Tag: regulations

French wine – a national heritage

Finally it’s official. The wine belongs to the French cultural heritage. On July 9, the French wine industry had a reason to celebrate. On that day it was confirmed, finally, by the parliament that the

Where do all the pressed grapes go?

On August 1, it will cease to be mandatory for winemakers in France to deliver their pressed skins to a distillery. This means that growers now have several options for what to do with the

Spraying by helicopter, forbidden but not quite

Should spraying by helicopter or air-plane be banned? Yes, says Segolène Royale, the French Minister for ecology, sustainability and energy (as well as ex-presidential candidate and ex-partner of the current president). There is actually already

Saved by the bell? (Or by the copper in the vineyard?)

No, more likely by copper. Many organic growers survive thanks to the permission they have to spray with copper against the severe fungal disease mildiou. This applies not least to the organic growers in Burgundy

Aix-en-Provence without “Coteaux”?

Côte and Coteaux, we see these words everywhere: Côtes du Rhône, Coteaux du Languedoc, Côte des Blancs, Côte de Beaune, etc. It is an old French tradition to call wine regions located along rivers or

A French nitrogen ban in the vineyards?

The French Ministry of Agriculture is discussing a decision to ban nitrogen fertilisation to farmland with an inclination of more than 15 %. This is to reduce nitrate emissions into the environment. This has naturally

The water mirror at Vina Vik, Chile

Southern France irrigates

Irrigation in the vineyards is no longer taboo in France, nor is it prohibited. (It is curious how often one still hear people saying that irrigation in France, or even in Europe, is not permitted.

Planting Rights in Europe will remain

The planting rights in the EU were supposed to disappear. The decision was taken. And then it would have been possible for wine growers to plant more grapes if they thought they could sell more

Chinese champagne is but a memory

China has recently recognized the appellation Champagne. This means that in future in China you will not see any Chinese bubbles, or imported ones for that matter, that is labelled as Champagne if they do

Street sign, rue du Riesling

Monopoly on grape varieties! Why?

In recent years, many new wine laws have been introduced in the EU. Among other things, the rules for “wines without geographical origin” have changed. These used to be called vin de table in France

Planting rights – the circus continues

France (and some other major European wine countries) is fighting tooth and nail to maintain planting rights in Europe. And even though they have managed to obtain an extension they are far from satisfied. The

Planting rights, no thank you!

Quite some time back I wrote a guest article on the blog Les 5 du Vin on planting rights. They have moved the blog to a new platform and the article seems to have disappeared.

The view from Mas de Daumas Gassac

We are all French, aren’t we?

The usual infighting between French appellations… Renaming the French table wines to Vin de France was an ingenious move. They were formerly called vin de table, wines without geographical origin. “France” is a brand name

New rooster and new rules for Chianti Classico

During the launch of the new vintage of Chianti Classico, the “anteprima” or the “primeurs”, in mid-February in Florence the consorzio presented the new design of the black rooster, the gallo nero symbol of Chianti Classico.

Environmental friendly electro-dialysis?

There have been more reactions to the EU rules for organic wines. The French company Oenodia is upset about the fact that the rules ban organic wines from using electro-dialysis. Oenodia specializes in the treatment

Have you seen the “Beaujolais Premier Cru”?

Yes, maybe we will have Beaujolais Premier Cru in less than ten years. Beaujolais continues its struggle to improve its image and to play in the higher leagues. Four years ago it began to analyse

French wine – a national heritage

Finally it’s official. The wine belongs to the French cultural heritage. On July 9, the French wine industry had a reason to celebrate. On that

Where do all the pressed grapes go?

On August 1, it will cease to be mandatory for winemakers in France to deliver their pressed skins to a distillery. This means that growers

The water mirror at Vina Vik, Chile

Southern France irrigates

Irrigation in the vineyards is no longer taboo in France, nor is it prohibited. (It is curious how often one still hear people saying that

Chinese champagne is but a memory

China has recently recognized the appellation Champagne. This means that in future in China you will not see any Chinese bubbles, or imported ones for

Street sign, rue du Riesling

Monopoly on grape varieties! Why?

In recent years, many new wine laws have been introduced in the EU. Among other things, the rules for “wines without geographical origin” have changed.

Planting rights, no thank you!

Quite some time back I wrote a guest article on the blog Les 5 du Vin on planting rights. They have moved the blog to

The view from Mas de Daumas Gassac

We are all French, aren’t we?

The usual infighting between French appellations… Renaming the French table wines to Vin de France was an ingenious move. They were formerly called vin de

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