Summary of resolutions adopted in 2022 by the 20th general assembly of the OIV

The 20th General Assembly of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), that took place on 4 Novembre 2022 in Ensenada (Mexico), adopted a total of 35 resolutions. Here we propse a summary, the full document can be consulted from the following link.

Decisions concerning viticulture and the environment
The OIV adopted the following 5 resolutions

• General principles for carbon footprint reporting for companies/organisations and products in the wine sector
• A definition and recommendations concerning functional biodiversity in the vineyard
• Guidelines for the Harmonisation of Methods and Criteria for the Exchange of Viticultural Plant Material - Phytosanitary and Genetic Aspects
• OIV recommendations on alternatives to the use of herbicides in vineyards
• The definitions of grape nectar and carbonated grape nectar

Decisions concerning oenological practices
The classification as additives or processing aids of various compounds already accepted by the OIV, in particular:

• The classification of carbon dioxide as an additive or processing aid according to the oenological objective considered
• The classification of skimmed milk as a processing aid, given that skimmed milk is a foodstuff used in oenology as a processing aid
• Furthermore, the OIV considered that according to the legislation, DMDC is considered as an additive in certain countries whereas in others it is considered as a processing ai
• Updating the use of selective plant fibres in musts and wines
• The relative modification of the current limit for the treatment of wines with gum arabic by stipulating that the dose to be used may not exceed 0.8 g/L for red liqueur wines and 0.3 g/L for other wines
• The deletion from the International Code of Oenological Practices of the oenological treatment with silver chloride and also the deletion from the International Oenological Codex of the monograph COEI-1-CHLARG, concerning silver chloride
• The modification of the oenological practice relating to flotation by specifying that clarification may be carried out either in the absence of air using nitrogen or argon, or with compressed air to favour the oxidation of oxidisable compounds and make the colour of the wine more stable
• The adoption of a new code of good wine-making practices intended to prevent or limit the alteration of wines by brettanomyces bruxellensis

Decisions on specifications for oenological products
The following monographs complement the International Oenological Codex, in particular:

• The general principles to be taken into account in the evaluation of oenological practices and substances in oenological products
• The update of the general monograph on tannins
• The specific monograph on oenological tannins containing procyanidins / prodelphinidins
• The specific monograph on oenological tannins containing ellagitannins
• The specific monograph on preparations containing gall tannins
• The specific monograph on oenological tannins containing profisetinidins / prorobitinidins
• The update of the monograph on yeast extracts containing mannoproteins
• Powdered cellulose is a food grade cellulose

Decisions concerning methods of analysis
At this same session, new methods of analysis will be added to the OIV's analytical corpus. These are in particular:

• The OIV opinion on dry extract, which stipulates that the sole measurement of total dry extract, total dry matter, dry extract without sugar or residual extract is not sufficient for the detection of possible fraud
• The method for the determination of ochratoxin A in grape juice, reconstituted grape juice, concentrated grape juice and grape nectar after passage through an immunoaffinity column and high performance liquid chromatography with fluorimetric detection
• The method for the determination of volatile acidity in grape juice, reconstituted grape juice, concentrated grape juice and grape nectar
• The method for determining the 18O/16O isotopic ratio of water in grape juice
• The method for the determination of sweeteners in white wine and white wine-based beverages
• The modification of the OIV method on chromatic characteristics by introducing an annex relating to the operating instructions for the determination of chromatic characteristics applicable to red wine with a high concentration of colouring pigments, to must and to must containing a high level of sulphur dioxide
• The update of the OIV method on the quantification of total nitrogen according to the Dumas method

Decisions on Economy and Law
The OIV has adopted the update of article 3.1.9 "Medals and distinctions" of the OIV International Standard for the labelling of wines

Decisions on Safety and Health

• The OIV has updated the resolution on "Criteria for methods of quantification of potentially allergenic fining protein residues in wine" by keeping a detection limit of 0.25 mg/L and a quantification limit of 0.5mg/L for caseinates, ovalbumin, isinglass and lysozyme
• Similarly, the OIV has updated the code of good practice for the fining of wines to be applied for the use of fining agents of protein origin with allergenic potential by specifying that if the usual analytical methods for food allergens do not detect any allergenic protein in the wine, then it can be considered that no residue above the detection limit is present
• The OIV has, on the basis of the new toxicological evaluation of arsenic in foodstuffs, reduced the arsenic limit in wine from 0.2 mg/L to 0.1 mg/L for wine produced from the 2023 harvest onwards
• With regard to health, the OIV has adopted recommendations for the dissemination of information on wine consumption
• Finally, the OIV has adopted recommendations on the evaluation/appraisal and communication of epidemiological studies on the consumption of grapes, wine and other wine products

For more information: SUMMARY OF RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED IN 2022 BY THE 20TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE OIV - ENSENADA (MEXICO)