Members Area - Guidelines

Unfiltered and Bottled with Lees Wines

Wines may be designated under the categories “Unfiltered” and “Bottled with its Lees”. The following rules apply for these categories:

 

• A wine that is produced and labeled “Bottled with its Lees” shall be exempt from the maximum turbidity limits established under the rules;
• The maximum turbidity limits established under the rules shall be 20 N.T.U. for white wines and 40 N.T.U. for red wines for a wine that is produced and labeled “Unfiltered” or “Bottled with its Lees”;
• Wines that show any signs of refermentation or significant microbiological instability may be denied approval, even in the case they test within the maximum limits. 
• Only the terms “Unfiltered” and  “Bottled with its lees” shall be permitted  to be displayed on the principal display panel and declared on the application for approval;
• The category description shall appear on the grading sheet for informational purposes and  these attributes will be considered when judging a wine so designated.
• The new rules will be applied beginning with the 2002 vintage.

These guidelines add distinct wine categories for VQA wines and:

• Recognize that these are quality wines without technical fault;
• Establish terms and conditions for their use;
• Recognize that certain unique characteristics require that they be exempt from specific laboratory testing and tasting guidelines.