BAKGRUNN (fra kommisjonsforordnignen)

(1) Regulation (EU) 2021/2117 of the European Parliament and of the Council2 has amended Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council. In the context of that amendment, de-alcoholised wine has been added to the products of the wine sector listed in Part XII of Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 and a new Section E relating to de-alcoholisation processes has been added to the oenological practices laid down in Part I of Annex VIII to that Regulation. 

(2) Since de-alcoholised wine has become a product of the wine sector, specific production rules of the wine sector laid down in Part VI of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/848 should apply to the production of organic de-alcoholised wine. 

(3) Under Regulation (EU) 2018/848, de-alcoholised wine cannot be produced organically. Pursuant to Part VI of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/848, none of the de-alcoholisation processes listed for the wine sector in Section E of Part I of Annex VIII to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 are permitted for organic production. Point 3.4 of Part VI of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/848 provides that any amendment concerning oenological practices, processes and treatments provided for in Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 may apply to the organic production of wine only after those measures have been included as permitted in Part VI of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/848 and, if required, after an evaluation in accordance with Article 24 of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 

(4) In accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 24(7) of Regulation (EU) 2018/848, one Member State has submitted a dossier to the other Member States and the Commission concerning the use of vacuum distillation to produce de-alcoholised organic wines in view of its authorisation and inclusion in point 3.3 of Part VI of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/848. That dossier has been evaluated by the Expert Group for Technical Advice on Organic Production (EGTOP) 4 and the Commission. 

(5) EGTOP recommended to amend point 3.3 of Part VI of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/848, listing vacuum evaporative techniques among permitted practices, exclusively for the production of totally de-alcoholised organic wine, providing the limitations in terms of temperature (75°C) and filtration pores (not smaller than 0.2 micrometres) are fulfilled. 

(6) Those vacuum evaporative techniques correspond to the de-alcoholisation process ‘partial vacuum evaporation’ and ‘distillation’, whether used on their own or in combination, referred to in points (a) and (c) of Section E of Part I of Annex VIII to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013. 

(7) On this basis, it is appropriate to add the use of partial vacuum evaporation and distillation in point 3.3 of Part VI of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/848 in order to authorise those uses in the production of organic de-alcoholised wine provided that the produced wine has an alcoholic strength by volume not exceeding 0,5 % vol, the temperature used does not exceed 75 °C, the size of the pores for the filtration is not smaller than 0,2 micrometres and that the distillation is used under vacuum. 

(8) Part VI of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/848 refers to Commission Regulations (EC) No 606/2009 and (EC) No 607/2009. Those Regulations have been repealed respectively by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/934 and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33. In the interest of clarity, the legal references to those acts should be updated. 

(9) Regulation (EU) 2018/848 should therefore be amended accordingly,