Title, commencement, extent and interpretation

1.-(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Common Agricultural Policy (Wine) (Amendment) Regulations 1997, and shall come into force on 1st April 1997.

(2) These Regulations shall apply to the United Kingdom.

(3) In these Regulations "the principal Regulations" means the Common Agricultural Policy (Wine) Regulations 1996(3).

Amendment of the principal Regulations

2. The principal Regulations shall be amended in accordance with regulations 3 to 14 of these Regulations.

3. In paragraph (1) of regulation 2 (interpretation and revocation), in the definition of "county"-

(a)for the words "by section 1 of the Local Government Act 1972" there shall be substituted the following words-

• "either by section 1 of the Local Government Act 1972(4) or, as the case may be, by order(5) under section 17 of the Local Government Act 1992(6), and the administrative area of Greater London established by section 2(1) of the London Government Act 1963(7)", and

(b)for the words "section 20 of that Act" there shall be substituted the words "section 20 of the Local Government Act 1972".

4. After regulation 5 (geographical ascriptions for table wine), there shall be inserted the following regulation-

"Table wine: rules governing use of the term "regional wine"

5A. The rules required by Article 2(3)(i), as read with Article 4(3), of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2392/89, as amended(8), to be laid down before the term "regional wine" may be used (in accordance with the requirements of the said Regulation) in the description of a table wine originating in the United Kingdom are those contained in Schedule 3A.".

5. In Schedule 1 (community provisions)-

(a)items 4, 5, 6, 28 and 41 shall be deleted;

(b)in the items listed below, in each case at the end of the first column, there shall be inserted the words specified in respect of that item-

(i)in item 14, the words "and by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1914/96 (OJ No. L252, 4.10.96, p.1)";

(ii)in item 19, the words "and by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1648/96 (OJ No. L207, 17.8.96, p.7)";

(iii)in item 24, the words "and by Council Regulation (EC) No. 1596/96 (OJ No. L206, 16.8.96, p.38)";

(iv)in item 26, the words "and by Council Regulation (EC) No. 1592/96 (OJ No. L206, 16.8.96, p.31)";

(v)in item 27, the words "and by Council Regulation (EC) No. 1426/96 (OJ No. L184, 24.7.96, p.1)";

(vi)in item 29, the words "and by Council Regulation (EC) No. 1594/96 (OJ No. L206, 16.8.96, p.35)";

(vii)in item 35, the words "and by Council Regulation (EC) No. 1427/96 (OJ No. L184, 24.7.96, p.3; corrigendum at OJ No. L233, 14.9.96, p.28)";

(viii)in item 38, the words "and by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 692/96 (OJ No. L97, 18.4.96, p.15) and by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1056/96 (OJ No. L140, 13.6.96, p.15)";

(ix)in item 40, the words "and by Regulation (EC) No. 2061/96 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ No. L277, 30.10.96, p.1)";

(x)in item 45, the words "and by Council Regulation (EC) No. 1428/96 (OJ No. L184, 24.7.96, p.7) and by Council Regulation (EC) No. 1594/96 (OJ No. L206, 16.8.96, p.35)";

(xi)in item 46, the words "and by Council Regulation (EC) No. 1429/96 (OJ No. L184, 24.7.96, p.9)";

(xii)in item 47, the words "and by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 693/96 (OJ No. L97, 18.4.96, p.17)";

(xiii)in item 55, the words "as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1915/96 (OJ No. L252, 4.10.96, p.10)";

(c)after item 55 there shall be inserted the following item-

6. In Part I (accompanying documents and records) of Schedule 2 (relevant community provisions), in item 3, at the end of the first column, there shall be inserted the words "as amended by Regulation 1427/96: Article 1".

7. In Part II (quality wines produced in specified regions) of Schedule 2, in both items 13 and 14, in each case at the end of the first column, there shall be inserted the words "and by Regulation 1426/96".

8. In Part III (description and presentation) of Schedule 2-

(a)in item 1, at the end of the first column, there shall be inserted the words "and by Regulation 1427/96: Article 1 (corrigendum at OJ No. L233, 14.9.96, p.28)" and, at the end of the second column, there shall be inserted the words "and by Regulation 692/96: Article 1 and by Regulation 1056/96: Article 1";

(b)in item 2, at the end of the first column, there shall be inserted the words "as amended by Regulation 1429/96: Article 1" and, at the end of the second column, there shall be inserted the words "as amended by Regulation 1915/96: Article 1".

9. In Part IV (production and control of planting) of Schedule 2-

(a)in item 1, for the entry in the second column there shall be substituted the following entry-

• "Regulation 1294/96, as corrected by Regulation 2050/96";

(b)in item 2, at the end of the first column, there shall be inserted the words "and by Regulation 1592/96: Article 1".

10. In Part V (oenological processes and conditions for release to the market) of Schedule 2-

(a)in item 9, at the end of the first column, there shall be inserted the words "as amended by Regulation 1592/96";

(b)in both items 10 and 11, in each case at the end of the first column, there shall be inserted the words "and Regulation 1592/96";

(c)in item 19, at the end of the first column, there shall be inserted the words "and by Regulation 1428/96: Article 1".

11. In Schedule 3 (list of vine varieties for producing table wine)-

(a)the variety "GM 6494/5" shall be deleted, and

(b)after the variety "Riesling" there shall be inserted the variety "Rondo (GM 6494/5)".

12. After Schedule 3, there shall be inserted the following Schedule-

Regulation 5A

"SCHEDULE 3ARULES GOVERNING USE OF THE TERM "REGIONAL WINE" IN THE DESCRIPTION OF A TABLE WINE ORIGINATING IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

PART IRULES

1. The term "regional wine" shall only be used in the description of a table wine originating in the United Kingdom where-

(a)it occurs as part of one of the following longer descriptions-

(i)"English Counties regional wine", or

(ii)"Welsh Counties regional wine"; and

(b)the table wine to which it is applied-

(i)was produced only from the grapes of one or more of the varieties listed in Schedule 3, excluding Kanzler, Madeleine Royale, Mariensteiner and Perle;

(ii)was produced only from grapes from vines the total yield from which, in the calendar year in which those grapes were harvested, did not exceed 100 hectolitres of wine or grape juice per hectare of vine cultivation;

(iii)has a minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume of 6.0%;

(iv)has been subjected to an analytical test in relation to each factor specified and found to meet each of the standards required to be met as also specified in Part II of this Schedule; and

(v)has the organoleptic qualities, in relation to its colour, clarity, smell, and taste, that are characteristic in such wine.

2.-(1) The description "English Counties regional wine" shall only be used in the description of a table wine which fulfils the conditions contained in paragraph 1(b) above where the grapes used in the production of such wine were grown only in England.

(2) The description "Welsh Counties regional wine" shall only be used in the description of a table wine which fulfils the conditions contained in paragraph 1(b) above where the grapes used in the production of such wine were grown only in Wales.

PART IIANALYTICAL TEST FOR REGIONAL WINES

The analytical test to establish whether any table wine is eligible to be described as a regional wine shall (subject to numbered paragraph 6 below) comprise measurement of each factor specified in the heading to a numbered paragraph of this Part, and the standard (if any) required to be met in relation to that factor in order for the table wine to be so eligible is that specified in the remainder of that paragraph.

Actual Alcoholic Strength

1. A minimum of 8.5% actual alcoholic strength.

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 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.".

13. For Part I of Schedule 4 (specified regions producing quality wines psr-English vineyards) there shall be substituted the following Part-

"PART I(SPECIFIED REGIONS OF ENGLISH VINEYARDS)

The counties of-

Bath and North East Somerset

Bedfordshire

Berkshire

Bournemouth

Brighton and Hove

City of Bristol

Buckinghamshire

Cambridgeshire

Cheshire

Cornwall

Darlington

Derby

Derbyshire

Devon

Dorset

Durham

East Riding of Yorkshire

East Sussex

Essex

Gloucestershire

Greater London

Hampshire

Hereford and Worcester

Hertfordshire

Isle of Wight

Kent

City of Kingston upon Hull

Leicester

Leicestershire

Lincolnshire

Luton

Milton Keynes

Norfolk

Northamptonshire

North East Lincolnshire

North Lincolnshire

North West Somerset

Nottinghamshire

Oxfordshire

Poole

Portsmouth

Rutland

Shropshire

Somerset

Southampton

South Gloucestershire

South Yorkshire

Staffordshire

Stoke on Trent

Suffolk

Surrey

Thamesdown

Warwickshire

West Midlands

West Sussex

West Yorkshire

Wiltshire".

14. In paragraph 7 (total sulphur dioxide) of Schedule 6 (analytical test for quality wines psr), the words "point 7 of Annex 1 to" shall be deleted.

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 1997, amend the Common Agricultural Policy (Wine) Regulations 1996 (S.I. 1996/696) ("the principal Regulations") which provide for the enforcement of EC Regulations concerned with the production and marketing of wine and related products.

The principal amendment made by these Regulations is to introduce (as required by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2392/89 (OJ No. L232, 9.8.89, p.13), as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No. 1427/96 (OJ No. L184, 24.7.96, p.3; corrigendum at OJ No. L233, 14.9.96, p.28)) the rules to be observed before a table wine originating in the United Kingdom may be described as "regional wine" (new regulation 5A of, and Schedule 3A to, the principal Regulations, introduced by regulations 4 and 12 of these Regulations).

These Regulations also-

(a)revise and bring up to date Schedules 1 and 2 to the principal Regulations so as to include references to any relevant EC Regulations which have been adopted since the coming into force of the principal Regulations, and to delete references to those which have been repealed or superseded or which have become redundant (regulations 5 to 10);

(b)revise the list of specified regions of English vineyards to take account of recent changes in the identity of certain counties (regulations 3 and 13); and

(c)make minor changes to the list of vine varieties for producing table wines and the analytical test for quality wines psr (regulations 11 and 14).

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