The 21st General Assembly of the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV), which met on July 9, 2023 in Jerez, Spain, adopted 18 resolutions. Below is a summary of the adopted resolutions, the full texts of which will soon be available on the OIV website:
Decisions on Viticulture and the Environment
In the field of viticulture, the OIV adopted the following resolutions:
- OIV general principles and recommendations facing to Pierce’s disease of grapevine (Resolution OIV-VITI 704-2023). Considering that the spread of Xylella fastidiosa in viticulture is mainly by insect vectors of the bacterium commonly found in vitivinicultural regions, the aim of this document is to provide guidelines for the detection, prevention and eradication or containment of organisms and diseases classified as quarantine, such as Pierce’s disease. In particular, it is recommended that immediate and effective phytosanitary control measures be implemented to prevent and slow down the spread of Pierce’s disease. Similarly, it is recommended that all preventive measures of protection, surveillance, monitoring and inspection be intensified in areas where the disease is not yet present.
- Update to the OIV descriptors for grape vine varieties and Vitis species (Resolution OIV-VITI 702-2023). In this context, the OIV will publish the 3rd edition of the “OIV descriptor list of grape vine varieties and Vitis species, which will include a list of new descriptors. This publication provides an ampelographic description of reference for a given grapevine variety.
Decisions on Oenological Practices
Several resolutions relating to new oenological practices will be added to the International Code of Oenological Practices of the OIV, in particular:
- The treatment of wine using a membrane technology coupled with adsorption on deodorant activated carbon or adsorbent styrenedivinylbenzene beads to reduce volatile phenols (Resolution OIV-OENO 657- 2023). The objective of this new practice is to reduce the content of volatile phenols either of microbial origin or of environmental origin, such as compounds produced exogenously by smoke and/or endogenously in the winery environment.
- Metals removal from aged wine vinegars by chelating resins of styrenedivinylbenzene (Resolution OIV-OENO 658-2023). The objective of this practice is to reduce the concentrations of iron and copper in particular, in order to avoid stability problems in aged wine vinegars (aged in barrels for a minimum of two years).
- Update to the guidelines for granting and maintaining OIV patronage of international wine and spirituous beverages of vitivinicultural origin competitions (Resolution OIV-OENO 671B-2023). This resolution amends the previous guidelines adopted in 2009, in particular by adding an article instructing competition organisers to integrate and comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Decisions on Specifications of Oenological Products
The following monographs have been added to the International Oenological Codex, in particular:
- The monograph on fumaric acid (Resolution OIV-OENO 690-2023). Foodgrade fumaric acid can be obtained by chemical synthesis or by biosynthesis. It is used for controlling malolactic fermentation in wines under conditions stipulated by regulation. This monograph sets out the various specifications that fumaric acid should meet.
Decisions on Methods of Analysis
During this same session, it was decided that new methods of analysis will be added to the OIV analytical corpus. These include:
- Several microbiological analysis methods for grape juice, concentrated grape juice, reconstituted grape juice and grape nectar. These methods, based on ISO standards, are as follows: i) a horizontal method for the enumeration of coliforms – colony-count technique (Resolution OIV-OENO 662M-2023) – this method gives general guidelines for the enumeration of coliforms; ii) a horizontal method for the enumeration of beta-glucuronidase-positive Escherichia coli (Resolution OIV-OENO 662N-2023) – this method describes two horizontal methods for the enumeration of βglucuronidase-positive Escherichia coli; iii) a horizontal method for the enumeration of coagulase-positive staphylococci (Resolution OIV-OENO 662O-2023) – this method refers to the enumeration of coagulase-positive staphylococci by counting the colonies obtained on a solid medium; and iv) a horizontal method for the enumeration of microorganisms (Resolution OIV-OENO 662P-2023) – this method consists of two parts: one for colony count by the pour plate technique and another for colony count by the surface plating technique. • The method of analysis for determining soluble solids in grape juice, reconstituted grape juice, concentrated grape juice and grape nectar (Resolution OIV-OENO 662F-2023). The soluble solids content of a sample, estimated from its refractive index, is used to obtain the sugar content.
- Update to the OIV method for multielemental analysis in wine using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), by introducing adjustments, particularly with regard to sample preparation (Resolution OIVOENO 666-2023). The principle is based on the separation of ions according to the mass-to-charge ratio in a mass spectrometer, and the detection and quantification of the ions using an electron multiplier system.
- Update to the OIV method for the determination of sorbic, benzoic and salicylic acid content in wine by the use of high-performance liquid chromatography, by introducing an annex relating to inter-laboratory validation for sorbic acid (Resolution OIV-OENO 687-2023).
Decisions on Economy and Law
The OIV adopted the updates to several articles of the OIV International Standard for Wine Labelling, in particular:
-Article 3.1.5 “Vintage and harvest year” (Resolution OIV-ECO 697-2023). To bear this mention, the wines must be made from at least 85% grapes coming from the year shown. The previous version stipulated that all the grapes had to come from the year in question.
-Article 3.1.7 “The ageing of wine” (Resolution OIV-ECO 698-2023). Terms related to the ageing of wine can only be used if a national rule defining ageing conditions exists.
-Article 2.6 “The name and address of the person responsible for prepackages” (Resolution OIV-ECO 699-2023). Information about the name of the person responsible, their address, as well as the place the containers were pre-packaged, and those relating to the pre-packager or the importer should not be capable of creating confusion as to the wine’s origin nor to its quality through the evocation of companies or people. Similarly, the address of the person responsible for the prepackage bears the name of the place where this was actually processed or carried out.
-Article 3.1.3 “Name of the viticultural holding” (Resolution OIV-ECO 700-2023). A paragraph has been added specifying that the use of a name of a viticultural holding shall not be in conflict with other legitimate intellectual property rights like previously registered geographical indications, appellations of origin or trademarks.
In addition, the General Assembly adopted a resolution formalising the repeal of 376 resolutions analysed by the Codification Steering Committee in charge of the codification process. These resolutions are repealed because they have expired, are obsolete or redundant in relation to the OIV's body of standards (Resolution OIV-ECO 715-202).
* The full texts of the resolutions adopted by the 21st OIV General Assembly will soon be available on the OIV website.
