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New Zealand Grape Wine Export Code

3 Information for Wine Makers/Exporters

3.1 Wine Makers’/Exporters’ Duties

Section 40 of the Wine Act 2003 imposes duties on wine exporters. These duties are summarised below:

a. A wine exporter must not contravene any relevant requirement of the Wine Act 2003.

b. Only wine that meets any relevant standards and specifications and any relevant overseas market access requirements that have been notified or made available by the NZFSA may be exported.

c. A wine exporter must notify NZFSA as soon as possible, and not later than 24 hours after an event or first knowledge of the event, of any case where wine exported by the exporter:

i. is not fit, or is no longer fit, for its intended purpose; or

ii. is refused entry by the foreign government concerned; or

iii. does not meet or no longer meets the relevant overseas market access requirements as notified or made available by NZFSA; or

iv. does not have, or no longer has, the required official assurances.

At the same time, the exporter must also notify NZFSA of what actions (if any) have been taken in respect of that event.

d. Wine makers must maintain procedures and processes to demonstrate that the record-keeping requirements in relation to the provenance and processing of the wine exported by the exporter are being complied with; and

e. Wine makers must ensure that they only export wine that has been shown to comply with the relevant export eligibility requirements.

3.2 Export Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for export from New Zealand, all New Zealand grape wine must receive export eligibility approval. A consignment of wine may be approved as eligible for export if the Director-General or his or her nominee is satisfied that the wine is free from obvious fault and has a related set of audited winemaking records that enables traceability and accuracy of label statements to be determined. Each batch of wine that has been approved as eligible for export must obtain an export eligibility statement.

Figure 1: Step by step guide to the export eligibility application process

3.3 Export Eligibility Exemptions

Wine that is not intended for sale or trade purposes is not subject to export eligibility requirements. This means that wines intended for personal consumption, research purposes, personal cellars and the like do not need to go through the export eligibility process. Additionally, commercial samples up to 110 litres are exempt from the export eligibility requirements. However it is important to note that some export markets, including the EU, have their own limits for the entry of wines for these purposes which apply regardless of the New Zealand limits.

Exporters should contact the WECS to determine whether they meet the criteria for an export eligibility exemption.

3.4 Step 1 – Record Keeping

The first step in the export eligibility system is to have a record keeping system in place for traceability and labelling, and to have your record keeping system audited by an NZFSA authorised auditor.

The Export Eligibility Notice requires wine makers who make New Zealand grape wine for export to document and maintain records that enable:

a. grapes used to make that wine to be tracked from vineyard of origin through to sale of wine; and

b. wine in a particular package to be tracked back to the source vineyards of the grapes from which that wine was made; and

c. all other winemaking inputs to be identified; and

d. the truthfulness and accuracy of any label statements regarding wine variety, vintage, area of origin, and country of origin to be determined; and

e. where relevant, compliance with applicable labelling requirements under the New Zealand (Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code) Food Standards 2002 to be demonstrated.

These records should provide auditable trails for wine and grapes and other wine making inputs that are based on product coding, and enable wines that are submitted for export eligibility approval to be separately and clearly identified.

New Zealand Winegrowers have produced a Record Keeping Code of Practice which provides guidance on how to meet export eligibility requirements.

3.4.1 Auditing the record keeping system

Wine makers must have their record keeping system audited at least once every 12 months by a person on NZFSA’s list of wine auditors. Copies of the audit report must be provided to the Wine Export Certification Service (WECS). No wines may be exported unless a current record keeping audit is in place and entered into the export eligibility database.

NZFSA may require audits to be carried out more frequently, if:

a. NZFSA has cause for concern that any requirements of the Act, the Wine Regulations 2006, or the Wine (New Zealand Grape Wine Export Eligibility)Notice 2006 have not been complied with; or

b. an audit report records a non-compliance.

3.5 Step 2 – Export approval

The second step in the export eligibility system is to submit samples of wine to the Wine Export Certification Service for export approval.

3.5.1 Applying for export approval

All New Zealand grape wine must be approved as eligible for export by undergoing sensory analysis, in addition to the record keeping audit.

Two samples from a homogeneous batch of finished wine must be submitted to WECS in sealed containers that are intended for export at the following address:

Wine Export Certification Service
c/- New Zealand Winegrowers
Level 2, 52 Symonds Street
Auckland.

The samples must be accompanied by a completed Application for Export Eligibility Approval. You should also email a copy of the completed application to WECS (sue@winz.org.nz) so that you can be contacted if the wine does not arrive.

One of these samples will be used for sensory evaluation and the second will be used as a back up sample or for other purposes, including the random sampling programme. The sensory evaluation process generally takes up to 10 working days from the date of receipt of the wine. Wine makers/exporters should bear in mind that clearing your shipment through Customs will also take at least 5 working days, so we recommend that samples of wine be submitted to WECS at least three weeks before the date of export.

If wine is intended for export to the European Union, then an extra sample should be sent to WECS and this should be noted on the application form that accompanies the samples.

Once a wine has successfully passed the sensory evaluation, it will be approved as eligible for export, subject to a valid record keeping audit being received. The wine maker/exporter will be notified of this by WECS.

Export eligibility approval lasts for two years from the date of application to WECS. Approval may be withdrawn at any time before that if NZFSA has reason to believe that the wine to which it relates does not comply with the requirements in the Wine Export Eligibility Notice. Wine makers/exporters will be notified one month before the expiry of any export eligibility approval.

3.5.2 Presentation of samples

Each sample should be at least 375mls. In the case of 200ml bottles, three samples should be submitted or, if destined for the EU, 6 x 200ml bottles should be submitted.

The samples must be taken from and representative of the homogeneous batch of finished wine for which export eligibility is sought.

Each sample of wine submitted must be identified with the exporter or brand name, the name of the wine (e.g. Sue’s Pinot Gris 2006), the alcohol content, and an indication of whether the wine is intended for export as bulk or packaged wine. This can either be on the final label or on a temporary sticker.

3.5.3 Sample Criteria

Exporters may only seek export eligibility approval for a homogeneous amount of finished wine – i.e. that is packaged for retail sale, ready to be packaged for retail sale, or that is ready to be exported, without any further winemaking adjustments. The wine submitted should be intended for export.

Tanks of wine that are treated or adjusted separately, even if they contain the same basic components or “blend”, will be considered to be different wines for the purpose of export eligibility approval.

If a single lot of wine is bottled over a number of different runs, and undergoes separate winemaking adjustments (other than the permitted sulphur adjustments below) before each run, then each bottling run will be considered a different wine for the purposes of export eligibility.

3.5.4 Sulphur adjustments

Where a single lot of wine bottled over different runs undergoes adjustments to ensure that the sulphur dioxide content remains at a consistent level, this will be considered to be the same wine for the purpose of export eligibility, provided that:

• the sample submitted for export eligibility is finished wine, including the final level of total sulphur dioxide for the finished product; and

• the total sulphur dioxide level in wines from subsequent bottling runs does not vary by more than 10 mg/kg from the sample submitted for export approval; and

• the total sulphur dioxide level of wines from subsequent bottling runs does not exceed the legal maximum in New Zealand or, where relevant, the limits applicable specified in a notified Overseas Market Access Requirement (OMAR).

3.5.5 Tank samples

In order for a tank sample to be accepted, the wine must be packaged within 10 working days of submission to WECS and must not be subject to any further winemaking additions, adjustments or alterations before packaging. The exporter must submit Tank Sample Verification Form to WECS and retain one copy for their records. Auditors will be required to check whether wines have been submitted to WECS before bottling and, if so, to ensure that these conditions have been met.

3.5.6 Bulk wine shipments

• Bulk wine must be ready for export without any further winemaking adjustments in New Zealand.

• Samples must be presented in identical glass bottles of at least 375 ml each. The second sample is retained for reference purposes and may be used in the random sampling programme.

3.6 Sensory Evaluation

To be eligible for export, New Zealand grape wine must be determined to be free from obvious fault by a panel of approved sensory evaluators.

“Obvious fault” is defined as “oxidised, malodorous or tainted by extraneous flavours”.

Oxidised: the wine shows oxidation related faults includes colour, taste and/or aroma faults.

Tainted by extraneous flavours: the wine is tainted by extraneous flavours derived from constituents foreign to wine making best practice.

Malodorous: the wine shows one of the following:

a. mouldiness;

b. mousiness;

c. excessive sulphide characteristics;

d. volatile acidity identified by the sensory evaluation panel as effecting the organoleptic acceptability of the wine;

e. free sulphur dioxide, where the SO2 is below the legal limit, but is identified by the tasting panel as affecting the organoleptic acceptability of the wine;

f. microbiological contamination.

3.6.1 The sensory evaluation process

The sensory evaluation is conducted by a panel of three persons authorised by NZFSA, in accordance with the procedures set out in Section 5.3. If a wine is assessed by all members of the panel as being free from obvious fault, this is recorded in the export eligibility database and notification is sent to the exporter.

If the panel does not unanimously agree that the wine is free from obvious fault, the second sample is automatically submitted to another panel at the next practicable evaluation, where it undergoes another sensory evaluation.

Where a wine is determined by two sensory evaluation panels as showing obvious fault, then the applicant seeking export eligibility approval has a right to apply for a review of that decision. The right of review can be exercised by sending the Application for Review Form to WECS within 28 days of notification of the result of the assessment, along with three additional samples of the wine in question. The review process is outlined in section 5.4.

3.7 Laboratory Analysis (wines for export to EU only)

If an export wine is destined for an EU member state, then one extra sample should be forwarded to the WECS with the original submission. This sample will be forwarded to the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) for analysis. This analysis supports the issue of VI-1 certificates which are required by the European Commission (EC) to accompany all wines imported into the EU from New Zealand. VI-1 certificates are issued by WECS on behalf of NZFSA. The tests required are:

a. total alcoholic strength by volume;

b. actual alcoholic strength by volume;

c. total dry extract;

d. total acidity;

e. volatile acid content;

f. citric acid content;

g. total sulphur dioxide content.

The results of the ESR analyses will be made available to wine makers/exporters. WECS will also notify the wine maker/exporter if the analyses fall outside EU regulatory parameters. However, it is the wine maker/exporter’s responsibility to ensure that the wine shipped from New Zealand meets EU requirements in terms of composition and labelling.

3.8 Step 3 – Export Documentation

The third step is to apply to WECS for the export documentation which confirms to New Zealand Customs that the wine is approved as eligible for export and, where relevant, conforms with overseas market access requirements.

3.8.1 Requesting an export eligibility statement

An export eligibility statement is the document that confirms to New Zealand Customs that each wine in a consignment has been approved as eligible for export. This statement replaces the Certificate of Compliance that used to be issued by the WECS.

When a consignment of wine is ready for export, a completed Application for Export Eligibility Statement should be submitted to WECS.

WECS will check that:

a. the wine maker has had a successful record keeping audit within the last 12 months;

b. the wine has passed sensory evaluation.

This information is stored in the export eligibility database. If these requirements have been met, WECS will issue an export eligibility statement and a unique customs permit number in respect of the consignment.

NZFSA may revoke an export eligibility statement if it has reason to believe that the wine to which it relates does not comply with the requirements of the Wine Export Eligibility Notice.

3.8.2 Issuing a VI-1Certificate (wines exported to the EU only)

If a wine is to be exported to the European Union (EU), it must also be accompanied by a VI-1 Certificate. Where the Application for Export Eligibility Statement indicates that a wine is destined for an EU member state, VI-1 certification will also be issued provided that the wine has a current laboratory analysis and the results show that the wine meets the EU requirements.

It is important to note that VI-1 certificates for the EU are only valid for one year.

As with export eligibility statements, NZFSA may revoke a VI-1 certificate if it has reason to believe that the wine to which it relates does not comply with the requirements of the Wine Export Eligibility Notice or the Overseas Market Access Requirements for the EU Notice, 2003.