ANNEX

SINGLE DOCUMENT

1.   Name(s) to be registered

Dons

2.   Geographical indication type

PDO — Protected Designation of Origin

3.   Categories of grapevine products

5.

Quality sparkling wine

4.   Description of the wine(s)

Analytical requirements

Acceptance criteria for Dons

—   Malic acidity: < 0,3 g/l

—   Carbon dioxide content: > 4 bar excess pressure at 20 °C

—   Residual sugar content: < 25 g/l

Organoleptically, Dons quality sparkling wine is characterised by a particularly ‘brilliant’ acidity. The sparkling wines are light and elegant, dominated by crisp acids resulting from the conversion of its originally high malic acidity into lactic acidity. The nose has a hint of citrus/lime/elder and a characteristic toastiness, with a long after-taste ending on a note of acidity.

In terms of appearance the wine is transparent with hues of white to pink/rosé/light red, and with fine, small and long-lasting bubbles.

General analytical characteristics
Maximum total alcoholic strength (in % volume)
Minimum actual alcoholic strength (in % volume)	10,0
Minimum total acidity	4,5 g/l, expressed as tartaric acid
Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre)	16,66
Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre)	150

5.   Wine making practices

a.   Essential oenological practices

Pressing of the grapes

Specific oenological methods

The pressing method used is gentle pressing of entire grape bunches at a maximum pressure of 1,6 bar.

Harvest, sorting and pressing

Cultivation methods

The grapes must be hand-picked before reaching full physiological maturity to ensure conservation of high acidity, in particular malic acidity.

Grape bunches must be sorted by hand following specific instructions.

Fermentation

Specific oenological practice

The product is made sparkling by a second alcoholic fermentation in a bottle. The cuvee’s total alcoholic strength after primary fermentation is at least 9 %.

Before the secondary fermentation the cuvée undergoes malolactic fermentation.

The length of the production process, including ageing, is at least nine months calculated from the start of the fermentation process.

The fermentation is designed to make the cuvée sparkling, and the cuvée must be left to age on the lees inside the bottle for at least 180 days.

After fermentation in the bottle the product is separated from the lees by disgorging.

b.   Maximum yields

5 000 kg of grapes per hectare

6.   Demarcated area

Defined area: The town of Dons near Kolding, Denmark; more specifically the tunnel valley of fluvioglacial gravel and sand sediments within the cadastral district of Dons By, Almind. The Dons By cadastral district, comprising an area of 853 ha, has been clearly demarcated on plot maps since 1821.

The vineyards are located at an altitude of 25-60 m and within a short distance of the sea, about 7 km from Kolding Fjord.

7.   Main wine grapes

Zalas Perle

Cabernet Cortis

Orion

Madeleine Angevine

Solaris

Rondo

Regent

Pinot Noir

8.   Description of the link(s)

The vineyards are located around the town of Dons, at an altitude of 25-60 m and within a distance of about 7 km from the sea. The area is a tunnel valley formed by subglacial erosion, with lakes formed as dead-ice kettles with hilly slopes and nutrient-poor heathland on sandy sediments.

The analytical parameters differ from those of classical sparkling wines in terms of a higher lactic acidity attributable to the northern growing conditions.

The profile of the wine, in particular its acidity profile, is attributable to the geographical conditions of the area and its specific terroir, characterised by nutrient-poor sediment gravel and deep sand layers far above the groundwater aquifers, resulting in large rootstocks, and to the selection of relatively hardy varieties.

9.   Essential further conditions

Method of production

Legal framework:

EU legislation

Type of further condition:

Additional provisions relating to labelling

Description of the condition:

Reference to the production method: The words ‘bottle-fermented’ or ‘bottle-fermented by the traditional method’ must appear on the label, as appropriate and documented in terms of the duration of the fermentation on lees.

EU logo

Legal framework:

EU legislation

Type of further condition:

Additional provisions relating to labelling

Description of the condition:

Use of the EU logo: ‘Protected Designation of Origin’ must be indicated together with the EU symbol/logo.

Wine grape variety

Legal framework:

EU legislation

Type of further condition:

Additional provisions relating to labelling

Description of the condition:

Vine variety: The label must indicate the wine grape variety from which the product is made insofar as only one variety is used. If the product is made from a cuvée of several vine varieties covered by the product specification, the producer may choose to mention all the varieties in descending order, or not to mention them on the label.

Labelling with the vintage year

Legal framework:

EU legislation

Type of further condition:

Additional provisions relating to labelling

Description of the condition:

Vintage year: The label must indicate the vintage year insofar as the wine is produced from one single harvest. If the wine is produced from a cuvée of several vintages, a vintage year need not be indicated.

Bottling

Legal framework:

EU legislation

Type of further condition:

Packaging in the demarcated area

Description of the condition:

Bottling:

Under Section (c) of the product specification, the product must be grown, produced and bottled within the defined area as this has proved a prerequisite for obtaining its specific qualities. Moreover, transport outside the area could affect specific production methods relating to storage, disgorging and ageing, leading to a quality degradation beyond the winemaker’s control. There is no production of wine in areas adjacent to that covered by the application.

Link to the product specification

http://www.foedevarestyrelsen.dk/SiteCollectionDocuments/Kemi%20og%20foedevarekvalitet/Varestandarder-handelsnormer-kvalitet/Produktspecifikation%20Dons%20rev%20nov%202014%20(2).pdf