Muscadet will get three new village denominations. It is not, as far as we understand, a question of village “appellations” (AOP as it is called nowadays) but the right to put the name of the
It is not the wine itself. It is the game. Vignobles de France is an online game where you should place French wine appellations as close as possible to the correct location (in a limited
A number of French wine regions were recently ‘promoted’ to Appellation Contrôlée by a decree by the INAO: Saint-Mont, Tursan, Saint-Sardos, Côtes de Millau, Vins d’Estaing, Vins d’Entraygues et du Fel and Coteaux du Quercy.
Is the purpose of a classification to benefit the consumer or to benefit the producer? That is one of the questions one can ask when reading about the new (yet to come) classification in the
The story starts with the reform of the French appellation system. Since a long time back there has been a small intermediate group called VDQS, just below the highest quality category AOC. VDQS stands for
Much have changed in South African wine production over a few decades. Today they use a classification system called Wines of Origin (WO) based on three levels: regions, districts, and wards. There are four regions,
Many wine regions are very keen to protect their name. It is also becoming increasingly common for other things: cheese, ham, chicken and even a certain kind of lace (no not that kind) have protected
Sometimes one wonders what this concept ”quality wine” means. Take the fact that half of all French wine is classified as “quality wine” (as noted elsewhere in the Brief). Formally this is defined by the
This is an excerpt from our book Languedoc – meetings with the wines and winemakers in the French South, the chapter on “appellations and classification” – released 2007th This section describes the new (or redesigned)
The Austrian agriculture minister has signed a new “appellation“, what in Austria is called a DAC: Eisenberg DAC. The region is located in Südburgenland and includes the districts Oberwart, Güssing and Jennersdorf. Eisenberg DAC should
The DOCs Amarone della Valpolicella and Recioto della Valpolicella in Veneto in Italy have been promoted to DOCG status, according to Decanter.com. DOCG is the highest classification in the Italian wine laws. The DOCG label
The French sometimes put too much stock in the magic of words and in the value of appellations, as this story, just one of several about AOC and name wrangling, shows: In 2003 a new
The Portuguese wine region Terras do Sado is located just south of Lisbon. It Has recently been renamed Península de Setúbal in an effort to make it better known. The new name will be uses
There have been five “côtes”-appellations in Bordeaux: Premières Côtes de Blaye, Côtes de Francs, Côtes de Castillon, Premières Côtes de Bordeaux and Côte de Bourg. INAO has just approved officially the merger of four of
There’s a new category of port wine: rosé. The Port Wine Institute (IDVP) has approved rosé port as a denomination. Already last year Croft launched a rosé port: Croft Pink. Formally, it has been considered
Graves is located a short drive south of the city of Bordeaux. The majority of the production is red but they also make excellent white wines. The total area planted with vines is just under
On may 28 INAO approved two new appellations: Saint Pourçain, and Bugey with Roussette de Bugey. Saint Pourçain is made from gamay or pinot noir grapes and covers some 600 ha. Bugey extends over 500
On May 29 La Clape was approved as an AOC/AOP. the wines used to be sold as “Coteaux du Languedoc – La Clape” but now they will be, simply, “AOC La Clape”. The district is
One part of the new EU wine reform is that from the first of August it will be possible to put the grape variety (e.g. riesling) on the label for wines “without geographic denomination”. Typically,
The regional regulators in Piedmont have approved a new DOC, adding to the 44 already present. To qualify for the new DOC Alba the wine has to contain at least 70 % nebbiolo and 15
The appellation Côtes des Ventoux changes name and becomes AOC Ventoux, a wine region in the western part of Provence. There are some 150 winemakers making primarily red wine (75%), almost a quarter rosé and
The new appellation Appellation Côtes de Bordeaux has been approved by the INAO. It will be used from the 2008 harvest. The AC exists in two variants: “simple” CdB and CdB with the additional mention
The French government has presented a plan to reform, renew and revive the wine sector. Wines should be categorised in three new (rebranded?) categories: – VdF – Vignobles de France, that will replace Vin de
Most wine lovers would probably not hesitate, with a longing in their eyes, to say that Bordeaux Premier Cru refers to the top five chateaux in the 1855 classification: Chx Margaux, Mouton, Haut-Brion, Latour and
In Australia they call it Geographical Indication, and the rulebook is no doubt thinner than in France. A new GI has just been created: New England Australia, some 200 miles north of Hunter Valley in
We recently wrote about the plans in Champagne to extend the limits of the appellation to allow for more production. Obviously a contentious issue. Tom Stevenson, a world leading expert on Champagne, asks the question
The Austrian agricultural minister approve in December the DAC designation for Kremstal for wines made from Grüner Veltliner or Riesling. Kremstal thus becomes the first district along the Danube to get the DAC qualification (Districtus
“Vins d’Or de Bordeaux” (Golden Wines from Bordeaux) is a theme under which Bordeaux wants to publicise the sweet wines from the region, and perhaps in particular some of the lesser known appellations. Sweet whites
The new appellation Coteaux du Languedoc, with the suffix Pézenas (which is a town in the region) is a red wine and should be made from Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah, Carignan and Cinsaut. Try follow this
The Champagne region has approved 40 new communes as (potential) producers of champagne. Today, the Champagne region (the appellation) covers some 32500 ha and virtually all of it is already planted with wine. A project
Muscadet will get three new village denominations. It is not, as far as we understand, a question of village “appellations” (AOP as it is called
It is not the wine itself. It is the game. Vignobles de France is an online game where you should place French wine appellations as
A number of French wine regions were recently ‘promoted’ to Appellation Contrôlée by a decree by the INAO: Saint-Mont, Tursan, Saint-Sardos, Côtes de Millau, Vins
Is the purpose of a classification to benefit the consumer or to benefit the producer? That is one of the questions one can ask when
The story starts with the reform of the French appellation system. Since a long time back there has been a small intermediate group called VDQS,
Much have changed in South African wine production over a few decades. Today they use a classification system called Wines of Origin (WO) based on
Many wine regions are very keen to protect their name. It is also becoming increasingly common for other things: cheese, ham, chicken and even a
Sometimes one wonders what this concept ”quality wine” means. Take the fact that half of all French wine is classified as “quality wine” (as noted
This is an excerpt from our book Languedoc – meetings with the wines and winemakers in the French South, the chapter on “appellations and classification”
The Austrian agriculture minister has signed a new “appellation“, what in Austria is called a DAC: Eisenberg DAC. The region is located in Südburgenland and
The DOCs Amarone della Valpolicella and Recioto della Valpolicella in Veneto in Italy have been promoted to DOCG status, according to Decanter.com. DOCG is the
The French sometimes put too much stock in the magic of words and in the value of appellations, as this story, just one of several
The Portuguese wine region Terras do Sado is located just south of Lisbon. It Has recently been renamed Península de Setúbal in an effort to
There have been five “côtes”-appellations in Bordeaux: Premières Côtes de Blaye, Côtes de Francs, Côtes de Castillon, Premières Côtes de Bordeaux and Côte de Bourg.
There’s a new category of port wine: rosé. The Port Wine Institute (IDVP) has approved rosé port as a denomination. Already last year Croft launched
Graves is located a short drive south of the city of Bordeaux. The majority of the production is red but they also make excellent white
On may 28 INAO approved two new appellations: Saint Pourçain, and Bugey with Roussette de Bugey. Saint Pourçain is made from gamay or pinot noir
On May 29 La Clape was approved as an AOC/AOP. the wines used to be sold as “Coteaux du Languedoc – La Clape” but now
One part of the new EU wine reform is that from the first of August it will be possible to put the grape variety (e.g.
The regional regulators in Piedmont have approved a new DOC, adding to the 44 already present. To qualify for the new DOC Alba the wine
The appellation Côtes des Ventoux changes name and becomes AOC Ventoux, a wine region in the western part of Provence. There are some 150 winemakers
The new appellation Appellation Côtes de Bordeaux has been approved by the INAO. It will be used from the 2008 harvest. The AC exists in
The French government has presented a plan to reform, renew and revive the wine sector. Wines should be categorised in three new (rebranded?) categories: –
Most wine lovers would probably not hesitate, with a longing in their eyes, to say that Bordeaux Premier Cru refers to the top five chateaux
In Australia they call it Geographical Indication, and the rulebook is no doubt thinner than in France. A new GI has just been created: New
We recently wrote about the plans in Champagne to extend the limits of the appellation to allow for more production. Obviously a contentious issue. Tom
The Austrian agricultural minister approve in December the DAC designation for Kremstal for wines made from Grüner Veltliner or Riesling. Kremstal thus becomes the first
“Vins d’Or de Bordeaux” (Golden Wines from Bordeaux) is a theme under which Bordeaux wants to publicise the sweet wines from the region, and perhaps
The new appellation Coteaux du Languedoc, with the suffix Pézenas (which is a town in the region) is a red wine and should be made
The Champagne region has approved 40 new communes as (potential) producers of champagne. Today, the Champagne region (the appellation) covers some 32500 ha and virtually
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