Council Regulation (EC) No 1427/96 of 26 June 1996 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2392/89 laying down general rules for the description and presentation of wines and grape musts

• Published date: 24 July 1996
• Subject Matter: Wine
• Official Gazette Publication: Official Journal of the European Communities, L 184, 24 July 1996

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Council Regulation (EC) No 1427/96 of 26 June 1996 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2392/89 laying down general rules for the description and presentation of wines and grape musts

Official Journal L 184 , 24/07/1996 P. 0003 - 0006

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1427/96 of 26 June 1996 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2392/89 laying down general rules for the description and presentation of wines and grape musts

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 of 16 March 1987 on the common organization of the market in wine (1), and in particular Article 72 (1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (2),

Whereas existing provisions regarding information on product type or colour should be supplemented to allow references to any other factor, in particular the organoleptic characteristics of the product in question; whereas the producer should be left some latitude as to how the information is expressed;

Whereas information on the natural or technical conditions governing production of a wine is of particular importance to the consumer; whereas, firstly, in respect of wines whose designation may be supplemented by an indication of variety, it should be made clear that such information also covers the possibility of referring to the grape varieties used and, secondly, it should be specified how this reference is to be made;

Whereas some terms for table wines described by means of a geographical designation have been recognized in Italy or applied for in the United Kingdom; whereas those terms should be included in Council Regulation (EEC) No 2392/89 (3) to ensure protection in all Member States; whereas such terms should be used in accordance with the rules laid down in Article 4 (3) of Regulation (EEC) No 2392/89;

Whereas, it should be specified in a number of Articles relating to the description on official documents that the alcoholic strength by volume and the nominal volume must be indicated in these documents, without thereby departing from the specific provisions adopted under Articles 70 and 71 of Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 on the circulation of products covered by this Regulation;

Whereas point (b) of the second subparagraph of Article 13 (3) of Regulation (EEC) No 2392/89 provides for the possibility for Member States to allow, until 31 August 1995, a quality wine produced in a specified region to bear the name of a geographical unit smaller than a specified region, provided that at least 85 % of the grapes used are obtained in that unit; whereas that transitional period has proved too short to allow some Member States to create larger units; whereas the transitional period should therefore be extended; whereas, since this exception concerns specific cases only, provision should be made for the references to these specified geographical units and regions to be indicated in a list and published in the 'C` series of the Official Journal of the European Communities;

Whereas the procedure used up to now for drawing up a list of wines imported from third countries able to use a geographical name for labelling has proved too unwieldy and should be discontinued; whereas it should nonetheless be ensured that such imported wines meet specific conditions; whereas, in particular, it should be checked that the geographical names used do not lead to confusion with quality wines produced in specified regions, hereafter referred to as 'quality wines psr`, and table wines designated using a geographical term in the lists published in the 'C` series of the Official Journal of the European Communities or with wines from other third countries designated using a geographical term included in the lists published in the bilateral or...