It is an established fact, the boom that in recent years has experienced in Spain the wine competitions, as well as its positive effects on the quality of the wine, in general, and on its diffusion.

It is also evident that the full exploitation of these positive effects requires the mention of the prizes or awards obtained in the particular labelling of the wines with them distinguished.

In the regulatory context of the European Union, these terms are subject to the conditions laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 of 17 May establishing the common organisation of the market in wine-wine-Annex VII, B, 1, b) and Annex VIII, E, 10).

It is established in that regulation that, in the territory of the European Union, only distinctions granted by a competent authority designated by the Member State in which the wine is labelled may be entered on the labelling of wines. the jurisdiction is held, or by the public or private bodies recognised for that purpose by that authority, who shall ensure the impartiality of the competitions.

This Royal Decree regulates the official and officially recognized wine competitions, under the jurisdiction conferred on the State by Rule 13.a of Article 149.1 of the Constitution, in the field of bases and coordination of the general planning of economic activity.

In the procedure for drawing up this Royal Decree, the Autonomous Communities and the organizations and entities representing the interests of the sectors concerned have been consulted.

Under its virtue, on the proposal of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in agreement with the Council of State and after deliberation by the Council of Ministers at its meeting on 29 October 1999,

D I S P O N G O:

Article 1. Object.

This Royal Decree lays down the basic rules governing wine competitions, both official and officially recognized, that are held in the territory of the Spanish State.

Article 2. Definitions.

For the purposes of the provisions of this Royal Decree, the following definitions are established:

a) Contest: it will be any contest of wines, either official or officially recognized.

(b) Official contest: shall be the contest organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, by the competent bodies of the Autonomous Communities or by any public body linked to or dependent on the previous.

(c) officially recognised competition: it shall be a competition organised by an entity other than those organised by official competitions and which obtains this qualification from the competent public administration.

d) Distinction: prize awarded in an official wine competition or officially recognized, by means of a document that credits its concession.

Article 3. Scope of application.

This Royal Decree will apply to the convocation and organization of official or officially recognized wine competitions, as well as to the award of distinctions and their subsequent use.

Article 4. Requirements of the competitions.

Contests must meet the following requirements:

a) Ensuring the free access and participation of stakeholders.

(b) To provide for objective mechanisms to prevent any discrimination between wines of the same category and geographical origin participating in the competition.

c) Conceding distinctions on a proposal from a jury consisting of qualified persons who must blind the wines and classify them according to their intrinsic quality by means of a scoring system created for this purpose.

d) Set a limited number of distinctions, which can be documented in a document.

Article 5. Official competitions.

1. The official competitions, except as provided for in paragraph 3, shall be convened by the competent authority of the Autonomous Community in whose territory they are held. The call will be based on the competition and must be published in the Official Journal of the Autonomous Community.

2. The organisation of the official competitions shall be the responsibility of the public administration which is to call them, a public body linked to or dependent on it, or the entity to which it is entrusted, in accordance with Law 13/1995 of 18 May 1995. Contracts of general government.

3. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food may convene and organise wine competitions in the following cases:

a) When they have a national or international scope.

b) When their celebration derives from international commitments made by the Kingdom of Spain.

(c) In exceptional situations, where it is not possible, by way of cooperation or coordination, to integrate competing interests of several Autonomous Communities.

Article 6. Officially recognised competitions.

1. Natural or legal persons, whether public or private, other than the General Administration of the State or an Autonomous Community, may apply for official recognition of wine competitions which they organise or intend to organise.

2. Authorisation may be granted only to hold competitions and to award distinctions to those entities, public or private, which meet the following requirements:

(a) They offer guarantees of impartiality, independence and confidentiality in their performance.

(b) offering guarantees of technical and organizational competence, as provided for by the public administration component to grant recognition.

3. Applications for official recognition shall include the basis of the contest, which shall describe at least the scope of the contest, the types of wine which may be present, the composition and the characteristics of the jury, the copy of the certificate and the number of distinctions and concession procedure.

4. The granting or refusal of the official recognition requested is the responsibility of the competent bodies of the Autonomous Community in whose territory the contest or the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is held, in the envisaged cases. in Article 5 (3),

Article 7. Use of the distinction.

1. The organization of the contest carries the power to grant the distinctions.

2. The distinctions granted in the contests referred to in this Royal Decree may be used only on the labelling of the award of the award of the item or batch of wine awarded on the basis of a document issued for that purpose.

3. The organiser of the competition shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the contents of the bottles which are placed on the market are accurate in relation to the distinctions obtained and the samples examined in the evidence of the contest.

For these purposes, the organizing entity shall communicate the award of the distinction to the competent administration for the control of bottling and the marketing of the prize-winning lot or consignment.

Article 8. Provision of information.

1. The Autonomous Communities shall send to the Directorate-General for Food of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, before 1 December of each year, a list of official and officially recognized competitions, to be held in its territory, with an express reference to the following information for each of them: name of the contest, organizer, venue and dates of celebration and denomination of the awards, if any.

2. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food shall publish, before 31 December of each year, a calendar for wine competitions to be held throughout the national territory in the following year.

Additional disposition first. Competence title.

This Royal Decree is issued under Rule 13 (a) of Article 149.1 of the Constitution, which reserves the State competence in the field of bases and coordination of the general planning of the economy.

Additional provision second. Collaboration with the Autonomous Communities.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, for the purposes set out in this Royal Decree, may establish collaboration agreements with the Autonomous Communities.

Final disposition first. Enablement.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is empowered to adopt the measures necessary for the implementation of this Royal Decree.

Final disposition second. Entry into force.

This Royal Decree shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the "Official Gazette of the State".

Given in Madrid to 29 October 1999.

JOHN CARLOS R.

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food,

JESUS POSADA MORENO