 By
John Nash
Wine laws have been established in nearly all of the
world's wine producing countries to help protect established
traditions and practices and to provide the consumer
with a system of checks and balances against fraudulent
activity and greed. France was an early leader in establishing
laws that govern winemaking and wine labeling practices.
An Overview of France's Wine Laws
In France, Appellation d'Origine Controlée laws
were established in 1935. There are now three categories
which are officially regulated by the Institut National
des Appellations d'Origine (INAO). The highest rank is
Appellation Controlée (AOC), which includes practically
all of the famous wines of France. The phrase, which
in many wine circles is often simply called AOC, is taken
from the French term Appellation d'Origine Controlée.
This loosely translated means controlled place name and
is an excellent guide for the consumer to the authenticity
of the wine that bears a label with this term.
AOC laws cover many aspects in the production of French
wine: geographical limits of regions and vineyards, the
grape varieties which may be used in a region, the minimum
amount of alcohol the wine must contain, the maximum
yield permitted per hectare, and aspects of viticulture
and vinification that represent tradition and history
for the region. Examples of AOC wines are Gevrey-Chambertin,
Chateauneuf du Pape, Pauillac, Champagne, etc...
A second category known as Vins Délimités
de Qualité Supérieure (VDQS), is basically
a testing ground for smaller regions, many of which are
eventually promoted to full AOC status. Less than one
percent of France's production is in the VDQS category.
The majority of VDQS regions are located in the Loire
and South West France. Cotes de Millau is an example
of a VDQS wine.
The third category is Vin de Pays (VDP) which replaced
Appellation d'Origin Simple in 1973 to bring French law
into line with European Common Market regulations. These
wines must come from specified, yet broadly defined areas.
Many Vin de Pays come from France's Languedoc-Rousillon
region and offer the consumer a great value for the money.
Vin de Pays d'Oc is an excellent and commonly found Languedoc
VDP.
At the bottom of the quality ladder is Vins de Table.
These "table wines" may be blends of anything
not found objectionable under French pure food laws!
In fact, they don't even need to come from France unless
the bottle bears the words "Product of France." Actually,
these wines can be quite passable and are never very
costly. Many of these are marketed with the producer's
name or a proprietary brand name and now account for
a large part of French wine shipments abroad and are
sometimes referred to as "Zip Code" wines.
There have been many abuses, even recent violations as
reported by the Wine Spectator magazine, but French wine
regulations on the whole are far more strict than they
were when they were originally established.
Thanks to France's innovative wine laws the consumer
now enjoys higher quality French wine than has ever been
available. Viva la France...
Fulton John Nash is the proprietor of The Wine Merchant,
Ltd. in St Louis.
Article © 2002-2006, Sauce
Magazine. All rights reserved.
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