Wine Law

8 and processes, description, designation, presentation and protection, quality wine psr, and trade with third countries”. Chapter II of Title V, as well as Annexes VII and VIII, provide for a full set of rules on description, designation, presentation and protection of wines. The word “label” finally finds its place within the rules relating to the description, designation and presentation of wine products and the protection of certain particulars and terms, since these rules shall apply to the description of the products on labels, in registers and in the accompanying documents, other than customs documents, in commercial documents, particularly in invoices and delivery notes and in advertising material. It is, therefore, set, for the first time, that the description, designation and presentation of wine products covers their containers, including the closure, the labelling and the packaging. 1.3. The single CMO and the labelling and presentation rules Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 17 finally lays down, under chapter VI, detailed rules for labelling and presentation. According to article 57(a), “ labelling ” shall mean any words, particulars, trademarks, brand name, pictorial matter or symbol placed on any packaging, document, notice, label, ring or collar accompanying or referring to a given product, while (b) “ presentation ” shall mean any information conveyed to consumers by virtue of the packaging of the product concerned including the form and type of bottles. The scope of this survey is, of course the wine; but what is wine, precisely? In fact, there are 17 different categories of grapevine products detailed under Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 18 , and the consumer must be able to understand what he or she is buying or drinking. 17 Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 of 29 April 2008 on the common organisation of the market in wine, amending Regulations (EC) No 1493/1999, (EC) No 1782/2003, (EC) No 1290/2005, (EC) No 3/2008 and repealing Regulations (EEC) No 2392/86 and (EC) No 1493/1999. 18 Categories of grapevine products are detailed under Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 479/2008: as to wine, this is defined as the product obtained exclusively from the total or partial alcoholic fermentation of fresh grapes, whether or not crushed, or of grape must. To be more precise, wine shall have an actual alcoholic strength of not less than 8,5% vol. provided that the wine derives exclusively from grapes harvested in wine-growing zones A and B referred to in Annex IX, and of not less than 9% vol. in other wine-