International Code of Oenological Practices

Download document

Maximum acceptable limits

A.1 Maximum acceptable limits

Product

Amount used in the treatment

Residue in the wine

Source (*)

Acidity

Lactic acids, L(-) or DL malic acid and L(+) tartaric and citric acids can be only be added to musts under condition that the initial acidity content is not raised by more than 54 meq/l (i.e. 4 g/l expressed in tartaric acid),

Code

Ammonium Sulphate

0.3 g/l

Code

Arsenic

0.2 mg/l

Compendium

Ascorbic acid

250 mg/l

300 mg/l

Code

Boron

80 mg/l (expressed as boric acid)

Compendium

Bromide

1 mg/l (limit exceeded exceptionally in wines coming from certain vineyards with brackish subsoil)

Compendium

Cadmium

0.01 mg/l

Compendium

Calcium tartrate

200 g/l

Code

Product

Amount used in the treatment

Residue in the wine

Source (*)

Carbon

100 g/hl

Code

Citric acid

1 g/l

Compendium

Copper

(Oeno 434-2011)

1 mg/l

2 mg/l for liqueur wines produced from unfermented or slightly fermented grape must

Compendium

Copper sulphate

1 g/hl

Code

Diammonium phosphate

0.3 g/l

Code

Diethylene glycol

10 mg/l, to the quantification limit.

Compendium

Ethanediol/
Ethylene glycol

10 mg/l

Compendium

Fluoride

1 mg/l except for vineyards treated with cryolite in accordance with the national law; in this case the fluoride content shall not exceed 3 mg/l

Compendium

Gum arabic

0.3 g/l

Code

Lysozyme

500 mg/l

Code

Malvidin diglucoside

15 mg/l (determined by the quantitative method described in the Collection)

Compendium

Lead

Wine: 0.10 mg/L (starting from the 2019 harvest year)

Liqueur wines: 0.15 mg/L (starting from the 2019 harvest year)

Compendium

Metatartaric  acid

10 g/hl

Code

Methanol

Oeno 19/04

400 mg/l for wines rouges

Compendium

250 mg/l for white wines and rosés

Natamycine

Oeno 461-2012)

5 μg/L[1]

Compendium

Copolymer PVI/PVP

< 500 g/hl

Vinylpyrrolidone < 10 μg/l

Vinylimidazole < 10 μg/l

Pyrrolidone < 25 μg/l

Imidazole < 150 μg/l

Code

Polyvinylpoly-pyrrolidone

80 g/hl

Code

Propane-1,2-diol

Propylene glycol

Still wines: 150 mg/l

Sparkling wines: 300 mg/l

Compendium

Silver Chloride

(Oeno 145-2009)

1 g/HL

<0.1 mg/L (silver)

Code

Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose

0.2 mg/L

Code

Sodium in excess

80 mg/l

Compendium

Sorbic acid

200 mg/l

Code

Product

Amount used in the treatment

Residue in the wine

Source (*)

Sulphates

1 g/l (expressed as potassium sulphate)

Compendium

1.5 g/l for wines aged in casks for at least 2 years,  for sweetened wines, for wines obtained by addition of alcohol or spirit to musts or to wines.

Compendium

2 g/l for wines with added concentrated musts, for naturally sweet wines

Compendium

2.5 g/l for film or flor wines

Compendium

Sulphur dioxide (total)

150 mg/l for red wines containing at the most 4 g/l of reducing substances

Compendium

Sulphur dioxide (total)

200 mg/l for white wines and rosés containing at the most 4 g/l reducing substances

Compendium

300 mg/l: red wines, rosés and whites containing more than 4 g/l of reducing substances

Compendium

400 mg/l: exceptionally in certain sweet white wines

Compendium

Volatile acidity

20 milliequivalents/l i.e. 1.2 g/l (expressed as acetic acid). The volatile acidity of some old wines of particular elaboration (wines subject to a particular legislation and monitored by the government) can exceed this limit.

Compendium

Yeast ghosts

40 g/hl

Code

Zinc

5 mg/l

Compendium

(*) These limits are fixed in the International Code of Oenological Practices (Code) or in the Compendium of International Methods of Analysis for Wines and Musts (Compendium).


[1] As there is lack of a reliable interlaboratory estimate of the critical level, a decision  limit of 5 µg/l is temporarily adopted until a reliable interlaboratory estimate or other robust indicators of the critical level can be obtained