Processing wine
The term processing wine was introduced when the Wine Act was amended as a result of EC Regulation No. 1493/1999, which in turn was replaced by Council Regulation (EC) No. 479/2008 of April 29, 2008 .
Objective of the regulation
The aim was to split the market into three categories in order to focus on production:
- Quality wines produced in specified regions
- Table wine with a geographical designation of origin
- Processing wine
This should reduce the amount of table wine declared for distillation, which causes the highest costs in the EC internal market for wine.
Definition
The term describes those products that come from viticulture or grape production, but which are at a lower level within the quality group model or which are later not necessarily subject to the wine law and are not subject to any special quality checks. For this purpose, various maximum hectare yield regulations have been established.
In the wine law this is defined as:
- Wine that is labeled as a blend of wines from several countries of the European Community.
- Wine that is intended for the production of sparkling wine or quality sparkling wine without an indication of the grape variety.
- Wine for the production of fortified wine , wine vinegar , alcohol-free or alcohol-reduced wine or sparkling drinks made from them, wine-based drinks, flavored wines or other foods that do not require products within the meaning of the Wine Law is destined.
The production of grape juice or verjuice also falls within the quota of up to 200 hectoliters per hectare (depending on the growing area) .