### **Wine Spirits — Technical Definition (with Introduction)**

#### **Introduction**

*Wine spirits* are a class of distilled alcoholic beverages obtained **exclusively from wine or wine-derived materials** through controlled distillation. Unlike neutral spirits, wine spirits retain a sensory, chemical, and legal connection to their vinous origin. They occupy the technical and regulatory space between wine and distilled spirits, serving as the base for products such as brandy, cognac, armagnac, and various wine-based eaux-de-vie.

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#### **Technical Definition**

**Wine spirits** are **distilled alcoholic beverages produced by the distillation of fermented grape wine or wine-derived products**, at a distillation strength that preserves volatile compounds originating from the wine, and which may be aged or unaged, sweetened or unsweetened, and optionally flavored only as permitted by regulation.

Formally, a wine spirit is characterized by the following technical criteria:

1. **Raw Material Origin**

* Produced exclusively from:

* Fresh grape wine

* Wine lees (in specific categories)

* Wine distillates blended with wine spirits (where legally permitted)

* No neutral agricultural alcohol may be used.

2. **Fermentation Requirement**

* The base wine must result from **alcoholic fermentation of grapes** (*Vitis vinifera* or permitted hybrids).

* Fermentation is complete prior to distillation.

3. **Distillation Parameters**

* Distilled at **less than 86% vol. alcohol** (EU standard) to preserve grape-derived congeners.

* Distillation may occur via:

* Pot stills (batch or Charentais type)

* Column stills (continuous, limited rectification)

4. **Alcohol Strength (Finished Product)**

* Bottled typically at **≥ 36–40% vol. alcohol**, depending on legal framework.

5. **Maturation (Optional but Defining for Subclasses)**

* May be:

* **Unaged** (eau-de-vie de vin)

* **Aged in wooden vessels** (e.g., oak) for a defined minimum period

* Maturation induces oxidative, extractive, and polymerization reactions.

6. **Additives and Adjustments**

* Permitted adjustments may include:

* Water for dilution

* Limited caramel coloring (category-dependent)

* Sugar or wine distillate (restricted and regulated)

* Artificial flavoring is generally prohibited.

7. **Sensory Identity**

* Must retain **recognizable vinous and grape-derived aromatic compounds**, such as:

* Higher alcohols

* Esters

* Terpenes (where applicable)

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#### **Position in Alcohol Classification**

* **Superclass**: Distilled alcoholic beverages

* **Type**: Wine-derived spirits

* **Distinct From**:

* Neutral spirits (vodka, industrial alcohol)

* Grape pomace spirits (grappa, marc)

* Fruit spirits from non-grape sources

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If you want, I can:

* Break this into **legal vs chemical vs sensory definitions**

* Create a **database-ready schema** (raw material, distillation strength, ageing, additives)

* Compare **wine spirits vs pomace spirits vs neutral spirits**

* Draft **EU / OIV / Codex-aligned definitions**

Just tell me how deep you want to go 🍷🥃

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Here are **clear, technical examples of wine spirits**, grouped logically and kept strictly within the wine-derived definition.

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## **Examples of Wine Spirits**

### **1. Aged Wine Spirits (Brandy Family)**

Produced by distilling wine and maturing the distillate in wood.

* **Brandy** – Generic term for aged wine spirit, typically oak-matured.

* **Cognac** – Double-distilled wine spirit from designated crus in Cognac (France), aged in French oak.

* **Armagnac** – Single-distilled wine spirit from Gascony, often distilled in a continuous column still.

* **Brandy de Jerez** – Aged wine spirit matured by the solera system in Spain.

* **Brandy Italiano** – Italian aged wine spirit, typically from Trebbiano-based wines.

* **Pisco (aged variants excluded where prohibited)** – In Peru, technically an unaged wine spirit; in Chile, some expressions are wood-aged.

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### **2. Unaged Wine Spirits (Eaux-de-Vie de Vin)**

Distilled from wine but **not aged in wood**, preserving primary vinous aromatics.

* **Eau-de-Vie de Vin** – Clear, unaged wine spirit.

* **Peruvian Pisco** – Unaged, non-diluted wine spirit distilled to bottling strength.

* **Italian Acquavite di Vino** – Unaged distilled wine spirit.

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### **3. Fortification Wine Spirits**

Wine spirits used specifically for **fortifying wine**.

* **Aguardente vínica** – Wine spirit used in Port and Madeira production.

* **Wine fortifying spirit (OIV category)** – High-strength wine distillate used exclusively for fortification.

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### **4. Aromatized / Specialty Wine Spirits**

Wine spirits with limited, regulated modifications.

* **Cognac with dosage** – Cognac adjusted with sugar or boisé within legal limits.

* **Aged brandy with caramel coloring** – Color correction only, no flavor impact.

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### **5. Appellation-Protected Wine Spirits (PDO / GI Examples)**

| Product | Country | Key Distinction |

| --------------- | ------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |

| Cognac | France | Double pot-still distillation, chalk soils |

| Armagnac | France | Continuous distillation, gascon oak |

| Pisco | Peru / Chile | Unaged, grape-specific |

| Brandy de Jerez | Spain | Solera aging |

| Metaxa* | Greece | Wine spirit blended with aromatized wine (*borderline category*) |

*Metaxa is legally a spirit drink but **not a pure wine spirit** due to botanical additions.

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### **Explicit Exclusions (Not Wine Spirits)**

For technical clarity:

* ❌ **Grappa / Marc** – Pomace spirit

* ❌ **Eau-de-Vie de Fruits** – Non-grape fruit spirits

* ❌ **Vodka from grapes** – Neutral spirit

* ❌ **Industrial alcohol** – Rectified ethanol

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If you want next:

* A **formal subclass table** (aged / unaged / fortifying)

* **Chemical markers** distinguishing wine spirits

* **EU Regulation 2019/787 classification mapping**

* **Database-ready examples with attributes (raw material, still type, aging, ABV)**

Say the word and I’ll build it 🍷🥃

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Below is a **formal, technical subclass table for Wine Spirits**, structured for **regulatory, academic, and database use** (OIV / EU-aligned, terminology-clean).

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## **Wine Spirits — Formal Subclass Table**

| **Subclass** | **Formal Definition** | **Raw Material** | **Distillation Strength** | **Ageing Requirement** | **Permitted Adjustments** | **Representative Examples** |

| ---------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------- | ------------------------- | ------------------------- | ------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |

| **Unaged Wine Spirit (Eau-de-Vie de Vin)** | Distilled alcoholic beverage obtained exclusively from wine, distilled below rectification strength and bottled without wood maturation. | Finished grape wine | ≤ 86% vol | None | Water for dilution | Eau-de-Vie de Vin, Peruvian Pisco |

| **Aged Wine Spirit (Brandy)** | Wine spirit matured in wooden vessels for a defined minimum period, developing oxidative and extractive character. | Finished grape wine | ≤ 86% vol | Mandatory (varies by law) | Water, caramel (limited), sugar | Brandy, Cognac, Armagnac |

| **Appellation-Protected Wine Spirit (PDO/GI)** | Aged or unaged wine spirit produced in a defined geographic area under legally binding production rules. | Wine from delimited region | ≤ 86% vol | Legally defined | Highly restricted | Cognac, Armagnac, Brandy de Jerez |

| **Fortifying Wine Spirit** | High-strength wine distillate intended exclusively for fortification of wine products. | Wine or wine distillate | Typically 77–96% vol* | None | None (functional use only) | Aguardente vínica (Port, Madeira) |

| **Blended Wine Spirit** | Wine spirit composed of two or more wine distillates of different ages, origins, or distillation methods. | Multiple wine spirits | ≤ 86% vol | Variable | Water, caramel (regulated) | Multi-cru Cognac blends |

| **Specialty / Modified Wine Spirit** | Wine spirit subjected to limited post-distillation modifications within regulatory limits. | Wine spirit | ≤ 86% vol | Optional | Sugar, caramel, boisé | Dosaged Cognac |

*Upper strength depends on regulatory framework; must remain wine-derived and non-neutral.

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## **Hierarchical Position (Ontology-Ready)**

```

Alcoholic Beverages

└── Distilled Alcoholic Beverages

└── Wine Spirits

├── Unaged Wine Spirits

├── Aged Wine Spirits

│ └── PDO / GI Wine Spirits

├── Fortifying Wine Spirits

├── Blended Wine Spirits

└── Specialty Wine Spirits

```

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## **Key Technical Delimiters**

* **Source**: Fermented grape wine only

* **Rectification limit**: Must preserve wine congeners

* **Exclusion**: Pomace spirits, neutral alcohol, flavored spirits

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If you’d like, next I can:

* Convert this into an **Excel / SQL schema**

* Map each subclass to **EU Reg. 2019/787 articles**

* Add **sensory + chemical markers per subclass**

* Align it with your **wine classification database structure**

Just say how you want it structured.

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