3.12.2018 EN Official Journal of the European Union C 435/11 COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION of 26 November 2018 on the publication in the Official Journal of the European Union of an application for amendment of a specification for a name in the wine sector referred to in Article 105 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Piemonte (PDO)) (2018/C 435/06) THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007 (1), and in particular Article 97(3) thereof, Whereas: (1) Italy has sent an application for amendment of the specification for the name ‘Piemonte’ in accordance with Article 105 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013. (2) The Commission has examined the application and concluded that the conditions laid down in Articles 93 to 96, Article 97(1), and Articles 100, 101 and 102 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 have been met. (3) In order to allow for the presentation of statements of opposition in accordance with Article 98 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, the application for amendment of the specification for the name ‘Piemonte’ should be published in the Official Journal of the European Union, HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: Sole Article The application for amendment of the specification for the name ‘Piemonte’ (PDO), in accordance with Article 105 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, is contained in the Annex to this Decision. In accordance with Article 98 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, the publication of this Decision confers the right to oppose the amendment of the specification referred to in the first paragraph of this Article within two months of the date of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. Done at Brussels, 26 November 2018. For the Commission Phil HOGAN Member of the Commission (1) OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 671. C 435/12 EN Official Journal of the European Union 3.12.2018 ANNEX ‘PIEMONTE’ PDO-IT-A1224-AM02 Date of application: 9.1.2015 REQUEST FOR AMENDMENT TO THE PRODUCT SPECIFICATION 1. Rules applicable to the amendment Article 105 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council — Non-minor amendment 2. Description and reasons for the amendment TITLE Amendment to the product specification for ‘Piemonte’ PDO Article 1 Wines DESCRIPTION AND REASONS Amendment to the product specification which requires a number of amendments to the single document referred to in Article 94(1)(d) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013. Article 1 — Designation and wines Description: The following new types of wine are inserted: — SPARKLING: Piemonte Rosso (red), Piemonte Rosato (rosé), Piemonte with two specified white grape varieties (Cortese Chardonnay, Sauvignon and blends thereof), Piemonte with two specified red grape varieties (Barbera, Dolcetto, Freisa, Bonarda, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Pinot Noir and blends thereof). — SEMI-SPARKLING: Piemonte with two specified white grape varieties (Cortese Chardonnay, Sauvignon and blends thereof), Piemonte with two specified red grape varieties (Barbera, Dolcetto, Freisa, Bonarda, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Pinot Noir and blends thereof). — TYPES QUALIFIED WITH THE TRADITIONAL TERM ‘PASSITO’: Piemonte Rosso (red), Piemonte Bianco (white), Piemonte Barbera, each of them broken down into the following three categories: wine, wine from raisined grapes and wine of overripe grapes, as permitted by EU law (Part II of Annex VII to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013). — For the types already covered Piemonte ‘Moscato Passito’ and Piemonte ‘Brachetto Passito’, the possibility of producing these types in the three aforementioned categories (wine, wine from raisined grapes and wine of overripe grapes) has been included. — For the sparkling wines already covered: Piemonte Pinot Nero, Piemonte Pinot, Piemonte Chardonnay-Pinot and Piemonte Pinot-Chardonnay, which can already be produced as whites, a rosé version has been introduced, described in Article 6 below. Reasons: The designation of origin ‘Piemonte’ was created in 1994 to protect the name of one of the most impor­ tant and historical Italian wine-growing areas producing quality wines, and to enable it to ensure that the quantity produced is consistent with the quantity marketed, and to protect the quality characteristics of the wine designated as ‘Piemonte’. The Piedmont region traditionally produces, within its territory, various types of product alongside the production of dry, still wines. The traditional white sparkling wine is recognised internationally, but there are also examples of rosé and red sparkling wine, which, thanks to the successful experiments carried out in the last decade, have made it possible to bring out new types with different varietal blends and corresponding organoleptic characteristics. The semi-sparkling type, which has always been produced as a young wine, the first wine of the season with sec­ ondary fermentation at the winery produced from blends of grapes of different varieties, now needs to be recog­ nised in its own right with types that allow the indication of two red or white grape varieties. 3.12.2018 EN Official Journal of the European Union C 435/13 The practice of raisining the grapes, on the plants in hotter years and/or in controlled environments, is a traditional practice which has successfully used e.g. Moscato or Brachetto grapes to produce ‘Passito’ wines. After two years of tests, considering the latest results achieved even with non-aromatic grapes, it was decided to broaden the range of production of ‘Passito’ wines by adding two types, white and red, and a specific one produced with at least 85 % red Barbera grapes, which are common in Piedmont, dividing them into the three different EU categories (wine, wine from raisined grapes, wine of overripe grapes). In summary, types already established by earlier revisions are inserted and described, whereas the list of grape vari­ eties making up the combination of grape varieties, the production area and the production specifications, such as yield per grape and wine, remain the same. TITLE: Amendment to the product specification for ‘Piemonte’ PDO Article 2 Combination of grape varieties DESCRIPTION AND REASONS Article 2 — Combination of grape varieties Description: The insertion of the new types referred to in Article 1 does not bring about any change to the combi­ nation of grape varieties in that the range of varieties involved in those types is the same as that of the correspond­ ing red, white and rosé wines, and wines with specified grape variety or varieties. However, there is a formal amendment to paragraph 5, where the reference to the sparking and semi-sparkling types of wine is inserted and two varieties are specified. Reason: to bring that provision into line with Article 1, clarifying the fact that the combination of grape varieties does not refer exclusively to the generic ‘wine’, but also to the other categories of products described therein. TITLE: Amendment to the product specification for ‘Piemonte’ PDO Article 3 production area DESCRIPTION AND REASONS Article 3 — Production area for the grapes Paragraph 1 — Description: The newly introduced types are inserted in the production area described in paragraph 1, which is the largest in the whole product specification and includes all the vine-growing areas of the provinces of Piedmont (Alessandria, Asti, Cuneo, Turin, Novara, Biella, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Vercelli). Reason: We refer to the reason given under Article 1. Paragraph 1 — Description: A number of municipalities that were already located within the Piemonte DOC pro­ duction area are inserted as a formal amendment. Reason: The municipalities in question were already de facto present in the production area and were listed in the relevant annex to the product specification amongst those entitled to use the specific description ‘Vigneti di Montagna’, but were in error omitted from the scope of the broader production area described in Article 3(1). Paragraph 1. By way of correction, the municipality of Agrate Conturbia in the province of Novara, erroneously omitted at the time of the previous definition of the production area, is inserted. Also in the province of Novara, the name of the municipality of Cavaglio, which had been misspelled as ‘Cavagno’, has been corrected. TITLE: Amendment to the specification for ‘Piemonte’ PDO Article 4 Winegrowing standards DESCRIPTION AND REASONS Article 4 — Winegrowing standards Paragraph 3 — Description: The grape yield in tonnes per hectare is stated along with the corresponding minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume of the grapes for the newly introduced types. Also, the yields per hectare of Piemonte Moscato Passito and Piemonte Brachetto Passito have been revised and the minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume of the grapes has been adjusted accordingly. Reasons: For the new types, the grape yield has been determined on the basis of the yields actually achieved in the production area, harmonising them with those of the existing types whilst maintaining the quality parameters. C 435/14 EN Official Journal of the European Union 3.12.2018 The yields of Passito wines are expressed with reference to the fresh grape and not the raisined grape. This is in order to determine the weight loss during overripening and raisining (which can also be done after harvesting in suitable premises) in the context of the yield of wine from the grapes, defined in Article 5 below. TITLE: Amendment to the specification for ‘Piemonte’ PDO Article 5 Winemaking standards DESCRIPTION AND REASONS Article 5 — Winemaking standards Paragraph 2 — Description: The yields of wine from the grapes for the new types are indicated along with the maximum level of wine production in litres per hectare for each type, taking account of the yield in grapes per hectare specified in Article 4(3).