcoholic strength to more than 11.5% vol (white), 12% vol (red and rose) No limit Up to limit of 1g/l tartaric acid 4g/l tartaric acid Must not increase the total alcoholic strength by more than 4% vol up to a maximum of 15 % Limited to grape must or concentrated grape must from England or Wales, or rectified concentrated grape must. White wine may be blended with red or rose wine to make a rosé. Both wines must be of PDO status. Limited to grape must, concentrated grape must or rectified concentrated grape must from the EU White wine may be blended with red or rose wine to make a rosé. Both wines to be of PGI or PDO status 18 milliequivalents/l (White & Rosé) 20 milliequivalents/l (Red) Blending of white and red/rose wines is not permitted (1) Wines <5g/l residual sugar: 150mg/l (Red), 200mg/l (White & Rosé) Wines 5-45g/l residual sugar: 200mg/l (Red), 250mg/l (White & Rosé) Maximum Free SO 2 45mg/l for dry wines (2) Wines >45g/l residual sugar: 300mg/l 60mg/l for all other wines No maximum This does not preclude the blending of white and red grape musts or wines where the use is to produce a cuvée intended as a base for sparkling wine production. Dry wines as defined in Appendix V a) Enrichment (Chaptalisation): Enrichment is the process of supplementing the natural alcoholic strength of your wine. It may be carried out at any of the following stages: Fresh grapes Grape must (the liquid product obtained from fresh grapes with an actual alcoholic strength of no more than 1% vol) Grape must in fermentation (product obtained from the fermentation of grape must which has an actual alcoholic strength of more than 1% vol. but less than three fifths of its total alcoholic strength by volume) New wine still in fermentation (product in which the alcoholic fermentation is not yet complete and which is not yet separated from its lees) Wine (see below for restrictions) 13

14 14 Regardless of when it is undertaken the increase in natural alcoholic strength by volume shall not exceed 3% vol (this maybe raised to 3.5% in exceptional years*). If the wine is not a PDO wine the process of chaptalisation must not increase the total alcoholic strength to more than 11.5% vol (white), 12% vol (red and rose). The process may be effected by the following means only: Adding sucrose (dry sugaring), concentrated grape must or rectified concentrated grape must (not allowed for use on wine) By partial concentration including reverse osmosis (for use on grape must only): 2% limit By partial concentration through cooling (for use on wine only): 2% limit The addition of concentrated grape must (or rectified concentrated grape must) shall not have the effect of increasing the initial volume of fresh crushed grapes, grape must, grape must in fermentation or new wine still in fermentation by more than 11%. Enrichment may not be carried out after 16th March of the year following harvest It is advisable to use the must weight conversion table issued by the WSB (see Appendix III) in conjunction with a calibrated hydrometer or refractometer to calculate the natural alcoholic strength of your wine before and after enrichment. But please note, due to the many variables involved during fermentation these tables do not claim to be 100% accurate. The Enrichment process must be recorded on the day of operation and notified to the local WSB inspector 48 hours in advance, using form WSB10. These forms are available from the WSB and will in time all be available for electronic download. * Requests from wine producers to raise the limit from 3% to 3.5% must be sent to the UKVA, ideally at least 3 weeks before harvest, so that the need can be assessed by the industry and in exceptional circumstances an application made to DEFRA. b) De-Acidification Acidification is generally not permitted in the UK. De-acidification of fresh grapes, grape must, grape must in fermentation, new wine still in fermentation and wine is permitted. There are no limits, but, de-acidification of grape must may not take place after 16th March of year following the harvest De-acidification of wine can take place at any time and must to be notified to the WSB by the second day after the first operation has taken place by submitting form WSB14 to your local WSB inspector. Any subsequent operations in that wine production year (1 August 31 July) need not be notified. All operations must be entered in your winery records. De-acidification of wine is limited to 1g/l tartaric acid. A list of permitted agents for use in de-acidification may be found in Appendix II. c) Sweetening Sweetening is considered as a clearly separate process from enrichment. It is permissible to increase the total alcoholic strength of enriched wine to over 11.5/12% by the process of sweetening. All sweetening operations must be recorded in your winery records within 24 hours of processing. For PDO wines the sweetening operation must take place in England or Wales as appropriate.

15 THE UKVA GUIDE TO THE NEW EU WINE REGIME Post-bottling assessment & Record keeping requirements In addition to the practices outlined above, producers must keep detailed winery records. Wines that are submitted to one of the wine schemes for PDO or PGI status will be required to undergo independent analytical and organoleptic assessment. Full details of the UKVA Wine Schemes may be found on Notice to Growers available on the UKVA website together with the latest information on dates and details of how to submit wines to the schemes. Record Keeping and Tracking Post bottling Analytical Certification Quality Wine PDO Regional Wine PGI Non-quality Wines Accurate and up to date records must be kept to allow separate identification of wine and verification of all processing operations (see Section 11) Independent certification required from a designated lab. Organoleptic Assessment Tasting Panel Either via: 1) 2) 3) Tasting Panel Independent No Faults tasting certification Awards in certain competitions Not required Not required 15

16 SECTION 5 AUTHORISED VITICULTURAL AND OENOLOGICAL PRACTICES & RESTRICTIONS FOR SPARKLING WINES 5.1 Viticultural practices and restrictions As noted earlier, sparkling wines can only qualify for either varietal or UK/EU wine status. Product Category Traditional Quality Sparkling Wine PDO Regional Quality Sparkling Wine PGI Non-quality Quality Sparkling Wine Sparkling Wine Grape Sourcing Location of Vinification Vine Varieties permitted 100% must come from England/ Wales Only Vitis vinifera varieties England/Wales Min. 85% must come from England/ Wales, with the remainder coming from the UK UK/EU UK Vitis vinifera or V.vinifera x other genus of Vitis Max. Altitude 220m No parameters set Maximum Yields Minimum Natural Alcoholic Strength of cuvée Not less than 6.0% vol 100hl/ha No parameter set 5.2 Oenological practices and restrictions In addition to the list of authorised oenological practices stated in Annex I of Commission Regulation EC 606/2009 there are further specific practices and restrictions applicable to Sparkling wines and Quality sparkling wines in Annex II of the same regulation - the key points of which are set out below. Note that the addition of tirage liqueur and expedition liqueur is considered neither as enrichment or sweetening. Sweetening of the cuvée and its constituents is prohibited. Product Category Permitted Enrichment level of cuvee constituents 1 Traditional Quality Sparkling Wine PDO May not increase natural alcoholic strength by more than 3% volume (3.5% in exceptional years) Regional Quality Sparkling Wine PGI Non-quality Quality Sparkling Wine Sparkling Wine May not increase natural alcoholic strength by more than 3% volume (3.5% in exceptional years), PROVIDED the process of enrichment does not raise total alcoholic strength of the cuvee constituents to more than 11.5% vol (white), 12% vol (red and rosé) 16

17 Product Category Minimum Total Alcoholic Strength of cuvée De-acidification of the cuvee or its constituents Minimum Total Acidity Minimum Actual Alcoholic Strength of final product including Exp Liqueur Tirage Liqueur Tirage Liqueur Strength Secondary Fermentation Expedition Liqueur Expedition Liqueur Strength Traditional Quality Sparkling Wine PDO Not less than 9.0% vol THE UKVA GUIDE TO THE NEW EU WINE REGIME 2009 Regional Quality Sparkling Wine PGI Non-quality Quality Sparkling Wine Not less than 8.5% vol No limit 4g/l tartaric acid 10% vol 9.5% vol May contain only sucrose, concentrated grape must, rectified concentrated grape must OR grape must or partially fermented grape must or wine which would be suitable for producing PDO status wines Any must or wine must be sourced from same PDO. Sparkling Wine May contain only sucrose, concentrated grape must, rectified concentrated grape must, grape must or partially fermented grape must or wine May not increase total alcoholic strength of the cuvée by more than 1.5%. This increase shall be measured by calculating the difference between the total alcoholic strength by volume of the cuvée and the total alcoholic strength by volume of the sparkling wine before any expedition liqueur is added In bottle only In bottle or closed tanks May contain only sucrose, must in fermentation, concentrated grape must, rectified concentrated grape must, wine, wine distillate or any mix of the above May not increase the actual alcoholic strength of the finished wine by more than 0.5% vol Minimum time on 90 days None yeast lees 2 Min. total 9 months None maturation time 3 Maximum Volatile Acidity 18 milliequivalents per litre (white and rosé) 17

18 Product Category Maximum Total SO 2 content on release to market Traditional Quality Sparkling Wine PDO Regional Quality Sparkling Wine PGI Non-quality Quality Sparkling Wine Sparkling Wine 185 mg/l 235 mg/l NOTES: 1 A blended cuvée may NOT be subsequently enriched unless none of the constituents were previously enriched and the enrichment is carried out in a single operation. The only permitted method for enrichment of the cuvee is the addition of either sucrose, concentrated grape must or rectified concentrated grape must. 2 Time Spent on Yeast Lees: This is the time from the start of the fermentation designed to make the cuvée sparkling to the time the cuvée is separated from the yeast lees by disgorgement. 3 Total Maturation Time: This is the total time from the start of the fermentation designed to make the cuvée sparkling to the final release of the wine for sale 5.3 Post-bottling assessment & Record keeping requirements In addition to the practices outline above, producers MUST MAINTAIN detailed winery records. Quality sparking wines that are submitted for one of the sparkling wine schemes for PDO or PGI status will be required to undergo independent analytical and organoleptic assessment. Full details of the UKVA Sparkling Wine Schemes may be found on the Notice to Growers available on the UKVA website together with the latest information on dates and details for submission of wines for the schemes. Product Category Record Keeping and Tracking Post disgorgement analytical test Organoleptic Assessment Traditional Quality Sparkling Wine PDO Regional Quality Sparkling Wine PGI Non-quality Quality Sparkling Wine Sparkling Wine Accurate and up to date records must be kept to allow separate identification of wine and verification of all processing operations (see Section 11) Independent certification required from a designated lab. Tasting Panel Either via: 1) 2) 3) Tasting Panel Independent No Faults tasting certification A w a r d e d in certain competitions Not required Not required 18

19 SECTION 6 STILL WINES THE UKVA GUIDE TO THE NEW EU WINE REGIME 2009 LABELLING & PRESENTATION FOR The EU legislation lays down certain rules on what must and may not appear on your wine labels as well as all other documentation relating to your wine (see definition of Labelling in Section 2.10). The rules are there to promote harmonisation within the EU and between product categories so helping to ensure consumers are not misled or confused by what they are buying. The type of information that may appear on labels falls into three categories: Compulsory (mandatory) particulars. These are information that must appear, the interpretation of which is tightly defined. Compulsory particulars differ by grapevine product and quality status. Optional particulars. These are information that may appear, the interpretation of which is tightly defined. Some if these particulars are reserved for particular grapevine products and/or quality status. Additional optional items The additional optional items are not detailed within the EU legislation but the legislation allows for their use providing they are accurate and not misleading and do not conflict with any of the compulsory or specified optional particulars used. In the UK the EU wine regulations are supplemented by the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 which makes it a criminal offence to apply a false or misleading description to wine sold by retail. Note that, for wines that have not passed through a wine scheme, making reference to the locality of origin of the grapes is deemed to be misleading. The rules are slightly different for products to be exported from the EU in that if the third country legislation requires certain particulars on the label that conflict with the EU rules then they are allowed. For the purposes of this guide it is assumed you will only be concerned with labelling wines produced in the UK and to be sold within the UK. Compulsory particulars must be in indelible type and clearly distinguishable from all other text. In addition, both compulsory and optional particulars must appear in the same field of vision on the container in such a way as to be simultaneously readable without having to turn the container (this does not necessarily have to be on the front label). Certain Compulsory particulars may appear outside this field namely: The Lot Number The declaration of allergens e.g. Contains sulphites Certain compulsory particulars also have minimum type size requirements or relative size stipulation. Details are provided in sections 6.3 (for still wines) and 7.4 (for sparkling wines). All bottled wine must usually be labelled before it leaves the producer s premises. However, a label is not required in the following circumstances: Batches of wine not exceeding 15 litres and not intended for sale Wine intended for domestic consumption of the producer and his employees Wine transported between two or more establishments or between vineyards and wine-making premises. 19

20 6.1 Compulsory & Optional Particulars Quality Still Wines (PDO/PGI) Set out below is a list of the particulars for quality still wines. Details on wording and type size requirements may be found in Section 6.3 Compulsory Indication of Provenance (country of origin) Traditional Term or Geographical Designation wording Actual Alcoholic Strength Indication of the Bottler and Address Lot Number Nominal Volume Declaration of allergenic ingredients (e.g. sulphites) Optional Name of another geographical unit smaller than England or Wales Vintage Year Name of Grape Variety or their synonym Sugar Content Production methods References to Organic production [As appropriate ] Category of Grapevine product Community Symbol (PDO/PGI) Allergenic pictogram Other non-misleading information 6.2 Compulsory & Optional Particulars Non-Quality Still Wines Set out below is a list of the particulars for non-quality still wines. Details on wording and type size requirements may be found in Section 6.3 Compulsory Indication of Provenance (country of origin) Category of Grapevine product Actual Alcoholic Strength Indication of the Bottler and Address Lot Number Nominal Volume Declaration of allergenic ingredients (e.g. sulphites) 20

21 THE UKVA GUIDE TO THE NEW EU WINE REGIME 2009 Optional Vintage Year (for Varietal Wine only) Name of Grape Variety or their synonym (for Varietal Wine only) Sugar Content Production methods References to Organic production Allergenic pictogram Other non-misleading information 6.3 Wording & Type size requirements (Note: To simplify this table, references are made to England only. Wales should be used in place of this when appropriate.) a) Compulsory particulars Particular Wording Type size Requirement Indication of Provenance (country of origin) Category of Grapevine product Traditional Term or Geographical Designation wording Actual Alcoholic Strength Options are: Wine of United Kingdom Wine of England Produced in United Kingdom Produced in England Product of United Kingdom Product of England English..(attached to Category, Traditional Term or as part of the geographical designation wording). For EU Wines (see note 3) Wine Note: This is optional on quality still wines For PDO wines the options are: Quality Wine English Wine protected designation of origin For PGI wines the option are: Regional wine English Wine protected geographical indication Note: the official Community symbol maybe used in place of this wording. (See Appendix VII) In percentage units or half units followed by % vol and preceded by actual alcoholic strength, actual alcohol or alc. Amount on label must match analysis to within 0.5% vol. (extended to within 0.8% vol for PDO/PGI wines stored for > 3 years). Min. height requirement: 2mm: equal or less than 20cl 3mm: equal or less than 100cl 5mm: greater than 100cl 21

22 Particular Wording Type size Requirement Indication of the Bottler and Address Lot Number 1 The bottler is the legal entity carrying out bottling, OR having the bottling carried out on their behalf. (Note: the term producer is only for use on sparkling wines or quality sparkling wines) Address means the local administrative area and the Member State of the head office of the bottler (e.g. Nanstallon, UK) State the name and address of the bottler supplemented by bottler or bottled by ( ) or, in the case of contract bottling, the words bottled for ( ) or bottled for ( ) by (.) Rather than your name you may use WSB bottler code provided the name and address of a distributor is shown LXXXX If name or address contains the name of a PDO or PGI it must appear in characters of no more than half the size of those used for the PDO/PGI or the Category of product Nominal Volume In litres, centilitres or millilitres e.g. 75cl Min height requirement : 3mm : equal to or less than 20cl 4mm: equal to or less than 100cl 6mm: greater than 100cl Declaration of allergenic ingredients (e.g. sulphites) 2. b) Optional particulars Name of ingredient preceded by the word Contains. For sulphites, following terms may be used: sulphites, sulfites, sulphur dioxide, or sulfur dioxide. This may be accompanied by an allergenic pictogram. Particular Wording/Requirement Type Size requirement Name of a geographical unit other than England Vintage Year Name of Grape Variety or their synonym Sugar Content Only allowed on Quality Wines. At least 85% of the grapes must be sourced from the geographical unit (with the remainder coming from England.) (See Section 2) At least 85% of the grapes must be from the year. (see Section 2.7) If only one variety is named, at least 85% of the grapes must be of that variety. If more than one variety is named, then all the varieties used must be named. List should be in order of proportion used. (See Section 2.7) Terms as per list in Appendix IV. Only one term may be used. The actual sugar content must not differ by more than 1g/l from that which appears on the label. All the varieties named must be same size lettering 22

23 THE UKVA GUIDE TO THE NEW EU WINE REGIME 2009 Particular Wording/Requirement Type Size requirement Production methods a) Terms referring to wines which have been fermented, aged or matured in a wood container Note: These terms may be used only on PDO/PGI Wines. They may NOT be used on wines produced with the aid of oak chips even if done in association with a wood container. Options (as appropriate) are: barrel fermented barrel matured barrel aged cask fermented cask matured cask aged These terms may be supplemented with the type of wood used. References to Organic production b) Terms to describe Rosé wines Options are: traditional rose (may only be used to describe wines produced by short maceration, partial dripping by draining or complete pressing of grapes) rose by blending (may be used to describe rose wines produced by blending of white and red wines). Terms referring to the organic production of grapes are governed solely by Council Regulation (EC) No: 834/2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products and apply to all wine sector products. 1 Lot Numbers The Food (Lot Marking) Regulations 1996 set out the lot mark requirements to be applied to all foodstuffs including wine and spirits in Great Britain. The Lot Mark must be indelible and clearly visible and may be present anywhere on the packaging. It can be any combination of alpha and/or numeric characters prefixed with the letter L and can be any length. A unique Lot mark should identify each separate batch of production of a product. It is considered good practice for packaged products to have the batch as a day s packaging production or bottling.. Good practice for sparkling wine production, if the wine remains in the original bottle after second fermentation, is to have two batch codes: On the bottle when first filled and on the label when wine is disgorged and final labelling applied. 2 Allergen Declaration Most wines have to label for sulphites because the manufacturing processes mean than concentrations in the final product will exceed 10mg/litre expressed as SO2. Currently other potential allergens in wine (casein and eggs) are exempt from the mandatory labelling requirement. However all wine bottled AFTER 31st December 2010 may need to be labelled with casein and eggs if these have been used to fine the wine. Please follow updates provided via the UKVA Newsletter. 3 Indication of Provenance on EU Wines For still wines, the wording options are: European Community wine Blend of wines from different countries of the European Community (if blended from several countries) Wine obtained in (UK, England, Wales) from grapes harvested in (..). 23

24 SECTION 7 LABELLING & PRESENTATION FOR SPARKLING WINES Please also read introductory comments under Section Compulsory & Optional Particulars PDO & PGI Quality Sparkling Wines Set out below is the list of the particulars for PDO and PGI status Quality sparkling wines. Details on wording and type size requirements may be found in Section 7.4. Compulsory Indication of Provenance (country of origin) Geographical Designation wording Actual Alcoholic Strength Indication of the Producer or Vendor Lot Number Nominal Volume Declaration of allergenic ingredients (e.g. sulphites) Sugar Content Optional Name of a geographical unit other than England/Wales Vintage Year Name of Grape Variety or their synonym Terms referring to wines which have been fermented, aged or matured in a wood container References to Organic production Term bottle-fermented Term bottle-fermented by the traditional method or traditional method or classical method or classical traditional method Term cremant (PDO only) Category of Grapevine product Community Symbol (PDO/PGI) Allergenic pictogram Other (non-misleading) information 24

25 THE UKVA GUIDE TO THE NEW EU WINE REGIME Compulsory & Optional Particulars NON-PDO & NON- PGI Quality Sparkling Wines Set out below is the list of the particulars for Non-PDO and Non-PGI status Quality sparkling wines. Details on wording and type size requirements may be found in Section 7.4. Compulsory Indication of Provenance (country of origin) Category of Grapevine product Actual Alcoholic Strength Indication of the Producer or Vendor Lot Number Nominal Volume Declaration of allergenic ingredients (e.g. sulphites) Sugar Content Optional Vintage Year (not permitted on EU wine) Name of Grape Variety or their synonym (not permitted on EU wine) Allergenic pictogram References to Organic production Term bottle-fermented Term bottle-fermented by the traditional method or traditional method or classical method or classical traditional method Other non-misleading information 25

26 7.3 Compulsory & Optional Particulars Sparkling Wines Set out below is the list of the particulars for Sparkling wines. Details on wording and type size requirements are in Section 7.4. Compulsory Indication of Provenance (country of origin) Category of Grapevine product Actual Alcoholic Strength Indication of the Producer or Vendor Lot Number Nominal Volume Declaration of allergenic ingredients (e.g. sulphites) Sugar Content Optional Vintage Year (not permitted on EU wine) Name of Grape Variety or their synonym (not permitted on EU wine) References to Organic production Allergenic pictogram Other non-misleading information 26

27 THE UKVA GUIDE TO THE NEW EU WINE REGIME Wording and type size requirements (Note: To simplify this table, references are made to England only. Wales should be used in place of this when appropriate.) a) Compulsory particulars Particular Wording Type Size Requirement Indication of Provenance (country of origin of the grapes OR country where the second fermentation takes place) Category of Grapevine product Geographical Designation wording Actual Alcoholic Strength Indication of the Producer or Vendor Options are: Wine of United Kingdom Wine of England Produced in United Kingdom Produced in England Product of United Kingdom Product of England English (attached to Category or as part of geographical designation). For EU Wines (see note 3) Quality Sparkling Wine or Sparkling Wine Note: this is optional on PDO/PGI Quality sparkling wine For PDO wines: English Quality Sparkling Wine protected designation of origin For PGI wines: English Quality Sparkling Wine protected geographical indication Note: the official Community symbol maybe used in place of this wording. (See Appendix VII) In percentage units or half units followed by % vol and preceded by actual alcoholic strength, actual alcohol or alc. Amount on label must match analysis to within 0.8% vol. The producer is the legal entity by whom or on whose behalf the processing is carried out. The vendor is the legal entity who is not a producer, but who buys and then puts the product into circulation. Address means the local administrative area and the Member State of the head office (e.g. Nanstallon, UK) State the name and address of the producer supplemented by producer or produced by ( ). State the name and address of the vendor supplemented by vendor or sold by ( ). Rather than your name you may use WSB bottler code provided the name and address of a distributor is shown Min. height requirement: 2mm: equal or less than 20cl 3mm: equal or less than 100cl 5mm: greater than 100cl If name or address contains the name of a PDO or PGI it must appear in characters of no more than half the size of those used for the PDO/PGI or the Category of product 27

28 Particular Wording Type Size Requirement Lot Number 1 LXXXX Nominal Volume In litres, centilitres or millilitres e.g. 75cl Min height requirement : 3mm : equal to or less than 20cl 4mm: equal to or less than 100cl 6mm: greater than 100cl Sugar content Declaration of allergenic ingredients (e.g. sulphites) 2. b) Optional particulars Terms as per list in Appendix IV. Actual amount must be within 3g/l of declared. Only one term may be selected. Name of ingredient preceded by the word Contains. For sulphites, following terms may be used: sulphites, sulfites, sulphur dioxide, or sulfur dioxide. This may be accompanied by an allergenic pictogram. Particular Wording/Requirement Type Size requirement Name of a geographical unit other than England Vintage Year Name of Grape Variety or their synonym Term bottlefermented Only allowed on PDO/PGI Wines. At least 85% of the grapes must be sourced from the geographical unit (with the remainder coming from England.) (See Section 2) At least 85% of the grapes must be from the year. (see Section 2.7) If only one variety is named, at least 85% of the grapes must be of that variety. If more than one variety is named, then all the varieties used must be named. List should be in order of proportion used. (See Section 2.7) Product must be made sparkling by secondary alcoholic fermentation in a bottle The length of the production process, including ageing in the undertaking where the product was made, from the start of secondary alcoholic fermentation to the end of total ageing must not be less than 9 months The length of the production process from the start of second alcoholic fermentation to the end of lees-contact ageing must last at least 90 days The product must be separated from the lees by racking and filtering or disgorging All the varieties named must be same size lettering 28

29 THE UKVA GUIDE TO THE NEW EU WINE REGIME 2009 Term bottlefermented by the traditional method or traditional method or classical method or classical traditional method Term cremant (PDO Quality sparkling wines only) Terms referring to wines which have been fermented, aged or matured in a wood container References to Organic production The wine must be made sparkling by second alcoholic fermentation in a bottle The wine must have stayed without interruption in contact with the lees for at least 9 months in the same undertaking from the time when the cuvée was constituted The wine must be separated from the lees by disgorging Grapes must be hand harvested The quantity of must from pressing not to exceed 100l per 150kg grapes Max. SO not to exceed 150mg/l 2 Sugar content is less than 50g/l The wine must be made sparkling by second alcoholic fermentation in a bottle The wine must have stayed without interruption in contact with the lees for at least 9 months in the same undertaking from the time when the cuvee was constituted Wine was separated from the lees by disgorging Note: These terms may be used only on PDO/PGI Quality sparkling wines. They may NOT be used on wines produced with the aid of oak chips even if done in association with a wood container. Options (as appropriate) are: barrel fermented barrel matured barrel aged -cask fermented cask matured cask aged These terms may be supplemented with the type of wood used. Terms referring to the organic production of grapes are governed solely by Council Regulation (EC) No: 834/2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products and apply to all wine sector products. 1 Lot Numbers The Food (Lot Marking) Regulations 1996 set out the lot mark requirements to be applied to all foodstuffs including wine and spirits in Great Britain. The Lot Mark must be indelible and clearly visible and may be present anywhere on the packaging. It can be any combination of alpha and/or numeric characters prefixed with the letter L and can be any length. A unique Lot mark should identify each separate batch of production of a product. It is considered good practice for packaged products to have the batch as a day s packaging production or bottling.. Good practice for sparkling wine production, if the wine remains in the original bottle after second fermentation, is to have two batch codes: On the bottle when first filled and on the label when wine is disgorged and final labelling applied. 29

30 2 Allergen Declaration Most wines have to label for sulphites because the manufacturing processes mean than concentrations in the final product will exceed 10mg/litre expressed as SO2. Currently other potential allergens in wine (casein and eggs) are exempt from the mandatory labelling requirement. However all wine bottled AFTER 31st December 2010 may need to be labelled with casein and eggs if these have been used to fine the wine. Please follow updates provided via the UKVA Newsletter. 3 Indication of Provenance on EU Wines the wording options are: European Community wine Blend of wines from different countries of the European Community (if blended from several countries) Wine obtained in (UK, England, Wales) from grapes harvested in (..). Produced in England/Wales may be used providing the secondary fermentation takes place in England/Wales 30

31 THE UKVA GUIDE TO THE NEW EU WINE REGIME 2009 SECTION 8 OTHER LABELLING & PRESENTATION RULES 8.1 Terms referring to a holding The UK has no specified terms for a holding listed within the legislation. Certain terms are reserved for use in specified Member States. These are described in Annex XIII of Commission Regulation (EC) 607/2009. These terms may NOT be used on wines made in the UK. The terms include: Chateau, Clos, Cru, Domaine, Mas, Manoir. 8.2 Use of certain bottle shapes Only Quality sparkling wine, Sparkling wine,semi-sparkling wine and Quality aromatic sparkling wine may be marketed in sparkling wine -type glass bottles closed with a mushroom-shaped stopper made of cork or other permitted material and held in place by a fastening covered by a cap and sheathed in foil completely covering the stopper and all or part of the neck of the bottle. If bottles have a nominal volume of less than 0.20 litres, any other suitable closure may be used. Certain other bottle types are reserved for use on other specified wines only e.g. Flûte d Alsace and Tokaj. 31

32 SECTION 9 ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF QUALITY VS. NON-QUALITY WINE STATUS Advantages PDO Status Flexibility to enrich to over 11.5/12% vol total alcoholic strength Use of geographical indications for origin of grapes permitted as long as abide by 85% sourcing rule Still wines may choose to label with Traditional Term (Quality Wine) May use certain production terms on labelling (e.g. barrel/cask-fermented, bottle-fermented, traditional method, cremant) as long as abide by requirements Flexibilty to make rosé from blend of white and red PDO wines Not subject to veracity certification process Over time, a recognised quality mark to consumers spanning multiple food categories PGI Status Use of geographical indications for origin of grapes permitted as long as abide by 85% rule (and 100% of grapes sourced within PGI) May be made from hybrid varieties No restriction on source of sweetening agents Still wines may choose to label with Traditional Term (Regional wine) May use certain production terms on labelling (e.g. cask-fermented, bottlefermented, traditional method) Flexibility to make rose from blend of white and red PGI/PDO wines Not subject to veracity certification process Over time, a recognised quality mark to consumers spanning multiple food categories Disadvantages May only be made from Vitis vinifera varieties Sweetening agents (exc. RCGM) must be sourced from within England/Wales Independent analytical and organoleptic assessment required 100% of grapes must be sourced within PDO (with at least 85% from within any other geographic reference made on the labelling) The process of enrichment may not raise the total alcoholic strength to more than 11.5% (whites/rose) and 12% (reds) Minimum of 85% of grapes must be sourced with PGI, with the remainder from the UK. (If a geographical unit is named, 85% must be from the unit with the remaining grapes from the PGI area.) Minimum 6% natural alcoholic strength requirement of cuvees for sparkling wine production Independent analytical and organoleptic assessment required 32

33 THE UKVA GUIDE TO THE NEW EU WINE REGIME 2009 Varietal UK/EU Advantages May be made from hybrid varieties (e.g. Seyval or Triomphe) No restrictions on sourcing of sweetening agents No independent assessments required therefore savings in time and money No restriction on location of vinification May be made from hybrid varieties No independent assessments required therefore savings in time and money Geographic, variety and vintage grape sourcing and blending flexibility No restriction on location of vinification Not subject to veracity regulations No restrictions on sourcing of sweetening agents Disadvantages Not permitted to refer to location of origin of grapes (other than provenance) The process of enrichment may not raise the total alcoholic strength to more than 11.5% (whites/rose) and 12% (reds) Blending of white and red wines to make a still rosé not permitted Sparkling wines may not use certain production related terms e.g. bottlefermented, traditional method. (Non-PDO/ PGI Quality Sparkling Wines may use these terms). Subject to veracity regulations May not refer to fermentation, maturing or aging in barrels Not permitted to refer to location of origin of grapes (other than provenance) Declaration of vintage and/or variety not permitted The process of enrichment may not raise the total alcoholic strength to more than 11.5% (whites/rose) and 12% (reds) Blending of white and red wines to make a still rosé is not permitted May not refer to fermentation, maturing or aging in barrels Sparkling wines may not use certain production related terms e.g. bottlefermented, traditional method (Non-PDO/ PGI Quality Sparkling Wines may use these terms) May not refer to fermentation, maturing or aging in barrels 33

34 SECTION 10 TRANSITIONAL PLANS The UKVA Quality and Regional Still Wine Schemes have been updated to reflect the legislative changes and a new scheme for sparkling wines has been introduced. Wines produced and/or labelled in compliance with the old legislation that are placed on the market or labelled before 31st December 2010, may be marketed until stocks are exhausted. This applies to the 2008 vintage or earlier. Further transitional issues were covered in the Survival Guide to the Key Changes Affecting Labelling of Wines Produced in the UK which was distributed in December 2009 to all UKVA members (it may also be found on the UKVA website) 34

35 THE UKVA GUIDE TO THE NEW EU WINE REGIME 2009 SECTION 11 DOCUMENTARY REQUIREMENTS The following documentation and records are required. All forms can be obtained from the WSB and will in time all will be available for download from their website ( It is recommended that copies are taken of all returns submitted and kept as part of the winery / vineyard records Commercial Accompanying Document (WSB15) This is an official form which must accompany the movement, within the UK, of unpackaged wine products in containers of a nominal volume of more than 60 litres. CADs are not required when grapes or fresh grape must are being moved to a co-packer for vinification purposes and not changing ownership or when wine is being returned from a co-packer. Full details may be found on the Instructions for Completing found at the front of the form Compulsory Annual Declarations (WSB21 and WSB12) Growers who are also wine producers must complete an annual Production declaration (WSB21). Growers who do not produce their own wine must complete an annual Harvest declaration (WSB12). Forms are produced in triplicate and must be completed and sent in to your local WSB inspector by 15th January each year. Full instructions on how to complete the forms are provided on them The Vineyard Register All winegrowers with an area of vines in production planted of at least 0.1 ha must submit details of their planting to the WSB. Full requirements are obtainable from the WSB Winery Records (WSB20) All wineries should keep accurate and up to date records of all processing carried out ensuring the accurate identification and tracking of wine batches so that they may be later identified for verification purposes by a WSB inspector. It is especially important that winery records can demonstrate that all vinification procedures are followed in accordance with the regulations especially in areas such as enrichment and de-acidification. Producers may choose to use form WSB20 as a template for their winery records Process Notifications (WSB10, WSB14) As mentioned previously in this booklet, the following processes require formal notification to the WSB using the appropriate WSB forms. All forms are to be submitted to your local WSB inspector. WSB Form No. Process When WSB10 Enrichment 48 hours in advance of operation WSB14 De-acidification By second day after first operation in any wine year. 35

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