Article 4Experimental use of new oenological practices

1.For experimental purposes as referred to in Article 29(2) of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008, each Member State may authorise the use of certain oenological practices or processes not provided for in that Regulation or in this Regulation, for a maximum of three years, on condition that:

(a)the practices and processes concerned meet the requirements of Articles 27(2) and 30(b) to (e) of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008;

(b)such practices and processes are applied to quantities not exceeding 50 000 hectolitres per year for any one experiment;

(c)the Member State concerned informs the Commission and the other Member States at the beginning of the experiment of the terms of each authorisation;

(d)the processes shall be entered on the accompanying document referred to in Article 112(1) and in the register referred to in Article 112(2) of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008.

‘Experiment’ shall mean an operation or operations carried out in the context of a well-defined research project with a single experimental protocol.

2.The products obtained by the experimental use of such practices and processes may be placed on the market of a Member State other than the Member State concerned provided the Member State authorising the experiment gives prior notification to the competent authorities of the Member State of destination of the terms of the authorisation and the quantities involved.

3.During the three months following the end of the period referred to in paragraph 1, the Member State concerned shall forward to the Commission a report on the authorised experiment and the results thereof. The Commission shall notify the other Member States of those results.

4.Depending on these results, the Member State concerned may apply to the Commission for authorisation to continue the experiment, possibly with a larger quantity than in the original experiment, for a further maximum period of three years. The Member State shall submit an appropriate dossier in support of its application. The Commission, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 113(2) of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008, shall decide on the application to continue the experiment.