# The Wine Regulations 2011, Paragraph 4: Applicable requirements for quality sparkling wine

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

(1) The applicable requirements for quality sparkling wine are as follows.
(2) The wine must come from a batch of wine—
(a) for which the maximum yield for each hectare of land cultivated with vines for producing the wine was 100 hectolitres;
(b) that—
(i) is produced from cuveés with a total alcoholic strength of 9% or more by volume;
(ii) has been obtained by secondary alcoholic fermentation of fresh grapes, grape must or wine in the bottle;
(iii) has had a minimum of nine months of uninterrupted secondary fermentation, within the same undertaking, on the yeast lees, which has subsequently been removed by disgorgement; and
(iv) has been organoleptically tested to be free from taints; and
(c) that meets the standards set out in the following table.
Standards for quality sparkling wine (PGIs)
Factor
Standard to be met
Natural alcohol
A minimum of 6% before enrichment.
Actual alcoholic strength
A minimum of 10%.
Total acidity
A minimum of 4 grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid.
Volatile acidity
A maximum of 18 milliequivalents per litre.
Total sulphur dioxide
A maximum of 185 milligrams per litre.
Copper
A maximum of 0.5 milligrams per litre.
Iron
A maximum of 8 milligrams per litre.
Chill stability
There must be no crystal deposits when the wine is held at 2°C for 36 hours.
Pressure
The wine must be at a pressure of not less than 3.5 bars when measured at 20°C.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/2936/schedule/1/paragraph/4 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/wine-regulations-2011/schedule-1/paragraph-4
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.