This Regulation lays down the general rules on the definition, description and presentation of aromatized wines, aromatized wine-based drinks and aromatized wine-product cocktails.
Council Regulation (EEC) No 1601/91 of 10 June 1991 laying down general rules on the definition, description and presentation of aromatized wines, aromatized wine-based drinks and aromatized wine-product cocktails
Council Regulation (EEC) No 1601/91 of 10 June 1991 laying down general rules on the definition, description and presentation of aromatized wines, aromatized wine-based drinks and aromatized wine-product cocktails
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Articles 43 and 100a thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),
In cooperation with the European Parliament(2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(3),
Whereas there are at present no specific Community rules governing aromatized wines, aromatized wine-based drinks and aromatized wine-product coktails hereinafter called ‘aromatized drinks’, in particular with regard to the difinition of such drinks and the requirements concerning their description and presentation; whereas, given the economic importance of these drinks, it is necessary, in order to assist the functioning of the common market, to lay down common provisions on this subject;
Whereas these aromatized drinks constitute a major outlet for Community agriculture; whereas this outlet is largely the result of the reputation which certain of these drinks have acquired throughout the Community and on the world market; whereas this reputation can be attributed to the quality of the drinks in question; whereas a certain quality standard should therefore be maintained for the drinks in question if this outlet is to be preserved; whereas the appropriate means of maintaining this quality standard is to define the said drinks, taking into account the traditional practices on which their reputation is based; whereas, moreover, the terms thus defined should be used only for drinks of the same quality as traditional drinks so as to prevent their being devalued;
Whereas it is appropriate that an appropriate framewerok be created for aromatized drinks which are composed for the major part of wine or musts, while allowing for development and innovation as regards such drinks; whereas this objective can be achieved the more easily by creating three categories of drinks on the basis of their wine content, alcoholic strength and whether or not alcohol has been added to them;
Whereas it is appropriate that Community rules should reserve, for certain territories, the use of geographical ascriptions referring thereto, provided that the stages of production during which the finished product acquires its characteristics and definitive properties are completed in the geographical area in question;
Whereas the customary means of informing the consumer is to include certain information on the label; whereas the labelling of aromatized drinks is subject to the general rules laid down in Council Directive 79/112/EEC of 18 December 1978 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs for sale to the ultimate consumer(4), as last amended by Directive 89/395/EEC(5); whereas, in view of the nature of the drinks in question and so that the consumer may have fuller information, provisions additional to these general rules should be adopted;
Whereas, in the mind of the consumer, the reputation of certain aromatized drinks is closely linked to a traditional origin; whereas, in order to ensure that the consumer is appropriately informed and to take account of these specific cases, it is appropriate to make it compulsory to indicate the origin in cases where the drink does not come from the traditional region of production;
Whereas, in order to enable appropriate information to be given on the composition of the drink, certain labelling rules relating to the nature of the alcohol used should be adopted;
Whereas Council Directive 80/778/EEC of 15 July 1980 relating to the quality of water intended for human consumption(6), as last amended by Directive 81/858/EEC(7), and Council Directive 80/777/EEC of 15 July 1980 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the exploitation and marketing of natural mineral waters(8), as last amended by Directive 85/7/EEC(9), lay down the characteristics of the water which may be used in foodstuffs; whereas reference should be made thereto;
Whereas Council Directive 88/388/EEC of 22 June 1988 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to flavourings for use in foodstuffs and to source materials for their production(10) puts forward definitions of various terms liable to be used in connection with flavouring; whereas the same terminology should be used in this Regulation;
Whereas specific provisions should be adopted concerning description and presentation for imported aromatized drinks, bearing in mind the Community's commitmets in its relations with third countries;
Whereas, in order to defend the reputation of Community aromatized drinks on the world market, the same rules should be extended to exported drinks, except where there are contrary provisions, bearing in mind traditional habits and practices;
Whereas it is preferable to act by way of a Regulation in order to ensure the uniform and simultaneous implementation of the measures in question;
Whereas, in order to simplify and expedite the procedure, the Commission should be instructed to adopt implementing measures of a technical nature; whereas, for this purpose, provision should be made for a procedure whereby the Member States and the Commission can cooperate closely within an Implementation Committee;
Whereas transitional measures are necessary to facilitate the dangeover to the system intoduced by this Regulation,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Article 2
1.
For the purposes of this Regulation:
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aromatized wine shall mean:
a drink:
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obtained from one or more of the wine products defined in points 5 and 12 to 18 of Annex I to Regulation (EEC) No 822/87(11), including the quality wines produced in specific regions defined in Article 1 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 823/87(12) and with the exception of retsina table wine, possibly with added grape must and/or grape must in fermentation,
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to which alcohol has been added as defined in Article 3 (d), and
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which has been flavoured with the aid of:
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flavouring substances and/or flavouring preparations as defined in Article 3(2)(b) and (d) of Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on flavourings and certain food ingredients with flavouring properties for use in and on foods(13), and/or
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aromatic herbs and/or spices and/or flavouring foodstuffs,
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which has generally been sweetened and, subject to the exceptions provided for in paragraph 2, has possibly been coloured with caramel,
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which has a minimum actual alcoholic strength by volume of 14,5 % vol or more and a maximum actual alcoholic strength by volume of less than 22 % vol and a minimum total alcoholic strength by volume of 17,5 % vol or more; however, for those products which, pursuant to paragraph 5, bear the description ‘dry’ or ‘extra dry’, the minimum total alcoholic strength by volume shall be set at 16 % vol and 15 % vol respectively.
The wine and/or fresh grape musts with fermentation arrested by the addition of alcohol, used in the preparation of an aromatized wine must be present in the finished product in a proportion of not less than 75 %. Article 5 notwithstanding, the minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume of the products used shall be that provided for in Article 18 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 822/87.
The description ‘aromatized wine’ may be replaced by ‘wine-based aperitif’. The use of the term ‘aperitif’ in this connection is without prejudice to the use of the term to define products which do not fall within the scope of this Regulation;
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aromatized wine-based drink shall mean:
a drink
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obtained from one or more of the wines defined in points 11 to 13 and 15 to 18 of Annex I to Regulation (EEC) No 822/87, including the quality wines produced in specified regions defined in Article 1 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 823/87 and with the exception of wines produced with the addition of alcohol and retsina table wine, possibly with added grape must and/or partially fermented grape must,
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which has been flavoured with the aid of:
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flavouring substances and/or flavouring preparations as defined in Article 3(2)(b) and (d) of Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008, and/or
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aromatic herbs and/or spices and/or flavouring foodstuffs,
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which has possibly been sweetened,
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to which no alcohol has been added, subject to the exceptions referred to in the product definition given in this Regulation or decided upon in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 14,
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which has an actual alcoholic strength by volume of 7 % vol or more and less than 14,5 % vol.
The wines used in the preparation of an aromatized wine-based drink must be present in the finished product in a proportion of not less than 50 %. Without prejudice to Article 5, the minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume of the products used shall be that provided for in Article 18 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 822/87;
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aromatized wine-product cocktail
shall mean a drink:
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obtained from wine and/or grape must:
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which has been flavoured with the aid of:
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flavouring substances and/or flavour ing preparations as defined in Article 3(2)(b) and (d) of Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008, and/or
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aromatic herbs and/or spices and/or flavouring foodstuffs,
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has has possibly been sweetened and possibly been coloured,
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to which no alcohol has been added,
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which has an actual alcoholic strength by volume of less than 7 % vol.
The wine and/or grape must used in the preparation of an aromatized wine-product cocktail must be present in the finished product in a proportion of not less than 50 %. Without prejudice to Article 5, the minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume of the products used shall be that provided for in Article 18 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 822/87.
Specific descriptions may be decided upon in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 13.
The use of the term ‘cocktail’ in this connection shall be without prejudice to its use to define products which do not fall within the scope of this Regulation.
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2.
Definition of the various categories of aromatized wine the description of which may replace ‘aromatized wine’:
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Vermouth:
aromatized wine which has been prepared from wine as referred to in paragraph 1 (a), the characteristic taste of which is obtained by the use of appropriate derived substances, in particular of the Artemisia species, which must always be used; this drink may be sweetened only by means of caramelized sugar, sucrose, grape must, rectified concentrated grape must and concentrated grape must.
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Bitter aromatized wined:
aromatized wine with a characteristic bitter flavour. The description ‘bitter aormatized wine’ shall be followed by the name of the main bitter-flavouring substance, without prejudice to Article 8 (3).
The following expressions, or equivalent expressions in other official languages of the Communities, may be used to supplement or replace this description:
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‘Quinquina wine’, where the main flavouring is natural quinine flavouring,
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‘Bitter vino’, where the main flavouring is natural gentian flavouring and the drink has been coloured with authorized yellow and/or red colouring matter; the use of the word ‘bitter’ in this connection shall be without prejudice to its use to define products which do not fall within the scope of this Regulation,
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‘Americano’, where the flavouring is due to the presence of natural flavouring substances derived from wormwood and gentian and the drink has been coloured with authorized yellow and/or red colouring matter.
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Egg-based aromatized wine:
Aromatized wine to which good-quality egg yolk or contracts thereof have been added and which has a sugar content expressed in terms of invert sugar of more than 200 grams and a minimum egg yolk content of 10 grams per litre of finished product.
The term ‘cremovo’ may accompany the term ‘egg-based aromatized wine’ where such wine contains Marsala wine in a proportion of not less than 80 %.
The term ‘cremovo zabaione’ may accompany the term ‘egg-based aromatized wine’ where such wine contains Marsala wine in a proportion of not less than 80 % and has an egg yolk content of not less than 60 grams per litre.
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Väkevä viiniglögi Starkvinsglögg :
An aromatized wine which has been prepared from wine as referred to in paragraph 1 (a), the characteristic taste of which is obtained by the use of cloves and/or cinnamon which must always be used together with other spices; this drink may be sweetened according to Article 3 (a).
3.
Definitions of the various categories of aromatized wine-based drinks the description of which may:
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replace the description ‘aromatized wine-based drink’ in the Member State of production,
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be used to supplement ‘aromatized wine-based drink’ in the other Member States:
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Sangria:
a drink obtained from wine:
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aromatized with the addition of natural citrus-fruit extracts or essences,
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with or without the juice of such fruit,
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possibly:
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with added spices,
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sweetened,
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with added CO2,
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and having an acquired alcoholic strength by volume of less than 12 % vol;
The drink may contain solid particles of citrus-fruit pulp or peel and its colour must come exclusively from the raw materials used.
The description ‘Sangria’ must be accompanied by the words ‘produced in …’ followed by the name of the Member State of production or of a more restricted region except where the product is produced in Spain or Portugal.
The description ‘Sangria’ may replace the description ‘aromatized wine-based drink’ only where the drink is manufactured in Spain or Portugal;
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Clarea:
a drink obtained from white wine under the same conditions as in (a).
The description ‘Clarea’ must be accompanied by the words ‘produced in …’ followed by the name of the Member State of production or of a more restricted region except where the product is produced in Spain.
The description ‘Clarea’ may replace the description ‘aromatized wine-based drink’ only where the drink is manufactured in Spain;
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Zurra:
a drink obtained by adding brandy or wine spirits as defined in Regulation (EEC) No 1576/89(14) to the drinks defined in (a) and (b), possibly with the addition of pieces of fruit. The actual alcoholic strength by volume must be 9 % vol or more and less than 14 % vol;
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Bitter soda:
an aromatized drink obtained from bitter vino the content of which in the finished product must not be less than 50 % by volume, with added CO2 or carbonated water and possibly the same colourants as bitter vino. The actual alcoholic strength by volume must be 8 % vol or more and less than 10,5 % vol. The use of the word ‘bitter’ in this connection shall be without prejudice to its use to define products which do not fall within the scope of this Regulation;
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Kalte Ente:
an aromatized wine-based drink obtained by mixing wine, semi-sparkling wine or semi-sparkling wine with added CO2 with sparkling wine or sparkling wine with added CO2, and adding natural lemon substances or extracts thereof, the taste of which must be clearly perceptible. The finished product must contain not less than 25 % by volume of the sparkling wine or sparkling wine with added CO2;
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Glühwein:
An aromatized drink obtained exclusively from red or white wine, flavoured mainly with cinnamon and/or cloves; without prejudice to the quantities of water resulting from recourse to Article 3 (a), the addition of water is forbidden. Where it has been prepared from white wine, the sales description ‘Glühwein’ must be supplemented by the words ‘white wine’;
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Viiniglögi Vinglögg:
An aromatized drink obtained exclusively from red or white wine, flavoured mainly with cinnamon and/or cloves. Where it has been prepared from white wine, the sales description ‘ViiniglögiVinglögg’ must be supplemented by the words ‘white wine’;
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Maiwein:
an aromatized drink obtained from wine with added asperula odorata plants or extracts thereof so as to ensure a predominant taste of asperula odorata;
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Maitrank:
an aromatized drink obtained from dry white wine in which asperula odorata plants have been macerated or to which extracts of asperula odorata have been added, with the addition of oranges and/or other fruits, possibly in the form of juice, concentrated or extracts, and with maximum 5 % sugar sweetening;
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Pelin: an aromatized wine-based drink produced from white or red wine, grape must concentrate, grape juice (or beet sugar) and specific tincture of herbs, having an alcoholic strength of not less than 8,5 % vol., a sugar content expressed as invert sugar of 45-50 grams per litre, and a total acidity of not less than 3 grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid.
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Other definitions:
other definitions shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 13.
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4.
Definition of the categories of aromatized wine-product cocktails the description of which may:
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replace the description ‘aromatized wine-product cocktail’ in the State of production,
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be used to supplement ‘aromatized wine-product cocktail’ in the other Member States;
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Wine-based cocktail:
an aromatized drink in which:
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the proportion of concentrated grape must does not exceed 10 % of the total volume of the finished product,
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the sugar content, expressed as invert sugar, is less than 80 grams per litre;
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Aromatized semi-sparkling grape-based cocktail:
a drink:
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prepared exclusively from grape must,
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the actual alcoholic strength by volume of which is less than 4 % vol,
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containing carbon dioxide obtained exclusively from fermentation of the products used;
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Other definitions:
other definitions shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 13.
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5.
The descriptions referred to in paragraphs 1 (a) and (b), 2 and 3 may also include the following particulars, with the sugar content indicated in each respective subparagraph being expressed as invert sugar:
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‘extra-dry’: in the case of products with a sugar content of less than 30 grams per litre;
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‘dry’: in the case of products with a sugar content of less than 50 grams per litre;
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‘semi-dry’: in the case of products with a sugar content of between 50 and 90 grams per litre;
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‘semi-sweet’: in the case of products with a sugar content of between 90 and 130 grams per litre;
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‘sweet’: in the case of products with a sugar content of more than 130 grams per litre.
The terms ‘semi-sweet’ and ‘sweet’ may be replaced by an indication of the sugar content, expressed in grams of invert sugar per litre.
6.
Where the sales description of aromatized wine-based drinks includes the term ‘sparkling’, the quantity of sparkling wine used must be not less than 95 %.
7.
Detailed rules for the application of this Article shall be adopted in accordance with the procedures laid down in Article 14.
Article 3 Subsidiary definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation:
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‘sweetening’ shall mean:
using one or more of the following products in the preparation of aromatized wines, aromatized wine-based drinks and aromatized wine-product cocktails:
semi-white sugar, white sugar, refined white sugar, dextrose, fructose, glucose syrup, liquid sugar, invert liquid sugar, invert sugar syrup, rectified concentrated grape must, concentrated grape must, fresh grape must, burned sugar, honey, carob syrup, or other natural carbohydrate substances having a similar effect to the above products.
‘Burned sugar’ means the product obtained exclusively from the controlled heating of sucrose without bases, mineral acids or other chemical additives;
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‘flavouring’ shall mean:
using one or more of the flavourings defined in Article 1 (2) (a) of Directive 88/388/EEC and/or aromatic herbs and/or spices and/or flavouring foodstuffs in the preparation of aromatized wines, aromatized wine-based drinks and aromatized wine-product cocktails.
Addition of such substances confers on the final product organoleptic characteristics other than those of wine;
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‘colouring’ shall mean:
using one or more colorants in the preparation of aromatized wines or aromatized wine-product cocktails;
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‘adding alcohol’ shall mean:
using one or more of the following products in the preparation of aromatized wines and, where appropriate, aromatized wine-based drinks:
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ethyl alcohol of viticultural origin,
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wine alcohol or dried grape alcohol,
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ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin,
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wine distillate or dried grape distillate,
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distillate of agricultural origin,
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wine spirit or grape-marc spirit,
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dried grape spirit,
which comply with the characteristics laid down by Community provisions, in particular, the characteristics of ethyl alcohol must comply with those set out in Annex I;
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‘actual alcoholic strength by volume’ shall mean:
the number of volumes of pure alcohol at 20° C contained in 100 volumes of the product at the same temperature;
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‘potential alcoholic strength by volume’ shall mean:
the number of volumes of pure alcohol at 20 °C which would be produced by total fermentation of the sugar contained in 100 volumes of the product at the same temperature;
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total alcoholic strength by volume' shall mean:
the sum of the actual and potential alcoholic strengths by volume;
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‘natural alcoholic strength by volume’ shall mean:
the total alcoholic strength by volume of the product before any enrichment.
Article 4
1.
For the drinks referred to in this Regulation the list of authorized food additives, the directions for their use and the products concerned shall be determined in accordance with the procedure laid down in Directive 89/107/EEC(15).
2.
For the preparation of these drinks, the addition of water, possibly distilled or demineralized, shall be authorized provided that the quality of the water conforms to the national provisions adopted pursuant to Directives 90/777/EEC and 80/778/EEC and that the water added does not change the nature of the drink.
3.
Ethyl alcohol used to dilute or dissolve colorants, flavourings or any other authorized additives used in the preparation of the said aromatized products must be of agricultural origin and be used in the dose strictly necessary to dilute or dissolve colorants, flavourings or any other authorized additive.
4.
Detailed rules, including the methods to be used for analysing the products covered by this Regulation, shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 13.