RESOLUTION ECO 1/2004

COMPETENCIES REQUIRED FOR WINE PROFESSIONALS

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

UPON THE PROPOSAL by Commission III “Economy”, based on the works of the experts group “Training”,

CONSIDERING the resolution OENO 2/91 related to training oenologists, advanced level training,

CONSIDERING that the activity of certain members of the sector is focused on the four fields of activities entirely covered by oenologists,

CONSIDERING the RESOLUTION OENO 1/99 which defines the four fields of activity for wine professionals which implies an explanation of these fields,

CONSIDERING that it is important to promote international training exchanges related to the four sectors of activity,

CONSIDERING that these exchanges involve the defining of different levels of training and equivalences

CONSIDERING that professionals involved in:

1. making products derived from grapes
2. oenological practices
3. quality control of the final product and the winemaking process
4. interpretation of results of analysis

Should be competent in a range of disciplines, including :

• Consumer health
• Balance of the environment
• Quality management (control of specific processes)
• Rules and standards in force set by the OIV for winemaking processes.

CONSIDERING that is desirable to establish a general framework which each country can adapt to its particular situation

RECOMMENDS TO MEMBER STATES  to take into consideration the following comptencies when developping training programmes:

1. that the professionals involved in making products derived from grapes, be capable:

• of evaluating the quality criteria of raw material received in terms of composition and health status
• of mastering all the unit operations governing the transformations of grapes
• on the basis of the final product to be obtained, selecting the operations necessary for its production; evaluating the consequences of each of these operations on the different steps of transformation until packaging.

2. that the professionals involved in oenological practices are capable of taking a semi-produced product to a compliant final product, by oenological practices that are recognised and appear in the OIV Code.

It is highly recommended that the professionals in charge of these practices be trained on the entire winemaking process leading to the final product.

3. that the professionals involved in the quality control of the final product and the winemaking process, are capable:

• of proceeding with the analytical control of the product and the compliancy control of processes at each level of production until the final product.
• of participating in quality management (control of specific processes in the making of the product) and the traceability of the product.

It is recommended that the analysts in charge of these controls be trained on the entire winemaking processes leading to the final product.

4. that the professionals involved in the interpretation of results of analysis are capable of establishing a pertinent analytical diagnosis of the product and making recommendations concerning its designation and presentation at the time of its release on national and international markets.