On Thu, 28 Oct 2004 13:47:49 +0200, Mike Tommasi
wrote:

The question is, why is wine the only exception to the notion that all
food products should be labelled with a list of ingredients.

It appears that, in Europe at least, there are over 400 substances
that you can add to wine, many of them not very savoury.


Here is the list of things you can do to or add to wine :

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1493/1999
of 17 May 1999
on the common organisation of the market in wine

ANNEX IV

LIST OF AUTHORISED OENOLOGICAL PRACTICES AND PROCESSES
1. Oenological practices and processes which may be applied to fresh
grapes, grape must, grape must in fermentation, grape must in
fermentation extracted from raisined grapes, concentrated grape must
and new wine still in fermentation:
(a) aeration or the addition of oxygen;
(b) heat treatment;
(c) centrifuging and filtration, with or without an inert filtering
agent, on condition that no undesirable residue is left in the
products so treated;
(d) use of carbon dioxide, argon or nitrogen, either alone or
combined, solely in order to create an inert atmosphere and to handle
the product shielded from the air;
(e) use of yeasts for wine production;
(f) use of one or more of the following practices to encourage the
growth of yeasts;
- addition of diammonium phosphate or ammonium sulphate within certain
limits,
- addition of ammonium sulphite or ammonium bisulphite within certain
limits,
- addition of thiamin hydrochloride within certain limits;
(g) use of sulphur dioxide, potassium bisulphite or potassium
metabisulphite which may also be called potassium disulphite or
potassium pyrosulphite;
(h) elimination of sulphur dioxide by physical processes;
(i) treatment of white must and new white wine still in fermentation
with charcoal for oenological use, within certain limits;
(j) clarification by means of one or more of the following substances
for oenological use:
- edible gelatine,
- isinglass,
- casein and potassium caseinate,
- ovalbumin and/or lactalbumin,
- bentonite,
- silicon dioxide as a gel or colloidal solution,
- kaolin,
- tannin,
- pectinolytic enzymes,
- an enzymatic preparation of betaglucanase, under conditions to be
determined;
(k) use of sorbic acid or potassium sorbate;
(l) use of tartaric acid for acidification purposes under the
conditions laid down in points E and G of Annex V;
(m) use of one or more of the following substances for deacidification
purposes under the conditions laid down in points E and G of Annex V:
- neutral potassium tartrate,
- potassium bicarbonate,
- calcium carbonate, which may contain small quantities of the double
calcium salt of L (+) tartaric and L (-) malic acids,
- calcium tartrate,
- tartaric acid, under conditions to be determined,
- a homogeneous preparation of tartaric acid and calcium carbonate in
equivalent proportions and finely pulverised;
(n) the use of Aleppo pine resin under conditions to be determined;
(o) the use of preparations of yeast cell wall, within certain limits;
(p) the use of polyvinylpolypyrrolidone within certain limits and
under conditions to be determined;
(q) the use of lactic bacteria in a vinous suspension under conditions
to be determined;
(r) the addition of lysozyme within limits and under conditions to be
determined.
2. Oenological practices and processes which may be applied to grape
must intended for the manufacture of rectified concentrated grape
must:
(a) aeration;
(b) heat treatment;
(c) centrifuging and filtration, with or without an inert filtering
agent, on condition that no undesirable residue is left in the product
so treated;
(d) use of sulphur dioxide, potassium bisulphite or potassium
metabisulphite which may also be called potassium disulphite or
potassium pyrosulphite;
(e) elimination of sulphur dioxide by physical processes;
(f) treatment with charcoal for oenological use;
(g) use of calcium carbonate, which may contain small quantities of
the double calcium salt of L (+) tartaric and L (-) malic acids;
(h) use of ion exchange resins under conditions to be determined.
3. Processes and oenological practices which may be applied to grape
must in fermentation intended for direct human consumption as such,
wine suitable for producing table wine, table wine, sparkling wine,
aerated sparkling wine, semi-sparkling wine, aerated semi-sparkling
wine, liqueur wine and quality wines psr:
(a) use in dry wines, and in quantities not exceeding 5 %, of fresh
lees which are sound and undiluted and contain yeasts resulting from
the recent vinification of dry wines;
(b) aeration or bubbling using argon or nitrogen;
(c) heat treatment;
(d) centrifuging and filtration, with or without an inert filtering
agent, on condition that no undesirable residue is left in the
products so treated;
(e) use of carbon dioxide, argon or nitrogen, either alone or
combined, solely in order to create an inert atmosphere and to handle
the product shielded from the air;
(f) addition of carbon dioxide, within certain limits,
(g) use, under the conditions laid down in this Regulation, of sulphur
dioxide, potassium bisulphite or potassium metabisulphite, which may
also be called potassium disulphite or potassium pyrosulphite;
(h) addition of sorbic acid or potassium sorbate provided that the
final sorbic acid content of the treated product on its release to the
market for direct human consumption does not exceed 200 mg/l;
(i) addition of L-ascorbic acid up to certain limits;
(j) addition of citric acid for wine stabilisation purposes, within
certain limits;
(k) use of tartaric acid for acidification purposes under the
conditions laid down in points E and G of Annex V;
(l) use of one or more of the following substances for deacidification
purposes under the conditions laid down in points E and G of Annex V:
- neutral potassium tartrate,
- potassium bicarbonate,
- calcium carbonate, which may contain small quantities of the double
calcium salt of L (+) tartaric and L (-) malic acids,
- calcium tartrate,
- tartaric acid, under conditions to be determined,
- a homogeneous preparation of tartaric acid and calcium carbonate in
equivalent proportions and finely pulverised;
(m) clarification by means of one or more of the following substances
for oenological use:
- edible gelatine,
- isinglass,
- casein and potassium caseinate,
- ovalbumin and/or lactalbumin,
- bentonite,
- silicon dioxide as a gel or colloidal solution,
- kaolin;
- an enzymatic preparation of betaglucanase, under conditions to be
determined;
(n) addition of tannin;
(o) treatment of white wines with charcoal for oenological use, within
certain limits,
(p) treatment, under conditions to be laid down:
- of grape must in fermentation intended for direct human consumption
as such, white wines and rosé wines with potassium ferrocyanide,
- of red wines with potassium ferrocyanide or with calcium phytate;
(q) addition of metatartaric acid within certain limits;
(r) use of acacia;
(s) use of DL tartaric acid, also called racemic acid, or of is
neutral salt of potassium, under conditions to be laid down, for
precipitating excess calcium;
(t) use, for the manufacture of sparkling wines obtained by
fermentation in bottle and with the lees separated by disgorging:
- of calcium alginate,
or
- of potassium alginate.
(ta) the use of yeasts for wine production, dry or in wine suspension,
for the production of sparkling wine;
(tb) the addition, in the production of sparkling wine, of thiamine
and ammonium salts to the basic wines, to encourage the growth of
yeasts, under the following conditions:
- for nutritive salts, diammonium phosphate or ammonium sulphate
within certain limits,
- for growth factors, thiamine in the form of thiamine hydrochloride,
within certain limits;
(u) use of discs of pure paraffin impregnated with allyl
isothiocyanate to create sterile atmosphere, solely in Member States
in which it is traditional and so long as it is not forbidden by
national law, provided that they are used only in containers holding
more than 20 litres and that there is no trace of allyl isothiocyanate
in the wine;
(v) addition, to assist the precipitation of tartar, of
- potassium bitartrate
- calcium tartrate, within limits and under conditions to be
determined;
(w) use of copper sulphate to eliminate defects of taste or smell in
the wine, up to certain limits;
(x) the use of preparations of yeast cell wall, within certain limits;
(y) the use of polyvinylpolypyrrolidone, within certain limits and
conditions to be determined;
(z) the use of lactic bacteria in a vinous suspension under conditions
to be determined;
(za) addition of caramel within the meaning of Directive 94/36/EC of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 1994 on colours
for use in foodstuffs(1) to reinforce the colour of liqueur wines and
liqueur wines psr;
(zb) addition of lysozme, within limits and under conditions to be
determined.
4. Oenological practices and processes that can be used for the
products referred to in the introductory sentence to paragraph 3,
solely under conditions of use to be determined:
(a) addition of oxygen;
(b) electrodialysis treatment to ensure the tartaric stabilisation of
the wine;
(c) use of a urease to reduce the level of urea in the wine.



Mike Tommasi, Six Fours, France
email link http://www.tommasi.org/mymail