The Common Agricultural Policy (Wine) Regulations 1996

A minimum of 5.5% actual alcoholic strength for wines having a natural alcoholic strength of not less than 10%

Total Dry Extract

2

A minimum of 15 g/l.

Reducing Sugars

3

No standard required to be met.

pH

4

No standard required to be met.

Total Acidity

5

A minimum of 5 g/l expressed as tartaric acid.

Volatile Acidity

6

A maximum volatile acid content as defined in Council Regulation (EEC) No. 822/87 as amended (to be recorded for sweet wines and red wines only).

Total Sulphur Dioxide

7

A maximum as defined in point 7 of Annex 1 to Council Regulation (EEC) No. 822/87.

Free Sulphur Dioxide

8

Where effective oenological techniques are used to ensure the stability of the wine, no minimum, and otherwise 15 mg/l.

• A maximum of 45 mg/l for dry wines as defined in Article 14(7) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3201/90 as amended.

• A maximum of 60 mg/l for other wines.

Copper

9

A maximum of 0.5 mg/l.

Iron

10

A maximum of 8 mg/l.

Sterility

11

There must be no indication of yeasts or bacteria liable to cause spoilage of the wine.

Protein Stability

12

The wine must remain unchanged in appearance after being held at 70°C for 15 minutes and subsequently cooled to 20°C.

Signed

Tony Baldry — Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food — 6th March 1996

Lindsay — Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Scottish Office — 6th March 1996

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations, which apply throughout the United Kingdom and come into force on 1st April 1996, provide for the enforcement of EC Regulations (as specified in Schedules 1 and 2) concerned with the production and marketing of wine and related products. They revoke and re-enact with amendments the provisions of the Common Agricultural Policy (Wine) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/615).

The Regulations—

• (i) designate competent authorities, agencies and a liaison authority for the purposes of enforcement (regulation 3);

• (ii) define “medium dry” for the purposes of labelling and description (regulation 4);

• (iii) specify conditions for the use of geographical ascriptions for the designation of table wine (regulation 5);

• (iv) exempt certain products from provisions relating to information required on labels (regulation 6);

• (v) permit the planting for certain purposes of vine varieties whose planting would otherwise be prohibited (regulation 7);

• (vi) provide for powers of inspection and enforcement (regulation 8);

• (vii) authorise controls on the movement of wine sector products and provide for specification as to whether and what steps are called for in order to ensure that controls on movement are withdrawn (regulations 9 and 10);

• (viii) provide for reviews of prohibitions etc, on movement of wine-sector products and notification of rights of review (regulation 11);

• (ix) relieve authorised officers of personal liability for acts done by them in execution of the Regulations (regulation 12);

• (x) confer on courts (other than courts in Scotland) before which proceedings are brought powers in relation to the analysis and examination of samples (regulation 13);

• (xi) specify the regions in the United Kingdom for producing quality wines psr (regulation 15);

• (xii) specify the list of vine varieties, minimum natural alcoholic strength, maximum yield per hectare and analytical test in the production of quality wine psr and permit the production of such wine in areas of immediate proximity to the specified regions (regulations 16 to 20); and

• (xiii) prescribe offences and penalties and provide defences (regulations 21 to 25).

The Schedules have been revised and brought up to date so as to include references to any secondary legislation of the European Community which has been adopted or identified as requiring inclusion since the Common Agricultural Policy (Wine) Regulations 1995 came into force and to delete references to any such secondary legislation which has been repealed or superseded or has become redundant. Subject to that, and to minor drafting changes, the format of these Regulations follows that used in the revoked 1995 Regulations, save that the review procedure in regulation 11 and the requirement, in regulation 9, to specify whether and what steps are called for to ensure that controls on movement are withdrawn are introduced in these Regulations, and so is the limitation, in regulation 13, of the power of courts in relation to analysis and examination of samples to courts outside Scotland, and so is the application, in regulations 21 to 23, of the concepts of the statutory maximum and the standard scale to penalties for offences in Northern Ireland which were previously subject to fines at fixed sums.

In Schedule 1 each Regulation is given the title which appears in the Official Journal except in cases where the title refers to a Regulation that has been repealed or superseded. In such a case the title given in Schedule 1 refers to the superseding Regulation and the title in the Official Journal is given in a footnote. In addition, footnotes to Schedule 1 identify provisions within it which are subject to adaptations effected by the Agreement on the European Economic Area.

A Compliance Cost Assessment has been prepared and has been deposited in the library of each House of Parliament.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: S.I. 1972/1811.

[^f00002]: 1972 c. 68; the enabling powers conferred by section 2(2) were extended by virtue of section 1 of the European Economic Area Act 1993 (c. 51).

[^f00003]: 1990 c. 16.

[^f00004]: S.I. 1991/762 (N.I.7).

[^f00005]: OJ No. L291, 19.11.79, p.17.

[^f00006]: OJ No. L302, 15.11.85, p.23.

[^f00007]: OJ No. C241, 29.8.94, p.1; the amendments made by Council Decision No. 95/1 are not relevant to these Regulations.

[^f00008]: 1972 c. 70.

[^f00009]: Section 20 was substituted by s.1(1) of the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19).

[^f00010]: Part I of Schedule 4 was substituted by s.1(2) of the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19).

[^f00011]: Part II of Schedule 4 was substituted by s.1(2) of the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19).

[^f00012]: OJ No. L232, 9.8.89, p.13, the amendments to which are specified at item 35 in column 1 of Schedule 1 to these Regulations; they are not relevant to Article 1(3) of the Regulation.

[^f00013]: 1993 c. 51.

[^f00014]: OJ No. L202, 14.7.89, p.32.

[^f00015]: OJ No. L149, 14.6.91, p.1, the amendments to which are specified at item 40 in column 1 of Schedule 1 to these Regulations.

[^f00016]: S.I. 1995/615.

[^f00017]: S.I. 1993/517, amended by S.I. 1993/3071 and revoked by S.I. 1994/674.

[^f00018]: S.I. 1994/674, revoked by S.I. 1995/615.

[^f00019]: OJ No. L309, 8.11.90, p.1, the amendments to which are specified at item 38 in column 1 of Schedule 1 to these Regulations; they are not relevant to Article 14(7)(b) of the Regulation.

[^f00020]: OJ No. L84, 27.3.87, p.1, the amendments to which are specified at item 26 in column 1 of Schedule 1 to these Regulations; they are not relevant to Article 72(2) of the Regulation.

[^f00021]: OJ No. L232, 9.8.89, p.13, the amendments to which are specified at item 35 in column 1 of Schedule 1 to these Regulations; they are not relevant to Article 4(1) of the Regulation.

[^f00022]: OJ No. L232, 9.8.89, p.1, the amendment to which is specified at item 33 in column 1 of Schedule 1 to these Regulations; it is not relevant to Article 13(1) of the Regulation.

[^f00023]: 1984 c. 60.

[^f00024]: 1987 c. 41.

[^f00025]: S.I. 1989/1341 (N.I.12).

[^f00026]: OJ No. L84, 27.3.87, p.59, the amendments to which are specified at item 27 in column 1 of Schedule 1 to these Regulations.

[^f00027]: 1972 c. 70; in Part IV, as it relates to Wales (ss.53 to 62, 64 to 76, and 78), section 64 is substituted by s.6 of the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19) and minor and consequential amendments are made to ss.54 to 61, 67, 69, 71 to 74, 76 and 78 by s.66(5) of, and paragraphs 7 to 22 of Schedule 15 to, the 1994 Act.

[^f00028]: See also the Agreement on the European Economic Area, Protocols 1 (OJ No. L1, 3.1.94, p.37) and 47 (OJ No. L1, 3.1.94, p.210).

[^f00029]: The title of this Regulation as published in the edition of the Official Journal referred to is Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 2152/75 on detailed rules for the application of Council Regulations (EEC) Nos. 2893/74 and 2894/74 in respect of sparkling wines. Regulations (EEC) Nos. 2893/74 and 2894/74 have been superseded by Council Regulations (EEC) Nos. 2332/92 and 823/87 respectively.

[^f00030]: The title of this Regulation as published in the edition of the Official Journal referred to is Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1873/84 authorising the offer or disposal for direct human consumption of certain imported wines which may have undergone certain oenological processes not provided for in Council Regulation (EEC) No. 337/79. Regulation (EEC) No. 337/79 has been superseded by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 822/87.

[^f00031]: See also the Agreement on the European Economic Area, Protocols 1 (OJ No. L1, 3.1.94, p.37) and 47 (OJ No. L1, 3.1.94, p.210).

[^f00032]: See also the Agreement on the European Economic Area, Protocols 1 (OJ No. L1, 3.1.94, p.37) and 47 (OJ No. L1, 3.1.94, p.210).

[^f00033]: See also the Agreement on the European Economic Area, Protocols 1 (OJ No. L1, 3.1.94, p.37) and 47 (OJ No. L1, 3.1.94, p.210).

[^f00034]: See also the Agreement on the European Economic Area, Protocols 1 (OJ No. L1, 3.1.94, p.37) and 47 (OJ No. L1, 3.1.94, p.210).