Tag: regulations

Champagne raises yields with 20%

Champagne is one of the few wine regions where the permitted yield is modified almost every year. This is done in an effort to manipulate supply and demand and the prices that champagne sell for.

A donkey by the fence

Vine planting rights: a return to protectionism?

A few years back all EU countries agreed to a reform of the agricultural policies concerning the wine sector. One element was to abolish the existing system with planting rights, that decrees that a grower

”Methode provençale” to make sparkling wines?

Since quite a few year it has been forbidden to use the expression “methode champenoise” on sparkling wines made with a second fermentation in the bottle. In the future we may instead see “methode provencale”.

Bordeaux Crus Artisans is back?

Last month we talked about the revived (and strange) Cru Bourgeois classification-but-not-classification in Bordeaux. This month it’s time for the no-one-knows-it-exists classification Cru Artisans. Cru Artisans exists since some 150 years back but during the

French wine TV relocates to Luxemburg

Edonys is the cryptic name of a new television channel that will be entirely dedicated to programs about wine. The channel was created about a year ago by an entrepreneur who has specialised in creating

Languedoc to introduce Grand Cru…

Some areas in the Languedoc, that fulfil certain criteria, will be classified as Grand Cru according to a new proposal from the producers association, the CIVL. They want to have two levels: Grands Vins du

EU puts organic wine on ice

There will be no new rules on what is meant by organic (biologique / ecologic) wines in the EU. Today, the only thing that a wine producer formally can say is that his wine is

New trials with genetically modified grape vines

The French agricultural research institute (INRA) has – again – planted an experimental vineyard with genetically modified vines. Out of the 500 vines in the test vineyard 70 have been genetically modified to see if

Binge drinking leads to risky sex – perhaps

Does binge drinking lead to risky sex among college students? The answer seems to be, yes, perhaps. The American Association of Wine Economists usually publishes papers on less sexy subjects (as e.g. Measuring the Economic

AOC Languedoc – a new appellation

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)

Cow horns are used in biodynamic wine growing

What is ”organic wine”?

It’s not always easy to get to grips with the terminology, so here’s a short introduction. Strictly speaking one should talk about “wine made from organically grown grapes” since it is only what is done

Vote for the new organic logo in the EU!

EU will launch a new logo to mark organic products (“biologique” in French). They created a large number of suggestions. Three suggested logotypes have been chosen for the final round – and you can be

How much (or how little) wine in Champagne?

There have been lots of discussions in champagne this year on how much the growers will be permitted to harvest. Curiously, the limit is not set until the beginning of September. Wit the crash in

The waiter coming with glasses of rosé

What’s a rosé wine?

As part of the EU wine reform that has been agreed by the countries’ agricultural representatives it is planned that it will become legal to make rosé wine by blending red and white wine. Today,

Champagne, classic white and rosé

Red + white = rosé. True!

Blending red wine and rosé wine has been prohibited in most of Europe (except in Champagne where it is common). This is about to change: On January 27 the EU approved a proposal to allow

Will copper be the next victim of the organic wave?

Copper and substances containing copper are frequently used to fight mildew. It is even permitted in organic farming (even though it can hardly be claimed to be a “natural” treatment). There are now discussions on

Port and sherry give Australia million dollar grief

The EU and Australia recently signed a new trade agreement. One part of that agreement says that Australia will no longer use the denominations Port, Sherry and Marsala for its fortified wines. Many Australian wines

Appellation d’origine protégée, Crozes-Hermitage Domaine des Entrefaux, François Tardy

French reform (?) of the wine sector

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

EU wine reform agreed

The hotly debated reform of the wine scheme within the EU agricultural policy has finally been agreed. Albeit a substantially weaker reform than originally proposed by commissioner Mariann Fischer-Boel it is still a step in

Champagne raises yields with 20%

Champagne is one of the few wine regions where the permitted yield is modified almost every year. This is done in an effort to manipulate

Bordeaux Crus Artisans is back?

Last month we talked about the revived (and strange) Cru Bourgeois classification-but-not-classification in Bordeaux. This month it’s time for the no-one-knows-it-exists classification Cru Artisans. Cru

Languedoc to introduce Grand Cru…

Some areas in the Languedoc, that fulfil certain criteria, will be classified as Grand Cru according to a new proposal from the producers association, the

EU puts organic wine on ice

There will be no new rules on what is meant by organic (biologique / ecologic) wines in the EU. Today, the only thing that a

AOC Languedoc – a new appellation

This is an excerpt from our book Languedoc – meetings with the wines and winemakers in the French South, the chapter on “appellations and classification”

Cow horns are used in biodynamic wine growing

What is ”organic wine”?

It’s not always easy to get to grips with the terminology, so here’s a short introduction. Strictly speaking one should talk about “wine made from

Vote for the new organic logo in the EU!

EU will launch a new logo to mark organic products (“biologique” in French). They created a large number of suggestions. Three suggested logotypes have been

The waiter coming with glasses of rosé

What’s a rosé wine?

As part of the EU wine reform that has been agreed by the countries’ agricultural representatives it is planned that it will become legal to

Champagne, classic white and rosé

Red + white = rosé. True!

Blending red wine and rosé wine has been prohibited in most of Europe (except in Champagne where it is common). This is about to change:

Appellation d’origine protégée, Crozes-Hermitage Domaine des Entrefaux, François Tardy

French reform (?) of the wine sector

The French government has presented a plan to reform, renew and revive the wine sector. Wines should be categorised in three new (rebranded?) categories: –

EU wine reform agreed

The hotly debated reform of the wine scheme within the EU agricultural policy has finally been agreed. Albeit a substantially weaker reform than originally proposed

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