British Columbia Gazette Part II — B.C. Reg. 250/2007

B.C. Reg. 250/2007

British Columbia — Gazette

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

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Volume 50, No. 15

B.C. Reg. 250/2007

The British Columbia Gazette,

Part II

July 31, 2007

B.C. Reg. 250/2007, deposited July 19, 2007, pursuant to the AGRI-FOOD CHOICE AND QUALITY ACT [Section 11]. Order in Council 525/2007, approved and ordered July 18, 2007.

On the recommendation of the undersigned, the Lieutenant Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, orders that the Wines of Marked Quality Regulation, B.C. Reg. 79/2005, is amended

(

a) as set out in the attached Schedule, and

(

b) effective December 31, 2008, in

section 8 (1) by repealing paragraph (

c) and substituting the following:

(

c) an individual or an employee of a person engaged by the authority to carry out a function of the authority;

(

d) an expert wine taster selected for the purposes of paragraph (c); .

— P. BELL, Minister of Agriculture and Lands; G. CAMPBELL, Presiding Member of the Executive Council.

Schedule

Section 1 of the Wines of Marked Quality Regulation, B.C. Reg. 79/2005, is amended

(

a) by repealing the

definitions of "BC VQA wine" , "BC wine of distinction" , "grape juice" , "grape juice concentrate" and "grape must" and substituting the following:

"BC VQA wine" means a BC wine of distinction that has been certified as meeting the standards for BC VQA wine set out in this regulation;

"BC wine of distinction" means

(

a) a wine made from fresh grapes all of which are grown in British Columbia, or

(

b) a mixture of a wine described in paragraph (

a) and grape products derived from fresh grapes all of which are grown in British Columbia,

but allowing for a variance of up to 0.1% for unintended residue caused by a processing line change as provided in

section 37 (1);

"grape juice" means a fermentable liquid product used in winemaking with an alcoholic strength by volume of not more than 1% that is obtained from fresh grapes or grape must;

"grape must" means the liquid product with an alcoholic strength by volume of not more than 1% that is obtained by crushing fresh grapes; , and

(

b) by adding the following

definitions:

"geographical area" means the area represented by a prescribed geographical indication;

"production unit" means a finished wine

(

a) that has been bottled, and

(

b) all the bottles of which have uniform characteristics;

"proposed geographical area or subdivision" means the area represented by

(

a) a proposed geographical indication, or

(

b) a proposed subdivision of a prescribed geographical indication,

as the case may be; .

Section 5 is amended

(

a) in paragraph (

a) by striking out "BC wineries and", and

(

b) by repealing paragraphs (

c) and (e).

Section 8 is amended

(

a) in subsection (1) (

c) by adding ", other than an expert wine taster" after "function of the authority",

(

b) by repealing subsection (1) (d), and

(

c) by repealing subsection (2) (

a) and substituting the following:

(

a) is involved in, or benefits financially from, a wine production business or benefits financially as a marketing representative of a particular winery or group of wineries, .

Section 9 is amended

(

a) in subsection (1) by striking out "appointed by the authority" and substituting "elected by the members of the authority",

(

b) in subsection (2) by striking out "Appointments" and substituting "The advisory committee established", and

(

c) by adding the following subsection:

(4) The authority must consult with the advisory committee on the standards, policies and practices of the wines of marked quality program.

Section 10 is amended by adding ", members of the advisory committee" after "employees of the authority".

Section 14 is amended

(

a) in subsection (2) by striking out "processed" and substituting "crushed", and by striking out "production" and substituting "processing of a BC wine of distinction",

(

b) in subsection (3) by striking out "January 31" and substituting "March 31" and by striking out "processed." and substituting "crushed.",

(

c) by adding the following subsection:

(3.1) Despite subsection (3), in the year 2007 the fee calculated under subsection (2) must be paid by September 30. , and

(

d) in subsection (5) by striking out "an individual wine assessment" and substituting "a taste test assessment of a wine".

Section 15 is amended

(

a) by repealing paragraph (

e) and substituting the following:

(

e) develop and manage a system to

(

i) certify laboratories in British Columbia, and

(ii) approve laboratories outside of British Columbia

for chemical wine evaluation; ,

(

b) by repealing paragraph (

l) and substituting the following:

(

l) record, analyze and publish annually statistical information respecting taste test assessments, including the failure rate of taste test assessments and the correlation between failed taste test assessments and the results of chemical analyses; , and

(

c) by adding the following paragraphs:

(

n) establish administrative procedures for Icewine production, including

(

i) procedures to register an intention to produce Icewine by a date specified by the authority, and

(ii) notification requirements of the intention to pick grapes to make Icewine;

(

o) establish a process to determine, for recommendation to the minister, changes to the list of grape varieties approved for BC VQA wines.

Section 18 (

a) is repealed and the following paragraph is added:

(

g) meet the requirements of the Food and Drugs Act (Canada) and the regulations made under it.

9 The following sections are added:

General conditions for BC VQA wine certification

18.1

(1) In order to be certified as a BC VQA wine, a wine must meet the following criteria:

(

a) be a BC wine of distinction;

(

b) be made from one or more of the grape varieties listed in Table 1 or Table 2 of

Schedule 5 and not from any other grape varieties;

(

c) pass a taste test assessment, administered by the authority, for the faults listed in Column 1 of

Schedule 3;

(

d) meet the other requirements for certification as a BC VQA wine in accordance with this regulation.

(2) For the purposes of a taste test assessment referred to in subsection (1) (

c) or

section 18.2 (1), the applicant

(

a) must submit two samples of the wine for which certification is sought that are part of the production unit, and

(

b) may submit a chemical analysis of the faults listed in Column 1 of

Schedule 3, conducted by a laboratory certified or approved by the authority, carried out using the methods set out in Column 2 of

Schedule 3.

(3) If a chemical analysis is provided in accordance with subsection (2) (b), the taste-testing panel conducting the taste test assessment must consider the results of the chemical analysis in making their decision to pass or fail the wine.

Failing a taste test assessment

18.2

(1) If a wine fails a taste test assessment described in

section 18.1 (1) (c), the applicant may resubmit the wine for a taste test assessment in accordance with

section 18.1 (2).

(2) The taste-testing panel conducting the taste test assessment must

(

a) be comprised of a different combination of taste testers from any combination of taste testers that previously conducted a taste test assessment of the wine, and

(

b) conduct the taste test assessment in accordance with

section 18.1 (3).

(3) If the wine passes a taste test assessment under this section, the wine passes a taste test assessment for the purposes of

section 18.1 (1) (c).

Section 20 is repealed and replaced with the following:

Content of BC wines of distinction

20 BC wines of distinction may be produced only from the complete or partial fermen-tation of fresh grapes, grape must or grape juice and may contain only substances permitted under the Food and Drugs Act (Canada) and the regulations made under it.

Section 21 is amended

(

a) in subsection (1) in the definition of "single strength" by striking out "17° Brix" and substituting "17.0° Brix",

(

b) in subsection (2) by adding "Late Harvest wine," after "except for", and

(

c) by adding the following subsection:

(5) Sweet reserve in BC VQA wines must not exceed 15% of the total volume of the finished wine.

Section 22 is amended

(

a) in subsection (1) (

a) by striking out "viticultural area" and substituting "prescribed geographical indication other than "British Columbia" " , and

(

b) in subsection (3) by adding the following paragraph:

(

d) Icewine.

Section 24 is amended

(

a) in subsection (2) by adding "as determined by the Cash Still method of analysis conducted by a laboratory certified or approved by the authority" at the end, and

(

b) in subsection (3) by striking out "and" after paragraph (d), adding "and" after paragraph (e), and adding the following paragraph:

(

f) for Solera wine, 2.1 g/L.

Section 25 (2) is repealed.

Section 27 is amended

(

a) in subsection (1) by striking out "wines produced in British Columbia" and substituting "BC wines of distinction",

(

b) in subsection (2) by adding "wine quality" before "certificate",

(3) The use of a prescribed geographical indication is reserved for BC wines of distinction which are

(

a) made from

(i) 100% BC grapes if the geographical indication is "British Columbia", or

(ii) 100% BC grapes, 95% of which are grapes grown in the geographical area designated by the prescribed geographical indication, if the prescribed geographical indication is other than "British Columbia", and

(

b) produced in a facility located in British Columbia by the holder of a practice standards certificate.

(

d) by repealing subsection (4),

(

e) by adding the following subsection:

(4.1) Only a BC wine of distinction may bear a prescribed geographical indication. , and

(

f) in subsection (5) by striking out "geographical indication only if" and substituting "geographical indication, other than "British Columbia", only if".

Section 28 is amended by striking out "The geographical indications for British Columbia wines" and substituting "The prescribed geographical indications for BC wines of distinction".

Section 29 is amended

(

a) by repealing subsections (1) and (4),

(

b) in subsection (2) by striking out "viticultural area" and substituting "prescribed", and

(

c) in subsection (3) by repealing paragraph (

c) and substituting the following:

(

c) at least two thirds of practice standards certificate holders in a proposed geographical area or subdivision, who produce at least two thirds of the total production of wine made from grapes grown in that area or subdivision, must have voted, by ballot, in favour of the proposed geographical area or subdivision, .

18 Sections 30 and 31 are repealed.

Section 32 is amended by repealing paragraph (

a) and substituting the following:

(

a) all of the grapes used were grown within a vineyard located within a geographical area designated by a prescribed geographical indication other than "British Columbia"; .

Section 33 is amended

(

a) in subsection (1) by striking out "estate-bottled" and substituting "Estate Bottled",

(

b) in subsection (1) (

b) by striking out everything after "within" and substituting "a geographical area designated by a prescribed geographical indication other than "British Columbia"; ",

(

c) in subsection (1) (

c) by striking out everything after "holder" and substituting "crushed the grapes and processed and bottled the wine;",

(

d) in subsection (1) by adding the following paragraph:

(

e) the premises referred to in paragraph (

d) are located within the same geographical area as where the grapes were grown. ,

(

e) in subsection (2) by striking out "viticulture" and substituting "the cultivation of grapevines", and

(

f) by adding the following subsection:

(3) For BC VQA wines

(

a) a lease, rental or similar agreement referred to in subsection (2) must be for a term of at least ten years duration and "Estate Bottled" may be used only in the fourth and subsequent years of the term, and

(

b) any grape brandy or grape spirit added to a fortified wine must have been distilled within the geographical area, designated by a prescribed geographical indication other than "British Columbia", where the wine was made and by the same bottling practice standards certificate holder as processed the wine.

Section 35 is amended by

(

a) repealing paragraph (

e) and substituting the following:

(

e) Traditional Method Sparkling wine which includes Classical Method Sparkling wine, Méthode Traditionale Sparkling wine and Méthode Classique Sparkling wine; , and

(

b) adding the following paragraph:

(

j) Solera wine.

Section 37 is amended

(

a) by repealing subsection (3) and substituting the following:

(3) The alcoholic strength by volume of a BC wine of distinction must comply with the level set out in

Schedule 2 for the category or subcategory of the wine. , and

(

b) by repealing subsection (6).

Section 40 is amended

(

a) in subsection (2) by striking out " "Traditional Method" and Méthode Cuvée Close" " and substituting " "Traditional Method", "Classical Method", Méthode Traditionale", "Méthode Classique" and "Méthode Cuvée Close" ", and

(

b) by adding the following subsections:

(8) The only grapes that may be used to make BC VQA Sparkling wines are the vitis vinifera varieties listed in Table 1 of

Schedule 5.

(9) The only grapes that may be used to make BC VQA Aromatic Sparking wines are the varieties listed in Table 2 of

Schedule 5.

(10) BC VQA Sparkling wines and BC VQA Aromatic Sparkling wines must have an alcoholic strength by volume, including alcohol contained in any expedition liqueur dosage, of not less than 8.5%.

Section 41 (3) is repealed and the following substituted:

(3) Unless the wine will be sold in bottles larger than 1.5 litres, the wine must not leave the bottle before final corking and the finished wine must be sold in the bottle in which the secondary fermentation took place.

Section 46 is amended

(

a) by numbering it 46 (1),

(

b) in subsection (1) by striking out "alcoholic content" and substituting "alcoholic strength by volume", and

(

c) by adding the following subsection:

(2) BC VQA liqueur wine must not have an alcoholic strength by volume greater than 20%.

26 The following

section is added:

Solera wine

46.1 Solera wine must be made by combining wines from a series of at least three barrels, each started in a different vintage year, as follows:

(

a) a quantity no greater than 30% of the contents is removed from the oldest barrel in the series and bottled;

(

b) the oldest barrel is topped up with wine from the next-to-oldest barrel in the series, which is in turn topped up from the next-to-oldest barrel in the series;

(

c) the process continues until the newest barrel in the series is topped up with new wine;

(

d) the process described in paragraphs (

a) to (

c) is repeated only once a year for each series.

Section 47 is amended by striking out "some of".

Section 48 is repealed and the following substituted:

Icewine

(1) The only grapes that may be used to make Icewine are

(

a) the vitis vinifera varieties listed in Table 1 of

Schedule 5 or Vidal Blanc,

(

b) grapes that have been naturally frozen on the vine while the air temperature is -8° C or lower, and crushed in a continuous process while the grapes are still frozen, and

(

c) grapes grown in a geographical area designated by a prescribed geographic indication other than "British Columbia" and crushed within the same geographical area.

(2) The grapes referred to in subsection (1) must be transported by the most direct route from picking to crushing.

(3) Icewine must not be processed using any artificial method of concentrating the sugar content of fresh grapes, grape juice, grape must or wine, including artificial refrigeration at a temperature below -4°C.

(4) Tank cooling at a temperature below -4°C is prohibited during fermentation and cold stabilization prior to bottling.

(5) The Brix level of any grape juice, or grape must, used to make Icewine must

(

a) not be less than 32.0° Brix after each pressing when measured after transfer to the fermentation vessel, and

(

b) achieve an average of at least 35.0° Brix respecting combined pressings in the fermentation vessel.

(6) The residual sugar in Icewine at bottling must not be less than 100 g/L.

(7) Residual sugar and alcohol in Icewine must come only from the natural sugar in the grapes.

(8) Practice standards certificate holders who intend to produce Icewine must, in accordance with the procedures established by the authority,

(

a) register that intention with the authority, and

(

b) provide notice to the authority of the intention to pick grapes to make the Icewine.

Section 50 is amended by striking out "Brix level of 32° when measured" and substituting "Brix level of 32.0° when measured".

Section 51 is amended

(

a) by striking out everything before paragraph (

a) and substituting the following:

Wine may be described as "Meritage" only if the wine is composed of a blend of two or more of the following grape varieties and one of those varieties does not make up more than 90% of the wine: , and

(

b) in paragraph (b), by striking out "Semillon Sauvignon Vert and Muscadelle." and substituting "Sémillon and Sauvignon Vert.".

Section 52 is repealed.

Section 53 is amended

(

a) in subsection (2) by adding "prescribed" before "geographical indication",

(

b) in subsection (2) (

b) by striking out "estate bottled" and substituting "Estate Bottled",

(

c) in subsection (4) by adding ", with the exception of "Table wine" " at the end,

(

d) in subsection (5) by adding "prescribed" before "geographical indication.", and

(

e) by repealing subsection (6) and substituting the following:

(6) If a BC wine of distinction has more than one grape variety listed on the label, the varietal names must be listed in descending order of quantity, using identical font, size and colour.

Section 54 is amended

(

a) in subsection (1) (

b) by striking out "protected" and substituting "prescribed",

(

b) by repealing subsection (3),

(

c) by repealing subsection (5) and substituting the following:

(5) If the BC VQA wine has more than one grape variety listed on the label, the varietal names must be listed on the label in descending order of quantity, using identical font, size and colour. , and

(

d) in subsection (9) by adding "BC VQA" before "Sparkling" in both places.

Section 55 is amended in subsection (2) by striking out "may" and substituting "must", and by adding "or varieties" after "variety".

35 The following

section is added:

Packaging requirements for BC VQA wines

(1) All BC VQA wines must be bottled in glass bottles of a standard size.

(2) Only the following bottle closures may be used:

(

a) natural cork;

(

b) pore-filled (colmated) natural cork, filled with resin or with dust;

(

c) cork composite made with natural cork discs;

(

d) cork composite (particle or agglomerate);

(e) 100% synthetic;

(

f) screw top;

(

g) crown cap.

(3) All varieties of cork closures must be of a traditional cylindrical shape of any colour except corks for fortified and liqueur wine, which may be in the shapes that are traditional for those wines.

(4) Bottles of a standard size include bottles of 50, 100, 200, 250, 375, 500 or 750 millilitres, 1, 1.5 or 3 litres and a bottle of any other size authorized for use under the Food and Drugs Act (Canada) and the Food and Drug Regulations.

Schedule 1 is repealed and the following substituted:

Schedule 1

Minimum Brix Level Requirements for Grapes at Harvest

for BC Wines of Distinction Categories

Item

Column 1

BC VQA

18.0

Nouveau wine

18.0

Solera wine

18.0

Fortified wine

18.0

Liqueur wine

18.0

Schedule 2 is amended

(

a) in the heading following "Table 1" by striking out " Table Wine, Late Harvested Wine, Vin Du Curé Wine, Blanc De Noirs Wine, Nouveau Wine " and inserting the following subheading before Item 1:

Table Wine, Late Harvested Wine, Vin du Curé Wine, Blanc de Noirs Wine, Nouveau Wine

(

b) in Table 2 by labeling the 2nd, 3rd and 4th columns "Column 1", "Column 2" and "Column 3" respectively,

(

c) in Table 2 in the Column 3 heading by striking out "Minimum Brix Levels of Grapes at Harvest" and substituting "Alcoholic Strength by Volume of Finished Wine", and

(

d) in Table 2, in Item 1 in Column 2, by adding "All prescribed geographical indications".

Schedule 3 is repealed and the following substituted:

Schedule 3

Taste Test Assessment for Faults

Item

Column 1

Fault

Column 2

Method of Analysis

Volatile Acidity

determined by Cash Still method

Sulphur Dioxide

determined by Aspiration method

Refermentation

determined by visual inspection to be unintended fermentation as indicated by active yeast sediment in the bottle and CO 2 levels above the detection limit of 0.12g/100mL

Hydrogen Sulphide