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 has already been running for a few year to extend the limits of the appellation in order to satisfy the growing demand. (They have already raised the limit for maximum yield to around 100 hl/ha in the same spirit.) Approving the 40 new communes is only a first step.Next phase is to evaluate which specific land plots will be included in the appellation. That is expected not to be finalised until 2017. One can imagine the difficulties in the project. One hectare of prime AOC land can be worth 1 million euro whereas a hectare of plain agricultural land has a more modest price tag…
