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The
French Wine Laws
The
production of wine in France is tightly controlled by two organisations.
The Instituit National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO). This
body succeeded the Comite' National des Appellations d'Origine
after World War II and controls the hierachy of French quality
wines. The other is the Service de Repression des Fraudes, which
is responsible for seeing that the very complicated laws on wine
production are carried out. On the French domestic market, every
bottle carries a capsule conge', or capsule with the goverment
seal on it showing that the relevant tax has been paid. It also
shows the wine's quality status.
France
has two grades of QWPSR;
Appellation
Controlee and Vin Delimite de Qualite Superieure,
and
two of Table Wine;
Vin
de Pays and Vin de Table.
Quality
Wine
Appellation
d'Origine Controlee (AC or AOC)
This
is the highest level that a French wine can attain. Though the
requirements may vary widely from one region to another, they
are the most tightly defined and the following point will always
feature.
- Areas
of Production - the boundaries of which are based on the composition
of the soil.
- Grape
varieties permitted - the principal being that in the words
of an earlier decree, these should be 'hallowed by local,
local and established custom'.
- Viticultural
practices - planting distances, pruning methods and general
handling of the vine.
- The
maximum permitted yield per hectare.
- Vinification
methods, including ageing.
- The
minimum alcoholic degree in the wine which must be achieved
without must-enrichment.
- Within
each region there is a laid down hierarchy of appellations
which, in general are geographical based. The more specific
the geographic description, the higher the appellation, and
the stricter the regualtions. In some areas an individual
vineyard may be eligible for several ACs of different quality
levels.
- Some
regional and district appellations have the right to the additional
qualification superieur e.g. Bordeaux Superieur, Macon Superieur.
These wines simply have an extra half or full degree of alcohol
compared with the equivalent basic appellation.
Vins
Delimites de Qualite Superieure (VDQS)
This
classification was established in 1949 as a stepping stone to
Appellation Controlee, and many wine originally classified as
VDQS have subsequently moved to the higher level.
The
laws cover the same ground as for AC wines but are often less
stringent on yields and grape varieties. In on aspect, however,
the VDQS laws were initially stricter. The right to the VDQS label
was only granted after an official tasting. Now this requirement
has been extended to AC wines as well.
Table
Wine
Vin
de Pays
This
classification was established by decree in September 1979 partly
as a result of an initiative on the part of the wine trade, which
wanted to give added value to certain vins de table. At the same
time, a broader objective was to upgrade the quality and sharply
reduce the quantity of bulk wine being produced in areas such
as the midi.
A
wine must meet four qualifications to be eligible for this category:
- Area
of production - This can be regional, for example Vin de Pays
d'Oc, which covers four departements. It can be that of a
departement, such as Vine de Pays de l'Aude, or it can be
zonal within the same departement, such as Vin de Pays des
Coteaux de Peyriac.
- Grape
Varieties - For each Vin de Pays there is a recommneded list
of grape-varietes. Generally, this will be much broader than
for a local AC or VDQS wine, enabling the grower to introduce
classic varieties from other regions.
- Yields
- The maximum permitted yield is 90hl/ha, though in some areas
this has been reduced to 80hl/ha.
- Analytical
Standards - Amongst other things, this includes the minimum
natural alcoholic strength of 9% vol. in the north and 10%
vol. in the south, and maximum suplhur and volatile acidity
levels.
Vins
de Table
Forty
per cent of the wine produced in France falls into this category.
Vins de table can be produced anywhere in the country with no
restriction as to the grape variety, though the wine may not be
chaptalised. No maximum yield is stipulated, but a proportion
of production over 10hl/ha must be sent for distillation and the
greater the over-production, the lower the price paid per hectolitre
for distilling wine.
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