A.Sparkling wine
For the purposes of this point and points B and C of this Annex:
‘tirage liqueur’ means;
the product added to the cuvée to provoke secondary fermentation;
‘expedition liqueur’ means;
the product added to sparkling wines to give them special taste qualities.
The expedition liqueur may contain only:
sucrose,
grape must,
grape must in fermentation,
concentrated grape must,
rectified concentrated grape must;
wine, or
a mixture thereof,
with the possible addition of wine distillate.
Without prejudice to enrichment authorised pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 for the constituents of a cuvée, any enrichment of the cuvée shall be prohibited.
However, each Member State may, in respect of regions and varieties for which it is technically justified, authorise the enrichment of the cuvée at the place of preparation of the sparkling wines provided that:
none of the constituents of the cuvée has previously undergone enrichment;
the said constituents are derived solely from grapes harvested in its territory;
the enrichment is carried out in a single operation;
the following limits are not exceeded:
3 % vol. for a cuvée comprising constituents from wine-growing zone A;
2 % vol. for a cuvée comprising constituents from wine-growing zone B;
1,5 % vol. for a cuvée comprising constituents from wine-growing zone C;
the method used is the addition of sucrose, concentrated grape must or rectified concentrated grape must.
The addition of tirage liqueur and expedition liqueur shall be considered neither as enrichment nor as sweetening. The addition of tirage liqueur may not cause an increase in the total alcoholic strength by volume of the cuvée of more than 1,5 % vol. 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.
The addition of expedition liqueur shall be carried out in such a way as not to increase the actual alcoholic strength by volume of the sparkling wine by more than 0,5 % vol.
Sweetening of the cuvée and its constituents shall be prohibited.
In addition to any acidification or deacidification of the constituents of the cuvée in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 479/2008, the cuvée may be subject to acidification or deacidification. Acidification and deacidification of the cuvée shall be mutually exclusive. Acidification may be carried out only up to a maximum of 1,5 grams per litre, expressed as tartaric acid, i.e. 20 milliequivalents per litre.
In years of exceptional climate conditions, the maximum limit of 1,5 grams per litre or 20 milliequivalents per litre may be raised to 2.5 grams per litre or 34 milliequivalents per litre, provided that the natural acidity of the products is not less than 3 g/l, expressed as tartaric acid, or 40 milliequivalents per litre.
The carbon dioxide contained in the sparkling wines may be produced only as a result of the alcoholic fermentation of the cuvée from which such wine is prepared.
Such fermentation, unless it is intended for processing grapes, grape must or partially fermented grape must directly into sparkling wine, may result only from the addition of tirage liqueur. It may take place only in bottles or in closed tanks.
The use of carbon dioxide in the case of the process of transfer by counter-pressure is authorised under supervision and on condition that the pressure of the carbon dioxide contained in the sparkling wine is not thereby increased.
In the case of sparkling wines other than sparkling wines with a protected designation of origin:
the tirage liqueur intended for their preparation may contain only:
grape must,
grape must in fermentation,
concentrated grape must,
rectified concentrated grape must, or
sucrose and wine;
the actual alcoholic strength by volume, including the alcohol contained in any expedition liqueur added, shall be not less than 9,5 % vol.