Technical definitions and requirements
Article 4
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following technical definitions and requirements apply: (1) ‘description’ means the terms used in the labelling, in the presentation and on the packaging of a spirit drink, on the documents accompanying the transport of a spirit drink, on the commercial documents, particularly the invoices and delivery notes, and in the advertising of a spirit drink; (2) ‘presentation’ means the terms used in the labelling and on the packaging, as well as in advertising and sales promotion of a product, in images or such like, as well as on the container, including on the bottle or the closure; (3) ‘labelling’ means any word, particulars, trade marks, brand name, pictorial matter or symbol relating to a product and placed on any packaging, document, notice, label, ring or collar accompanying or referring to such product; (4) ‘label’ means any tag, brand, mark, pictorial or other descriptive matter, written, printed, stencilled, marked, embossed or impressed on, or attached to the packaging or container of food; (5) ‘packaging’ means the protective wrappings, cartons, cases, containers and bottles used in the transport or sale of spirit drinks; (6) ‘distillation’ means a thermal separation process involving one or more separation steps intended to achieve certain organoleptic properties or a higher alcoholic concentration or both, regardless of whether such steps take place under normal pressure or under vacuum, due to the distilling device used; and can be single or multiple distillation or re-distillation; (7) ‘distillate of agricultural origin’ means an alcoholic liquid which is the result of the distillation, after alcoholic fermentation, of agricultural products listed in Annex I to the Treaty, which does not have the properties of ethyl alcohol and which retains the aroma and taste of the raw materials used; (8) ‘to sweeten’ means to use one or more sweetening products in the production of spirit drinks; (9) ‘sweetening products’ means: (a) semi-white sugar, white sugar, extra-white sugar, dextrose, fructose, glucose syrup, sugar solution, invert sugar solution and invert sugar syrup, as defined in Part A of the Annex to Council Directive 2001/111/EC ( 17 ) ; (b) rectified concentrated grape must, concentrated grape must and fresh grape must; (c) burned sugar which is the product obtained exclusively from the controlled heating of sucrose without bases, mineral acids or other chemical additives; (d) honey as defined in point 1 of Annex I to Council Directive 2001/110/EC ( 18 ) ; (e) carob syrup; (f) any other natural carbohydrate substances having a similar effect as the products referred to in points (a) to (e); (10) ‘addition of alcohol’ means the addition of ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin or distillates of agricultural origin or both to a spirit drink; such addition does not include the use of alcohol for dilution or dissolution of colours, flavourings or any other authorised ingredients used in the production of spirit drinks; (11) ‘maturation’ or ‘ageing’ means the storage of a spirit drink in appropriate receptacles for a period of time for the purpose of allowing that spirit drink to undergo natural reactions that impart specific characteristics to that spirit drink; (12) ‘to flavour’ means to add flavourings or flavouring foodstuffs in the production of a spirit drink by means of one or more of the following processes: addition, infusion, maceration, alcoholic fermentation, or distillation of alcohol in the presence of the flavourings or flavouring foodstuffs; (13) ‘flavourings’ mean flavourings as defined in point (a) of Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008; (14) ‘flavouring substance’ means flavouring substance as defined in point (b) of Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008; (15) ‘natural flavouring substance’ means natural flavouring substance as defined in point (c) of Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008; (16) ‘flavouring preparation’ means flavouring preparation as defined in point (d) of Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008; (17) ‘other flavouring’ means other flavouring as defined in point (h) of Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008; (18) ‘flavouring foodstuffs’ mean foodstuffs as defined in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 19 ) and that are used in the production of spirit drinks with the main purpose of flavouring the spirit drinks; (19) ‘to colour’ means to use one or more colours in the production of a spirit drink; (20) ‘colours’ mean colours as defined in point 2 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008; (21) ‘caramel’ means a food additive corresponding to E-numbers E 150a, E 150b, E 150c or E 150d and relating to products of a more or less intense brown colour which are intended for colouring, as referred to in Part B of Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008; it does not correspond to the sugary aromatic product obtained from heating sugars and which is used for flavouring purposes; (22) ‘other authorised ingredients’ means food ingredients with flavouring properties authorised under Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008 and food additives other than colours authorised under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008; (23) ‘alcoholic strength by volume’ means the ratio of the volume of pure alcohol present in a product at 20 o C to the total volume of that product at the same temperature; (24) ‘volatile substances content’ means the quantity of volatile substances, other than ethyl alcohol and methanol, contained in a spirit drink produced exclusively by distillation.