New appellations don’t often appear in France. But sometimes, it happens. (Modifying existing ones happens more often.) On October 14, Vézelay in northern Burgundy became an Appellation d’Origine Protégée (AOP).
From the beginning, Vézelay was part of the overall Bourgogne (Burgundy) appellation. In 1998, the status was raised as the growers were allowed to put Bourgogne Vézelay on the label. And now, they have their own AOP and thus somewhat stricter rules.
The wine is white and is made exclusively from chardonnay. The focus is on the fruit, and the time in oak barrels is relatively short. Vézelay is located just less than 50 kilometres south of Chablis. The new appellation is small, with around 20 different producers.
Vézelay is otherwise best known (very!) for its basilica dating back to the 12th century.
France today has around 370 AOPs. No region has more AOPs than Burgundy.
Read more: INAO
