• Regulatory affairs :

All wine-growers who have produced a volume of wine equal to or exceeding 25 hectolitres, must send all the by-products derived from the vinification to an approved distillery, i.e.:

- the grape skins,
- the sludge (first settling before fermentation),
- the lees (residues from racking after fermentation).

This is an E.U. obligation, coming under the provisions of “The common organisation of the market in wine” regulation (CE) 1493/99 section 27. This wine-making regulation, which concerns all types of wines, is aimed at improving wine quality, by dissuading growers from obtaining the last drop from grape pressing and from excessive lees filtration.

The producers who are subjected to this regulation receive a form (SV8) from the regulatory authorities, on which the quantity of pure alcohol to be produced is stated. This SV8 must be sent to Baron distillery, in order to regularise the wine-grower’s situation.

All the by-products are removed from the property.

- the grape skins are collected during the wine harvest,
- the sludge is collected after settling and up to the time the wine receives its classification,
- the lees are collected from 26 Nov. up to the 15 July the next year.

In addition to the yield authorised for each appellation, the wine-producer can also declare:

- for white wines: from 1 to 10% of lees and sludge;
- for red wines: from 1 to 5% of lees and sludge.